Budapest is Budaful!

I arrived in Budapest around 11 pm, which was not a great idea. Everything seemed a bit scarier that far east. I couldn’t find an ATM in the bus station and some annoyed ticket lady would only tell me that there was one “upstairs.” Eventually, I went outside and found one but she just told me to ride the metro without a ticket because she didn’t want to break my big bills. I got out of the metro near my hostel but the directions said to go “left.” Of course I had no idea which way that meant so I crossed some big streets with lots of homeless people only to find out that I had gone in the wrong direction. After a big adrenaline rush, I made it to my hostel just fine and carried my luggage up the 100 stairs. The hostel was very cool. It is called “Carpe Noctem” and was basically like living in someone’s home. It only had about 20 beds so you met nearly everyone there. The staff live there too and were all at one point guests there who couldn’t bring themselves to leave. They rarely get dressed – just to take people out on the town every night. Pretty much everyone was out, so they checked me in and I went to bed.

The next morning, one of the staff members sat me down with a map and gave me a full rundown of the city. It was the most personalized introduction to a place that I’ve ever had and they do it for every guest. I went out to breakfast at a typical Hungarian place, but their breakfast menu wasn’t very Hungarian so I had French toast. I was staying on the Pest side so I walked over to Buda across a beautiful bridge. I wasn’t exactly sure where I was going but I hiked up a big hill to this massive palace on top. It was absolutely gorgeous and had amazing views of Pest. There was a market on top that led to a castle and church down the road. They were also stunning. I spent a while wandering around there before crossing back over to Pest and heading towards the Parliament building. I had a little rest outside of there and then went to see the huge synagogue. It was closed but very impressive from the outside, like most buildings in Budapest. Unfortunately, there was going to be a public holiday on Monday so the whole city seemed like a ghost town for the weekend. I would love to go back where there is more bustle. I headed back to the hostel for a family style Mexican dinner. It was a good way to meet people, but it was mostly just the staff and semi-permanent guests joking around. That night, we went on a big pub crawl to five bars. They were some of the coolest bars I have ever seen. They were all decorated by someone who was clearly on drugs. I had a good time chatting with the other people and went back around 3 am.

On Sunday, my last day in Europe, I went with some English girls to the Turkish baths. They were so beautiful and relaxing. It was a perfect way to end two weeks of intense walking. The best part was a whirlpool where I literally got thrown around and around. We stayed there for a few hours, but later learned that we had missed a whole indoor section. I was very upset to hear this, but I had a lot more to do that day anyway so it’s okay. I wandered around the park where the baths are and saw a fake castle and Heroes’ Square, a plaza with big statues. I finally tried goulash soup for lunch, which was yummy but way too hot for the weather. I packed up my stuff for a bit at the hostel before heading out again to see the Basilica. It was really pretty both inside and out. I went to the top for the panorama view of the city but it was not the most impressive city from above. I had gotten $5 tickets to see a ballet that night at the opera house, so I ran back to the hostel for a shower before that. I went there with the English girls too, and when we arrived, they said we needed to exchange our tickets. They tried to put me in the front row, but I asked to sit with the girls so we ended up in the 5^th row of an absolutely stunning opera house. Allegedly, the architect of the Vienna opera house killed himself because the Kaiser of Vienna said he liked the Budapest one better. We could not believe our luck. We weren’t sure what to expect of the show but it turned out to be amazing. It was a collection of short ballets, all of which were very good, but the last one was particularly moving. They made it rain on stage and the dancing and choreography was unbelievable. It may have been the best $5 I’ve ever spent and was an amazing way to end my time in Europe. We went back to the hostel, hung out there for a while, and I eventually went to bed in the hopes of getting a few hours of sleep.

This morning, I woke up at 4:30 am to get my cab to the airport. I flew to Rome, had a two hour layover, and am now on my 9 hour flight to Boston! I’m extremely excited to get back to America and see everyone, but I’m also incredibly sad to be leaving Europe and the greatest adventure of my life. These last two weeks were wonderful and full of incredible experiences in fantastic cities. I am already ready to plan my next trip! Who’s coming with?!