HUNGARY: BUDAPEST

Hello Budapest! Originally, Budapest was not on the top of my list of places to visit, but the closer I got to going, the more excited I got. Like I said in an earlier blog post, Katie and Sarah Jane came to Budapest a day earlier than me. So, I flew by myself, and once I landed, I took an Uber to my hostel.

I immediately unpacked and walked the 4 minutes to Sarah Jane and Katie's Airbnb. We had cheesy pasta and garlic bread for dinner, which Sarah Jane cooked.

We ended the night by watching one of my favorite movies, A Star is Born, on their TV. After that, I walked back to the hostel and went to bed. I stayed at the Wombat, which is the same hostel company I stayed at in Munich! I really enjoyed this hostel; it was safe and had great amenities!

The next morning, I woke up and got ready to walk over to the Airbnb for breakfast. During the process of getting ready, I somehow dropped my phone in the toilet. Not a great start to the day. But don't worry; it works just fine. Katie was the chef for breakfast, and she made bacon, toast, and scrambled eggs.

Katie's cousin used to live in Budapest, so she gave us a ton of recommendations for things to see. One of which was the Gellert Thermal Baths. So after breakfast, we took a tram over there. I read online that you only needed to swipe your credit card to get onto the tram. But the tram we got on didn't have that, so we were a bit confused but overall forgot about it.

Before going inside the thermal baths, I had issues with my phone and couldn't download the app to retrieve our tickets. It turns out, my data ran out, and I had to walk to a Starbucks to recharge my data and download my tickets. But finally, we had a win for the day! The thermal baths were so nice!

We got there around 11:00 a.m. when it wasn't super busy, and we snagged three chairs in the perfect spot. There was a swimming pool and a thermal bath outside, with saunas, steam rooms, pools, and more thermal baths inside. We spent the majority of the day outside since our seats were so good. Katie and I enjoyed our books, and going in and out of the baths was very refreshing. 

As we were heading back from the thermal baths, we thought it was best to save time and take the tram again. Once again, there was no spot to tap your card. We were about 2 stops away from where we were supposed to get off when a worker started walking through the tram, asking for tickets. We were trapped. Long story short, we got pulled aside and had to run to an ATM to pay the fine. Thankfully, the worker was very nice and told us the right way to get tickets. It was definitely not our smartest moment, but no trip is ever perfect, and at least we got to laugh about it.

I went back to the hostel to relax a bit and change. Katie, Sarah Jane, and I met back up to try a kürtőskalác, or chimney cake. I got mine the classic way, with cinnamon and sugar. It was basically a donut spiraled on top of itself, but it was still delicious. 

To end the night, we decided to go out and explore the bars in Budapest. Budapest is known to have "ruin bars," which are bars in abandoned buildings. We started the night at a well-known bar, Szimpla Kert.

We had an absolute blast! We got a couple ciders and found a table to play cards. Sarah Jane had a sharpie in her purse, and we left our mark at the bar! 

The bar was huge and separated by different rooms. One room had live music. When we first walked in, there was a beatboxing competition. I never thought I would have seen that in my life, but I did. Right after that, a band came out to play songs that were completely improvised. I'd never seen anything like it! You could not even tell that they were making the songs up as they went! Our last stop of the night was a karaoke bar before we went to bed.

The next morning started out the same; I went to the Airbnb for breakfast. Sarah Jane wasn't feeling well, so Katie and I started the morning off with just the two of us. We had a packed day ahead of us since we spent most of our previous day at the thermal baths. The first place on the itinerary was the Hungarian Parliament Building. Along the way, we passed St. Stephen's Basilica. 

It's decided; I have a new favorite building in Europe. This Parliament building was huge and very intricate. Since it was just Katie and me for most of the day, we took many 0.5 photos.

The Parliament building is along the river, so Katie and I walked along it as we listened to Rick Steve's audio tour. Here's what I learned:

• The city is split on either side of the river: Buda and Pest.
• The Pest side is a more urban-oriented town center, while the Buda side is more reserved.
• Rick Steve's compares Budapest to Paris and Vienna: Paris for being more spread out and monumental, and Vienna because a lot of buildings in Budapest were built during the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy modeled on Vienna.
• It is the second most illuminated city at night, the first being Paris.

