Day 1: Budapest, Hungary 7/11/2011
Owen and I landed at 10:30 AM local time (about 4:30 AM EST) at the Budapest airport. I struggled to gather my thoughts and recover from the overnight, 8-hour flight I just endured. As clarity returned to me, I was overwhelmed with an unfamiliar feeling while exiting the plane. I noticed that the majority of people leaving the plane were not American, but rather citizens of Hungary returning home. The sound of Hungarian filled the air and I realized, for the first time since being in Fiji, that I was the foreigner. It’s strange how context can so quickly change a person’s perspective.
After the initial shock and excitement of arriving in a new country waned, reality began to set in. Owen and I soon realized that we had no idea how to get to our hostel. In fact, we weren’t even sure what the hostel was called. It was a minor oversight on our part. Once we got through customs and picked up our bags, we went to the tourist information booth. They gave us a map that proved to be decidedly unhelpful. After a few minutes of struggling to decide what to do, Owen pulled out his Ipad ready to pay some ridiculous amount of money for 5 minutes of internet use. As luck would have it, there was free (and extremely fast) wifi in the airport! I guess we forgot we were in a first world country for a bit. We exchanged some American currency for Hungarian Forint at $1 to 160 ft (which we soon found out was a very poor rate, but we had only exchanged enough to get us to our hostel so not much money was lost) and we were on our way.
The cheapest route (and slowest), according to our research was to take the 200E bus to the end of the line and connect to the M3 metro line to downtown. We followed the instructions and ran into very few snags on the way. While buying the Metro tickets I had my first embarrassing “I’m an American tourist” moment, but ultimately I communicated effectively enough and purchased the right tickets. Soon enough, we found ourselves in downtown Budapest only a couple blocks away from our hostel. However, finding the hostel was much more difficult than anticipated.
We arrived at the address only to find a couple of restaurants and shops. After looking around for a while and asking the owners of the adjacent stores if they knew where the hostel was, we were still lost. Finally, we found a doorbell with numerous names on it. At the bottom of the directory, we found it. A hardly legible, faded sticker that read “AGE Budapest Youth Centre – 91”. I hesitantly dialed 91 and waited. No answer. Just as we were about to give up, a woman came up to the door and asked if we needed in. We said yes, and she obliged. She opened up the door to a peaceful residential courtyard that was nothing like the bustling street just 10 yards away. She told us that the hostel was on the 4th floor, but was unsure if anyone was around. We hauled our luggage up what seemed like 10,000 stairs only to be greeted by a sign telling us to call a phone number for assistance. At this point we seemed shit out of luck. We only had our US phones, which would charge us silly amounts of money for one phone call. On top of everything, the afternoon heat and humidity was starting to get to us. Our situation seemed bleak.
Just as Owen was about to bite the bullet and dial from his phone, a man emerged from a couple doors down. He was a British fellow with a fairly noticeable accent accompanied by an older couple, probably his parents. He asked us if we needed help and we informed him of our situation. He happily offered the use of his phone, which we promptly accepted, and dialed the number that was left on the door. Owen spoke to the proprietor of the hostel who said he would be returning around 2:30PM. It was only 1PM, so we had some time to kill. Neither of us had eaten anything since the in-flight meal, so we decided to eat lunch and have a few beers. We lugged our bags back down the stairs and found a pub nearby that had very reasonable prices. A .3 L beer on tap (comparable to a standard 12 OZ beer in America) was 270 ft, or about $1.50. Owen ordered the veal stew and we each had a couple beers for a total of 3640 ft (including tip). Not bad at all. We hung out in the pub for a while to avoid the sun, but once 2:30 rolled around we went back to the hostel to meet up with the owner. He kept us hanging for about 20 minutes, but finally showed up eager to help us. His name was Peter and he was extremely helpful. He got us situated with a city map, linens for our beds, and suggestions for places to go. We even got bumped up to a private double room, even though we originally booked a four-person dorm, for no additional charge. The entire stay cost us 30,000 ft for 5 nights, which comes out to about $15/night/bed. The hostel is nothing too special, but is safe and has everything we need.
