Day 1
Wow, it’s been a long day! I’m writing from a restaurant next to my apartment. I landed in Budapest at roughly 2.30 pm and had to rush to pick up the keys by 3.30 pm. I was 15 minutes late because the metro was not working on my line. Luckily the girl was very nice and told me not to worry about the delay. I had to use a rail replacement bus which meant that my journey took way longer than it should have. Anyway, my first impression of Budapest is positive. There is a warmer vibe from the people here than in Prague, and many people seem to be very polite in general.
So after picking up the keys I went to go out and explore, and took another rail replacement bus to a basilica where I snapped some photos. I didn’t even try to go inside because I was wearing a very short summer dress. To be honest, I’ve been in so many churches anyway so it doesn’t really matter. After this, I went to see the shoes on the Danube. This is a memorial for Jewish world war 2 victims. They were forced to take their shoes off and then shot, so there are now statues of shoes there by the river as a memorial. My next stop was the Hungarian Parliament building.
I am currently in a restaurant eating some traditional Gulyás. It’s fair to say that I prefer the Hungarian version of Gulyás to Czech Gulyás. Czech Gulyás is more like a thick stew and comes with heavy bread dumplings. Hungarian Gulyás is more like a soup and feels less heavy on the stomach. It was quite funny because the waiters’ eyes lit up with a combination of surprise and curiosity when I walked in. He asked where I was from and whether I was enjoying Budapest. It’s always funny to see the reactions of locals when visiting countries that are quite ethnically homogeneous. Anyway, now I’m going to head to my apartment and get some sleep because I want to go to Széchenyi Thermal Baths very in the morning tomorrow.
Day 2
I don’t want to leave Budapest tomorrow because it’s so amazing! 3 days is honestly not enough in this beautiful city. I like the food, I like the people, and I like the attractions. I woke up at 5 am today to visit Széchenyi Thermal Baths. This was the best time to go because it was full of locals and not crowded. The thermal pools were not that warm at this time but it was still a pleasant experience. This was my first time using the metro in Budapest and it wasn’t too difficult. I started to understand that most stations have a guard at the exit, who passengers show their tickets to before leaving the station. I just copied the locals and held up my ticket when passing them to leave the station.
So after my spa experience, I headed back to my apartment for breakfast and to charge my phone. Then I headed out to Fisherman’s Bastion. I met a nice local Hungarian who offered to take some nice pictures for me in this area. This was followed by a free history lesson about Hungary. So Hungary was occupied by Turkey for around 150 years…I had no idea! and then it was occupied by Russia after world war 2 for around 40-50 years. The last Russian soldiers left Hungary in the early 90’s. This conversation sparked my curiosity about history. So I went straight to the museum of terror which describes the Russian occupation of Hungary. Things like this always upset me because it’s just horrible reading about innocent people being tortured.
My day finished at Szimpla Kert which is a ruin bar. A ruin bar is an abandoned building from world war 2 which was converted into a bar. There are many of them in Budapest but this one is one of the popular ones. I was told that many of these ruin bars were the homes of Jewish people who were sent to concentration camps. Budapest really is such a fascinating city.
Day 3
I’m seeing a lot of bugs in Budapest because it’s very hot. They better not even dare think of biting me! I am currently sitting in an outdoor bar kind of place in the middle of a park. It’s been such a good trip and I genuinely don’t want to leave. There is an hour left before I have to collect my luggage. This is usually the worst part of a trip because you end up thinking about how much more fun you could have if you stayed longer.
The day began with me taking my luggage to the hostel. I am staying in Lavender Circus Apartments which also has a hostel. The problem is there is no reception desk at the apartments, so I had to return the key and store my luggage at the hostel (which is on the other side of town). After this, I went to Market Hall to buy some souvenirs and eat Lángos. It looks like a pizza but it’s not. I’m going to offend some Italians by saying that Lángos actually tastes better than pizza ( #sorry not sorry:) )
After escaping the crowds, I hopped on a cool yellow tram and then took a metro to Heroes’ Square. This is a very big square and different to most other ones in Europe. I’ll be honest and say that I was expecting something a bit more. But then I guess it’s unique, and I’m sure there is some significant history behind it which I don’t know about. It’s very empty and not surrounded by any shops or restaurants. After leaving the square I found this big park where there was a castle. I don’t think it was open to the public but there was enough to see from the outside anyway. This is where I now say goodbye, as it’s time to start heading to the airport.
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