Once the walking tour ended, we were right by the Shoes of the Danube. It is a memorial in memory of the Budapest Jews. It depicts their shoes being left behind on the bank when they fell into the river after being shot during World War II.

After starting our morning on the "Pest" side, we headed over to the "Buda" side by crossing the Chain Bridge.

The next stop on the itinerary was to see Buda Castle.

The "Buda" side is more hilly, which made for great lookout points! 

We must've picked the right time to go to the Buda Castle because, next door, a changing of guards ceremony was taking place. 

Nearby were Mathias Church and Fisherman's Bastion, and we met up with Sarah Jane.

Mathias Church was very pretty and reminds me of the church that I saw in Vienna, St. Stephen's Cathedral.

We crossed the street and got tickets to walk around Fisherman's Bastion. 

It has another panoramic view of Budapest with fairytale-like towers. To me, it looked like the castle from The Little Mermaid.

Due to our mishap the day before, we spent most, if not all, of our day walking. So we took a bit of a hike to our next destination, For Sale Pub. This was another neat spot where you could leave your mark in Budapest. After you order your food, you can ask for paper to write a note to leave on the walls. Our only issue is that we didn't realize how expensive the restaurant was. To try and save money, Katie and I split a meal.

Of course, I had to represent Wisconsin but Sarah Jane and Katie left some for SLU too. 

Our last stop was to see the Great Market Hall. While I was there, I was able to snag my pin and postcard! I'm starting to run out of space on my backpack!

The last big thing we did in Budapest was go on a boat cruise with unlimited prosecco, and when I say unlimited prosecco, I MEAN unlimited prosecco.

The first half of the cruise started out great! We got to cruise past landmarks we saw earlier in the day: the Parliament building, the Chain Bridge, and the Liberty Bridge.

The second half of the cruise consisted of consuming copious amounts of prosecco. It's safe to say we REALLY got our money's worth. At one point, I became besties with strangers from Ireland who were hyping me up and took my picture on the way back to the dock. I don't know their names, but they were sweethearts.

We ubered back to the Airbnb to prep for our last night out in Budapest, but we had a quick change of plans. Sarah Jane wasn't feeling well, so Katie and I took on the town. But first, we needed to get some food into our stomachs. Good thing there was a pizza shop right next to my hostel!

Apparently, we also got another chimney cake. This time, it was cinnamon with whipped cream in the middle. I'm not sure where we were going with it, but I ended up completely faceplanting on the ground with it. I have bruises to prove it.

I guess I needed to take a photo of the remains of the whipped cream on the ground.

One of the big things I wanted to see before leaving Budapest was the Parliament building at night because it's lit up. Katie and I took the safe option and ubered there. Wow, it was beautiful. 

Shocker, we had to take another 0.5 picture.

Somehow, we made it back safe and sound. Sarah Jane, Katie, and I are splitting up for a few days. They are going to Prague while I'm visiting my friend Caitlin in Sweden! Don't worry, I'll be there with them for a day when I go to Copenhagen.

My suitcase is slowly starting to break. Please pray it can last one more week!

I had the morning to myself before flying out to Sweden, so I got some much-needed sleep before packing up my things and taking on the town one last time.

I went to a cute restaurant called Blueberry and got, no surprise, an eggs benedict. Europe has changed me. I used to be a sweet breakfast person, but I've become a savory breakfast lover.

Nearby the restaurant was Elizabeth Square, so I headed over there after. There was a ferris wheel that Katie and Sarah Jane went up, but they said it wasn't worth it, so I passed on it. I sat on a bench for a while and listened to a very specific playlist for a very specific concert that I'm attending very soon. It's been in my WILDEST DREAMS to go to this concert because I know her music ALL TOO WELL. Any guesses on who I'm seeing? You'll have to read the next blog post to find out!

Best Part of the Trip: I cannot pick a favorite part! I really loved walking around the city on our second day, being at the thermal baths on our first day, and the prosecco tour. I think it's safe to say that Katie, Sarah Jane, and I were laughing nonstop on this trip.

Worst Part of the Trip: Our hefty fine from the tram.

Overall Thoughts: I think I found one of my new favorite European cities! Everyone was so nice, even the guy who gave us our tickets! I felt like Budapest was very similar to Vienna. This trip had its moments, but it didn't dampen my time there. I kept saying, "I really love Budapest" as I was walking around the city, and I really do love it! I would go back in a heartbeat!