After getting settled into our room, we decided to take a little breather and plan out the rest of our night. Napping seemed out of the question because we wanted to kick the jetlag as soon as possible by staying up and sleeping at an appropriate hour that night. This was an arduous task and we ended up napping for about 4.5 hours. Oops. However, all was not lost. There was still plenty of sunlight and the nightlife in Budapest, we had heard, was abundant. We left the hostel around 7:45 to explore the area a bit. We are located on the Pest side of Budapest, which is east of the Danube River. It is more populated and urban than the Buda side and has a lot to offer at all hours. We went to the river and walked around for a bit before deciding to find food. After a half hour of indecision about which of the thousands of restaurants to go to, we finally decided to just enter Bor la Bor. The prices were fair and we certainly got our money’s worth with the portions. Owen ordered a Chicken Gnocchi dish with a paprika sauce (which is extremely popular in Hungary) and I ordered the Venison Stew with Potato dumplings and a red wine sauce. To accompany dinner, we got a half-liter of the house Rosé, which proved to be a great choice. Diner totaled around 7300 ft (tip included) and we were thoroughly satisfied. To top it all off, we shared a Gelato on our way back to the hostel.
Just before retiring for the night, we stopped at a small grocery store to pick up a few food items and miscellaneous items we had forgotten to bring. We figured the less money we could spend on food, the better, and this is certainly the cheapest way to eat. After the grocery store, we went back to the hostel and washed up for bed. What a great way to start what is sure to be an unforgettable trip.
Day 2: 7/12/2011
Today was our first full day in Budapest, and we planned to take full advantage. We set the alarm for 8AM to get an early start (though I woke up at 4:30 due to jet lag). After a breakfast of cheerios and apple juice, we set out to first find a bank to exchange currency and then to the Hungarian National Museum just a few blocks away from our hostel. After exchanging a few hundred dollars for forint at a local bank, we headed to the museum, only to find it closed until 10AM. Since it was only 9:15, we decided to head to a nearby Internet café to check our email and facebook until the museum opened. At 10 sharp, we returned to the museum ready to learn about Hungarian History. As we came to find, Hungary has very little independent history. It seemed as though they were always under the rule of someone else, whether it be the Ottoman Empire, the Turks, or the Soviet Union. We spent a little over 2 hours perusing all exhibits in the museum before we grew hungry and decided to get some lunch. We walked a few blocks until we came upon a little Italian restaurant with moderate prices. Owen ordered a creamy bowtie pasta with mushrooms and chicken, while I ordered the meat stuffed tortellini with marinara. After an extensive wait for the check (we have noticed that waiters tend to take a very long time before giving us the checks) we were on our way to the next destination: the old Jewish Corner only a couple blocks away (after a short and expensive coffee stop at “coffee heaven”).
We approached the main synagogue and noticed that payment was necessary to simply enter. While we were tempted, we decided to explore the surroundings before committing the 3200 ft for the synagogue. We wandered around back where we had read in the guidebook was the holocaust memorial in the shape of a weeping willow. As we approached the gate to the memorial, and older man wearing a straw hat and sunglasses approached us. He began talking about the Hungarian Jewish history in a very strong Hungarian accent, smelling unmistakable like cigarettes. He introduced himself as Peter and asked us follow him down a few side streets to see more of the Jewish Quarter. We were hesitant at first: was he going to rob us? Solicit us for money? We were a little skeptical, but followed him, as we saw no real signs of ill intentions and the information he was giving was actually very interesting. From the very beginning of the conversation, he made it abundantly clear that he was a brand new grandfather. “This feeling of being a grandfather…” he would say, “If you are ever lucky enough the be grandfather, remember Peter.” As he lead us through back alleys and rundown streets, each place he took us was as interesting as the last. We saw memorials and plaques strewn about seeming random places in the city; places we certainly would not have seen had it not been for Peter. “These places, you will not see in a guide book,” he says “this is my Budapest. If you return with mama and papa, you show them this and tell them your guide was Peter.” He kept apologizing for his broken English, but it was much better than he gave himself credit for. He claimed to have never taken and English class in school and, if true, his English was actually very impressive. One example of his superior English was when he was talking about nice cars. “Once I got to see a Porsche factory. It was like orgasm. You know orgasm?” The man certainly had a way with words.
