This weekend I jet off to Budapest, Hungary for 4 days, and it was one of the best trips I've had all semester. Food was cheap and delicious, people were friendly and interesting, and the city was like no other place I've been. We started our trip off going to a food district where there were food trucks with Langos and chimney cakes. I enjoyed a Barak Obama sandwich from Bors, a sandwich shop opened by two Michelin star chefs (I would 12/10 recommend going here if you're in Budapest). After a couple of hours working on final projects and papers in Starbucks (because believe it or not we do go to school over here), we joined our hostel crew for a ruin pub crawl. Sadly I couldn't tell you the name of them because I just followed along, but we did end at one where there was a concert going on in a back room. I can pretty confidently say that'll be the only time I see a Hungarian rock band live. These ruin pubs were super interesting because they were old abandoned buildings that someone turned into bars. There was no renovations and most were half outside. They just strung some Christmas lights, placed space heaters, stocked up on booze and called it a bar.
Day 2 we did a free walking tour that took us to St. Stephens Basilica, the chain bridge, up castle hill, fisherman's bastion, rubbed some lucky horse balls on a statue, and Matthais church. The views from castle hill were spectacular and it was a great way to see both the Buda and Pest sides. After the walking tour we ventured via tram over to the Central Market. This beautiful building was filled with food and souvenirs. We filled up on Hungarian goulash and a cream cake dessert then headed back to our hostel because it was getting dark at this point. Tired from the day of walking we just hung out and met some people in the hostel. I think that was my favorite part of this trip was all the interesting people we met. There were several travelers from Australia, a girl who grew up in the circus, and an American who was working in Paris.
Day 3 we ventured over to the baths. Granted we never figure out to pronounce it, but it was called széchenyi bath. It was freezing cold out, but that didn't stop us from running outside from pool to pool. It was a very interesting set up, with 3 large baths outside and 15 smaller ones all different temperatures inside. It was the perfect way to relax after all the walking; nothing like soaking with hundreds of strangers in a bath. Next on our list was the Christmas markets. Everything was expensive, but still fun to see all the hand crafted goods and traditional Hungarian foods. We wanted to end the night by seeing the shoes on the Danube. This was a memorial in honor of those killed during WWII. It was very moving and cool to see Parliament and Matthais church lit up at night. Due to the freezing cold we didn't hang out long, but I'm glad we had the chance to see the river at night.
Day 4 we wandered around the city and enjoyed a relaxing morning before we had to head to the airport at 1. Overall this was a very educational, fun trip. I loved learning about this city and it's history, I loved all the food we ate, and I loved the people we met. I knew nothing about Budapest before this trip, and now I'd say it's one of the top 5 cities I've visited this semester. If you have the chance to venture to Hungary, I would 100% recommend. I'd also like to thank the Fritts family for their suggestions and recommendations. I can see why they enjoyed their time living there so much. Next stop Interlaken, Switerland
