Budapest, Budamess, or Budablessed...?

Some Polaroids while in Budapest

The Hungarian Forint

The excitement leading up to the Budapest trip was unreal. I've heard many good things about this place from previous students, so going into this weekend I had pretty high expectations. It was also interesting to see the different types of currencies in the different countries I’ve been to so far. In Prague and Olomouc, we use Koruna’s, Dresden was euros, and Budapest we used the Hungarian Forint. My, oh my, it sure does make things complicated when having three different currencies in your wallet and trying to keep track of the worth of each one. 

One good thing Budapest had (for us Americans) was that there was plenty of English speaking people there other than us. It made it somewhat easier to communicate, but somehow there was still a major culture shock during this trip. With 30 minutes left on the train before our arrival I was able to observe that there was a decent amount of trash along the train tracks, as well as on the streets and grass of neighborhoods. Subconsciously I was comparing this to Olomouc (it's a very clean city sorry, I love it), where there are garbage men walking about the city with a garbage vacuum sucker. Unfortunately, I quickly noticed that the way I imagined Budapest to look like was completely different than reality. 

The outside of Grandio Hostel-- pretty fancy

Once we got out of the train station we had about a 30-minute walk to our brothel... oh wait, I mean hostel. Now you're probably either really confused or really concerned, but no need to worry. The original hostel we booked was a very different/dirty/cheap/authentic (some may even consider unique?) and it was called Grandio Hostel, and let me tell you it was definitely an experience to walk into. Details are unnecessary because we only stayed there for the first two hours or so and then we got the heck out. Here is a picture of the outside, but trust me you do not want to see the inside. Also, please if my family is reading this, DO NOT WORRY it was not actually a brothel... I don't think. We ended up booking a room at a hotel (Special shout out to Brianna Melroy's and Sami Baumert's moms), THANK YOU.

Once we arrived to our very welcoming hotel we were able to relax and restore our energy for the upcoming day. The next morning, we woke up and set out for whatever adventure the day was going to bring us. Little did we know that the first adventure consisted of:

1. A breakfast croissant at a cafe

2. Sami getting robbed by a homeless guy at the cafe

3. Sami fighting back with the homeless guy

4. the homeless guy getting away

5. another man chasing down the homeless guy and bringing him to back to return Sami's money and apologize (Yay)

BudaBlessed

After that fiasco, we made our way to the city center to begin our free walking tour. We then walked around the city and learned about the history. The city is split into two halves by the Danube River, one side is the Buda side AKA the beautiful and calm side. Then on the other side of the river is called the Pest side, which is considered the "wild" side (and boy is that true). In the end it was very obvious which side was which. Although the two sides are opposite, Budapest would not be the same without the combination.

The dinner cruise view

That evening we booked tickets for a dinner cruise down the river which was absolutely stunning. It was fun to dress fancy and watch the sun go down while experiencing the beauty of the Budapest lights at night. The following day was our last full day in this city, and we were able to have a nice day in the sun at Széchenyi Thermal Baths. This day and going to those baths were the most enjoyable moments of this trip, we were able to try 18 different pools with different temperatures. I'm not sure what was more enjoyable, being able to sunbathe or "people watch" because that place was packed! There is one thing that I'll remember from the thermal baths, and that is SO MANY SPEEDOS. It must be a European thing because almost every male had either a speedo on or really short swimming trunks. Although that was our last full day in Budapest, sadly I was ready to go back to Olomouc. Why sadly? Well I can explain, my heart loves to travel so when I am able to go to a new country I want to be able to appreciate the new culture instead of missing my temporary home, Olomouc. Even though I was ready to be home, I did have the five-hour train ride to look forward to.

For me, there is something very wholesome about train rides. Especially after a long trip it is nice to be able to have "me time" just to reminisce on the adventures I just experienced and the life I'm living. Sitting there with the sun shining through the window, watching the world speed past you is very satisfying. After about only four hours of sleep and an early train, most people take this time to get some sleep but fortunately this is the prime time to have some alone time. Throwing in some headphones and taking in absolutely everything that I can. Can I give you one piece of advice? Always take the window seat.

A view from a train ride

So to sum things up, here's just a little gist of what Budapest, Hungary was like for me:

-definite party city

-dirty

-dirty

-dirty

...and more dirty

...with a cool adult Harmon Park Pool (Széchenyi Thermal Baths)

-Things I've learned from this weekend

1. Sometimes cheaper is not always better

2. Don't trust a homeless man

3. Speedos must be the thing for fellas here

4. Budapest is not entirely the BudaBest, but I am still BudaBlessed to have the opportunity to travel there.

5. Olomouc is becoming more and more of a real home to me

 Cau for now!