After seeing some important parts of the Jewish quarter, he took us to a few other hidden gems in the city, including a random candy shop with an incredible bathroom, a somewhat hidden, but beautiful little coffee shop, and even the city opera house. After a solid 2 hours, the moment we were anticipating came. He asked for money for his grandson. He claimed he was starting a piggybank, but in all likelihood his grandson didn’t exist. Regardless, the personal tour he had just taken us on warranted payment. We gave him 2000 ft each and were on our way. His parting words were suggesting a café very close to City Park, our next destination. “Go in and look, no eating! Too expensive. Just look. They are nice people. They let you take picture [onomatopoetic picture noise], but no eating!” All in all, it was a great afternoon, with an unexpected friend.
We then walked the 2 Km down to City Park to enjoy the late afternoon. We entered the park at Hero’s Square, a memorial to important Hungarian leaders and warriors. After taking some necessary tourist photos, we proceeded into the park to find more than we expected. There was a seemingly random castle, a large cluster of Ping-Pong tables for public use, and a beautiful (but very dirty) lake. After wandering the park for a while, we found a place to take a boat out on the lake to observe the “Art on the Lake,” an exhibit of the city modern art museum. We paddled out for a half hour to give our legs a little rest and take some obligatory pictures of some very interesting art. By the time our boat ride expired, it was nearly dinnertime. We decided to retire back to our hostel and find a restaurant on the way back.
We had already spent a good amount of money during the day, so we were looking to save some money on dinner. After about a half hour of walking, we settled on this small sandwich and pizza shop where we ate an entire dinner for 1445 ft (for both of us). The pizza was nothing special, but it was filling and it hit the spot. We then returned the hostel for a bit to decompress and do some laundry before we ventured out to find some free Internet. Periodically, “free wifi” signs could be seen throughout the city, but we hadn’t found anything near our hostel just yet. We searched around until the sun set. Just as we were about to give up, we decided to try our luck at this random park right on the Danube River. As luck would have it, there was a free (and functional) signal! However, it was coming from a nearby Burger King. Free wifi at a random Burger King in Budapest? Who knew? So we settled in to the Burger King for about an hour to get our Internet fix. We purchased sodas so it didn’t appear as though we were stealing their Internet, but I have a feeling that the employees didn’t care much. After sending some emails and browsing Reddit for a bit, we went back to the hostel for some much anticipated sleep. The first full day in Budapest was a resounding success.
Day 3: 7/13/2011
Up bright an early again today, the plan was to hit Castle Hill, on the west (Buda) side of the Danube River. After another simple breakfast of Cheerios and milk, we walked to a nearby metro station, where we finally gave in and each purchased a Budapest Card—a 48-hour, free public transportation card that also gives discounts at many different museums, restaurants, and attractions across the city. At 6900 Ft, the price was pretty steep, but we vowed to make it worth the money.
We took the M2 metro line all the way to its terminus across the river. From there we walked across a park and up a million stairs—literally a million, we counted—to the top of Castle Hill. After a few minutes much needed rest, we set off to explore the charming little town inside the walls of what used to be the imperial seat of Hungarian kings.
Foremost among the attractions were the tall and crumbling Mary Magdalene Tower, the castle-like Hungarian National Archives, and the Fisherman’s Bastion, a white wall of interlocking walls and turrets that guarded a beautiful vista of the Danube River far below. Our favorite part was the Mátyas (Matthias) Church, a partially restored 13th century Gothic church built in honor of the famous King Matthias. Its intricate spires and beautiful interior stained-glass windows were awe-inspiring.
Outside the church was a man dressed in medieval garb and holding a huge golden eagle. Not wishing to pay, cheapskates as we are, Owen just snapped a few incognito pics and we left before he could complain (or set his eagle on us). We tromped down to the other side of Castle Hill and were blown away by the majesty of Buda Palace, vaguely reminiscent of Versailles and the other great palaces of Europe. It had beautiful grounds, which we walked around, people –watching and looking for lunch.
