Budaaa.

Getting off work on Friday, our train wasn’t scheduled to leave until around 8:00, so it allowed for us to shower, pack and eat some dinner before we had to be at our train station. It was SO much better having our train leave a little later than feeling rushed as we have the entire time we have been here.

Our train ride from Pressath to Munich went pretty quick and we arrived in Munich where we met with up with: Darcey, Brittany, Jessica, Tanisha and Missy- the girls from Vilseck. Sydney, Juliet and I had paid the extra Euros to have a sleeper train, while the rest of our group went to the back of the train to find their chairs. Although it does cost a little more, and I feel like I’m going to die in those claustrophobic little compartments, the sleepers are worth the money in that it means we don’t have to try and sleep sitting up.

Finding our sleeper, Juliet opened the door to find a man changing. After he embarrassingly told us to give him a moment, we were eventually given the signal that he was decent, and he was very welcoming when we returned. He introduced himself as Jarik, which apparently translates to George in English. I believe he was on a business trip, and had a full on mullet. Nice guy though.

Before long, the other two men who would be joining us in the sleeper arrived. They made it very clear, vocally, that they did not want to talk to any of us, and that they just wanted to go to sleep. So with that, we all finished getting ready for bed, and passed out.

At around 7.00 in the morning, the trainman came and woke us up, saying that he had breakfast ready for us- definitely not what we have been accustomed to. Quickly changing, and gathering our belongings, he returned with croissants, orange juice and coffee.

We arrived in Budapest a little after eight, and began our walk to our hostel. On the way, we found McDonalds and decided to head on in to find some breakfast. To our surprise, they actually served breakfast food, which is the first place that had a breakfast anything remotely similar to that of the U.S. I ordered two McMuffins and it has been the best thing I have purchased while being on this trip. They were delicious!

Finding our hostel, we weren’t able to actually go into our rooms yet since it was still early, so we dropped our stuff off in the luggage holding room. Quickly changing our clothes, the nine of us headed out to explore the city.

My initial reaction to Budapest was that it was really run down. The buildings hadn’t been maintained, whereas everywhere we have been have taken pride in maintaining their city. On top of that, it smelled like death and there was trash and construction everywhere. Not the greatest first impression.

We ended up coming across a Hop On Hop Off tour, so after talking to the guys, they were able to give us tickets at a discounted price. I think it helps when you’re traveling in a huge group of girls.

Due to the fact that it was about 10 degrees Celsius, the bus had put down the plastic on its windows. Although I was grateful because it kept the wind out, it did not allow for very good pictures to be taken, so that was kind of lame.  

The bus ended up taking us through Pest and then over to Buda. And until this trip, I thought it was just one city, but it turns out it is two. Buda is full of hills whereas Pest is completely flat, so their trick for deciphering where you’re at is by looking around.

To be completely honest, the tour itself was not the greatest. It didn’t make a lot of stops, so we only had a few seconds to really see something before we were driving past. We did end up getting off at the Citadel, which provided an awesome view of the cities from atop Gellert Hill. It was there that we were provided with a free lunch, and I am pleased to report that I tried some sort of Hungarian soup… and actually LIKED it! I was thankful too because it helped warm me up!

The next stop we were able to jump off at was at the Halaszbastya, or Fisherman’s Fortress. Although we didn’t have time to tour the inside because of a wedding taking place, we were able to walk around and see it in its enormity. It was beautiful! I’m still blown away by the elaborate architectural designs and intricate patterns that were showcased on the exterior. My pictures truly don’t do it justice. From one of the sides of the castle, we were able to see a perfect view of Orszaghaz, or Parliament! All I could think about was the movie “V for Vendetta.” It was awesome to see!  

At the completion of the tour, we decided to go check out one of the most famous bathhouses in Hungary. Now, Randy talks about going to spas and baths ALL the time, so Sydney and I were definitely anxious to see what was so great about them. Well, neither of us had packed our swimming suits for this trip, so we ended up having to RENT them from the bathhouse. I do not even want to begin talking about how disgusting the mere thought of it is, but we did it.

The bath was outside, and it was a HUGE natural warm spring. Thankfully, it didn’t smell of sulfur, but because the air outside was freezing, we decided to check out the baths that were inside another building to try and warm up. My favorite bath was 38 degrees Celcuis, but it did smell a bit like sulfur so we didn’t stay in it for too long. Going back outside, we hung out for a little while talking, until we got too cold and decided to leave.

Making our way back to our hostel, the rest of the girls decided to go back to McDonald’s for dinner, where I stayed back and enjoyed my always faithful PB&J. I have no recollection of falling asleep, other than waking up to find my glasses carving themselves into the sides of my nose. It was however, one of the best nights of sleep I have had since I have been here, so I am extremely thankful.

We woke up this morning and had a little breakfast at our hostel. Packing up our belongings, we made our way to the train station and began our long journey home. I’m currently sitting on the train driving somewhere in Austria on our way to Germany. Austria itself is quite beautiful; it is full of endless hills, the Swiss Alps, and countless lakes and rivers. We have about an hour left on this train before we arrive in Weiden, where we then transfer to another train to make it back to Pressath.

Our new roommate comes tonight, and despite all of us being extremely tired from all of our traveling, we’re excited to meet the new edition to our little Graf family. I’ll have to write again soon and let you know how everything goes with that!  

Overall, Budapest was not that impressive for me. I’m not sure if it would have been better had we been given more time to really explore and enjoy it, or maybe if we had traveled in a little smaller of a group, or maybe it was just the fact that it looked so rundown. Regardless, it ranks down with Salzburg on my list of trips. Oh well.

We have two weekends left on our Eurails, so we have been going back and forth deciding where we would like to go. We’ve thrown out the ideas of going to Berlin, Amsterdam or back to Prague. Although Berlin is in Germany, you cannot make it there with just a Bavarian pass, so it turns out to be pretty pricey. I’d love to go to Amsterdam, but it is crazy expensive! And Prague was just epic all around, so we’ll see what we actually end up doing.

I think I might try and take a quick nap, or maybe watch some Ghost Adventures episodes that I rented from the library.

I’ll write again soon!