I spent this past weekend in Budapest, Hungary. It was an untraditional destination choice, that I'm happy I made. The city is known for its stunning succession architecture, baths, and is often called the "Paris of Eastern Europe".
We arrived on Friday evening, without too many hassles, and made our way directly to our accommodations. From the exterior, the hostel that we were staying in, the Downtown Oasis Private Rooms, was sketchy at best, however, from the inside it was a beautifully decorated apartment. There were only two other rooms in the hostel (both were full), and my friends and I shared the third room. After getting settled, we went to an adorably artsy Hungarian cafe and got our first Hungarian meal, it was absolutely delicious (especially after having lived off Irish cuisine for the past month). We then went to a bar that was definitely an experience. Once we navigated our way into the venue (which was easier said than done), we found ourself in the most unusual bar I have ever set foot in. The bar, called the Szimply Gardens, was all exposed concrete and disco lights. Seating in the bar consisted of bathtubs, flea market style furniture, and very low benches. The decor was no less eclectic with lit up doll heads hanging from the ceiling, fake flowers covering the walls, and tea kettles acting as drapes in the window frames. We had some interesting conversations with some Aussies and a group of rather rude American study abroad students, shared a bad bottle of wine, and then called it a night.
In the morning we got up early to tour the city. Our first stop was the Opera House in the Central Pest district. The building was stunning (see above photos) and we were shushed out of the building within a matter of minutes (rejection #1). Our next stop was St. Stephen's Basilica, which is one of the most breathtaking buildings I have ever set foot in. We then headed onward to the Parliament district, where we were told that all the English tours were full for the day and to come back on Sunday (rejection #2). We then tried to check out the Hungarian Ethnography Museum, and were denied entrance because we tried to pay the approximately $3 entrance fee with the equivalent of a $5 bill, which is apparently unacceptable behaviour (rejection #3).
We then grabbed some sushi lunch at a fabulous little Japanese restaurant to try to boost our spirits. Following lunch, we headed over to the Buda district. Budapest is split down the middle by the Danube River, and on one side of the river lies Buda and on the other side is Pest. In Buda, we headed up to the Castille District via a rollercoaster-style tram. In the Castille District is the Royal Palace, and a fantastic view of the city. Inside the Royal Palace are two museums, we were asked to leave both of them because it was closing time (rejections #4 and #5). We then went to check out a stunning church in the district, but unfortunately the exterior was under construction. The interior was gorgeous and had been redone following the Turkish invasion, and later, after being destroyed during World War II (a very common theme throughout the city's prominent buildings). We then walked the Fisherman's Bastion, a stone, enclosed pathway that overlooks the Danube. In hopes of warming up, we then stopped to grab hot chocolate in a very proper restaurant who's decor was clearly inspired by the theme of war (e.g. murals of bloody battles on the wall, knives and rifles hanging on the walls).
We hurried to the tram after taking some pictures of the sweeping views of Budapest by night, and made our way back to the hostel. We relaxed in the hostel for a little while and grabbed dinner at the same restaurant as the night before, because we knew that they were too artsy to make a big deal out of valentines day. After a three course meal and several glasses of wine each (which only came to 16 euro per person!!), we were too exhausted to head out to the bars, as we had originally planned and retired to our hostel.
In the morning, we grabbed omelettes for breakfast and then we went to see The Hill, a huge monument that overlooks the city. We then headed back to the Parliament, but when we arrived over an HOUR early, we were told that all of the tours were booked for the day (rejection #6), so we found ourselves a non-touristy cafe to hang out in. We then headed over to the Great Synagogue, a stunning building that has the city's Holocaust Memorial in its backyard. The Holocaust memorial was a metal willow tree, and on every leaf was the name of a Hungarian killed by the Holocaust (I can't seem to be able to upload this picture). Next to the sculpture is a memorial for Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish humanitarian who saved tens of thousands of Jews during World War II by providing them with passports and by hiding them.
Our final stop was the Hungarian National Museum where we saw an exhibit that showed the history of Hungary up until the 1990s. We had some difficultly understanding each of the artifacts since most of the descriptive tags were in Hungarian, and not English. Regardless, it was a nice little walk through Hungary's tumultuous history. We then grabbed our final Hungarian meal at a very authentic restaurant near the museum, and then caught a cab back to the airport.
Over all, it was a very successful trip that I'm happy I made. Check out my pictures from the trip at www.flickr.com/photos/erinkbaum. This weekend, we're headed to Barcelona, so there will be more to come!!
Love,
E
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