Finding nothing that fit our budget, we descended down the hill on foot, a long, winding cobblestone path that left us wondering how armies of old could possibly hope to sack the citadel on Castle Hill. Of course, when we reached the bottom, we realized that there was a tram/lift that brings people directly up and down the hill. Oh well, the walk was nice…
…and we continued to walk, naively thinking that it wouldn’t be very far to find a lunch place. Apparently people on the Buda side of the river don’t eat. We walked 3 or 4 kilometers down one side of the river, across a bridge, and almost all the way home before finding a sandwich joint to appease our growling stomachs.
At lunch, looking at our Budapest Card info packet, we decided that we really wanted to see the Tropicarium, the “largest aquarium-terrarium in Central Europe.” Getting there required an adventurous trolley-and-bus trip about 25 minutes into suburban Hungary. We almost missed the stop, because it was right in the middle of a shopping mall… which ended up being clutch because we FINALLY found a place to buy the towels which were sorely needed. We bought them, along with a bottle of water and a couple of cheesy snacks, at Tesco, Costco-like superstore which we immediately fell in love with. It was exactly like Costco, except cheaper and everything was in Hungarian.
The Tropicarium was incredible, highlighted by a long shark tunnel, a touch tank, and a rainforest section that ACTUALLY RAINED every 15 minutes. We were little excited children, marveling at the weird fish, swooning at the cute marmosets and guinea pigs, and balking at the repugnant Giant Cockroaches. Max’s favorite was the pygmy marmosets, the “smallest real monkey in the world,” no bigger than an adorable handful of fur. Owen’s favorite was the most gigantic green moray eel that he’d ever seen, at least ten feet of sinewy green meanness. There were two of them, which we dubbed Flotsam and Jetsam.
Feeling drained after the day’s events and travels, we indulged thereafter in a movie at the theater in the mall. We first attempted to see Kung Fu Panda 2, but when we realized that the ENTIRE MOVIE WAS DUBBED IN HUNGARIAN, we snuck out and went to see Larry Crowne with Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, which we both thoroughly enjoyed.
After the movie, it was time for the ride back home on bus and trolley, followed by a dinner at a hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant, again trying to save money after the Tropicarium and movie. Once again completely exhausted by our day, we strolled back to the hotel and nursed a Hungarian bottle of wine as we drifted off to well-deserved sleep.
Day 4: July 14
On our second-to-last full day in Budapest and our second day on our Budapest Card, we decided to trek a little farther. After breakfast, we hopped a tram and a metro to a suburban railway. The railway, after about 45 minutes, dropped us at Szentendre, a small artist’s town on a bend in the Danube about 17km north of the city.
In Szentendre, we walked around for a couple of hours, enjoying the scenery and the ambiance. It is a beautiful little town, a true old European classic, with winding cobblestone streets, multicolored houses, and a wide riverside boardwalk. We browsed shops, sat by the river, and marveled at the two spire-topped Orthodox churches in town. Lunch was gyros (600 Ft apiece!) and then it was back on the train. On the way back we were hassled by a conductor who said that our Budapest Cards were only valid within the city limits.
Consequently, another 610 Ft. later, we had taken the rail back to the metro, which we took two stops, switched lines—we’re pretty seasoned public transportation users at this point—and headed back to City Park, where we’d spent some time a couple of days before but hadn’t seen all the sights.
We had planned to see the Fine Arts Museum and the zoo, both of which were free or discounted with our Budapest Cards. However, we ended up at the zoo first, and it was INCREDIBLY ENORMOUS, so much so that we spent the entirety of the afternoon there. Highlights from the zoo included:
· Max petting a sloth that was curiously unconcerned with its location outside of its exhibit…
· A baby tiger that came right up to the glass to check us out
· Owen breaking his camera (there was a lot of glass, but it seems to have been only the UV filter on his telephoto lens that broke)
· Gorillas, including a newborn, that were all intensely curious and hung out with us by one of their windows
· Petting the Bactrian (two-humped) camels
Definitely worth the four and a half hours it took to walk through.
Tired, we made our way back to town and ate at a Hungarian restaurant. We got a good deal on a “Hungarian taster meal for two”-type deal, dessert included. We took our time at dinner, had a couple of beers, and thoroughly enjoyed our paprika chicken and cheesecake. After dinner, we walked back to our home street, Raday utca, and had another beer at Sir William’s Pub before grabbing our computers, trekking to Burger King for some internet/email time, and then headed to bed. Tired from the week, we decided not to set an alarm for tomorrow…
Day 5: 7/15/2011
Today was our last day in Budapest. We felt that we had seen most of the city, so decided to give ourselves a little break and not set an alarm. Eleven O’clock rolled around and we finally found the energy to crawl out of bed to start the day. After showering and eating our usual breakfast (more like lunch at 11:30) of cereal and juice, we headed out to explore the last attractions Budapest had to offer.
Our first stop was St Stephens Basilica, a magnificent church that was built in 1905 (but started construction in the 1850s). The beauty of the architecture found throughout this building is difficult to describe in words. The intricacy and attention to detail in every corner of the church was unbelievable. No wonder it took over 50 years to construct! One of the big draws to the basilica is Hungary’s most sacred relic – St. Stephen’s right hand. That’s right; the mummified hand of the first king of Hungary who died in the 11th century was right there in the church. We obviously had to take a look for ourselves. The hand was stored in a dark display that was difficult to see into. Since flash photography was prohibited, the only way to get a better look was to pay 200 ft for a 2-minute period of illumination. So Owen and I did what any respectable student travelers would do – wait until someone was dumb enough to fork up the 200 ft and then mooch off of him or her. It seemed as though a few onlookers took the same attitude as us, so we didn’t feel as bad. Sure enough, after a few minutes a man traveling with his family was intrigued enough to pay the fee. A crowd of people gathered around the display to get a better look at the hand. All in all, the illumination didn’t really give us a better look. Regardless, Owen snapped a few quick pictures and we left the display satisfied.
After seeing the hand and perusing the church for a while, we decided to go up to the top of the basilica for a panoramic view of Budapest. We elected to take the stairs instead of the elevator, which may have been a poor choice. We climbed over 300 stairs (the actual number is disputed. Owen counted 305, while I only counted 304, but we could agree that it was over 300) to an amazing 360 degree view of Budapest and beyond. Definitely worth the 400 ft we each paid for admittance. We left the church very pleased with our decision to visit.
Next, we hopped the metro over to City Park, which apparently is our favorite place to hang out in Budapest. Although we spent many hours there in previous days, the park is enormous and still had more to offer. The Budapest cards we purchased gave us free entry to the Fine Arts Museum (it was technically expired, but we doctored it a bit to give ourselves a small extension…), so we decided to look around there for a bit. We explored the exhibits until neither of us could look at another piece of art and decided to get a mid-afternoon snack. There was a small food stand right outside of the museum where we purchased some delicious, but overpriced, sandwiches.
After inhaling the sandwiches, we decided to go to one of the baths that Budapest is famous for. Neither of us had any desire to actually go in (they are apparently very high in temperature, making it unappealing on a day in the mid 90s), but we figured we should go and see what it was all about. We entered the palace-like building to find swarms of people in their bathing suits, sunbathing or taking a quick dip in the pool. We looked around for a bit, noticed that price of admittance was a ridiculous 3200 ft, and left after being hassled for money by a homeless man. For all of the hype these spas get, we didn’t enjoy our brief visit very much.
Running out of ideas, we went back to our hostel to hang out until going out for the evening to find dinner. At eight, we ventured to the streets to find a nicer dinner for our last night in Budapest. We stopped at a trendy-looking café called iF. I ordered the duck breast with plum sauce and mashed potatoes, while Owen had a penne dish with pieces of duck breast in a white sauce. The meal was thoroughly enjoyable for both of us and we topped it all off with a couple scoops of gelato. We then retired to our hostel for the night to get a good night’s rest for our early trip to Vienna the next morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment