Sometimes, you just know a trip is going to go perfectly. You wake up bright and early, roll out of bed, step out into the living room, and smell something burning. That's how I like to start my vacations, at least. In the living room, standing next to to a smoking microwave, was none other than Kelli. She pulled the charred remains of something from the microwave and threw it in the sink. I was in a fog from sleep (and I guess from the smoke, too) and could only come up with one word: “What?”
“Oh,” she said. “My shirt wasn't dry, so I threw it in there for a few seconds- could you open the window?” She spoke casually, like baking t-shirts was the most natural thing in the world to do. I mean, really, if you haven't almost burnt down an apartment making crispy, blackened tanktop, you haven't lived! I still couldn't think straight, so I just went over to the window and opened it. At this point, I've learned to stop asking questions.
After airing out the house, we took the long bus ride to Budapest. When we arrived, the first thing we did was set out to find our hostel. On the website, it looked picturesque and romantic. In reality...not so much. It took us a while to find it, because it was hidden behind a two foot wide iron gate- the kind of gate that leads into a back alley where trash is collected. We opened the gate and walked in, and well, I wouldn't have been surprised to see a garbageman or two hanging out there. It was a little more open, but empty and dark and not very inviting. We looked at each other, as if to say, “What did we get ourselves into this time?” and then we began climbing the stairs.
Once we made it to the top of the staircase, we were greeted by our hosts. They took us inside the hostel, which was very cozy- probably only twenty people could stay at once. Well, it was cozy in size, but not exactly in temperature. We opened the door to our room and were hit with a blast of 55* air. Honestly, I think they had to have been air conditioning the place to keep it that cool.
Somehow, it was kind of charming, though, and the people who worked there were incredibly nice. They showed us everywhere we could go in the city, and pointed out fun things to do and see. One night, they even cooked dinner for us (It wasn't the best, but it's the thought that counts, anyway). And, interestingly enough, they seemed very intent on getting us drunk. Every time we entered the main room of the hostel, we were asked, “Would you like wine?” or “Would you like some special Hungarian alcohol? Very strong!” or “You like Smirnoff? Have a drink!” Needless to say, I enjoyed Hungarian hospitality.
The city of Budapest (really Buda and Pest, if you want to nitpick) was beautiful while we were there. It was 65* and sunny the first couple of days, which is the warmest temperature I've felt since early December in Arizona. Walking along the Danube, feeling the breeze off the water...it was just nice. The city itself was almost like a brother to Prague- the architecture, the size, the pace of life- all were similar, although the people in general were friendlier. For example, right when we got in, an old lady noticed us looking at a map, and walked over to ask us if there's anything she could do to help. We thanked her and said we were all right. She smiled and said, “Enjoy your stay in Budapest!” Then she hobbled away. Things like that don't happen most places.
With regard to the touristy stuff, we visited the castle complex, which was...full of buildings. I'm not going to lie, I have nothing left to say about castles, except they prove that Cribs could have been a hit at any point in human history. The views of the city from the complex were cool, though.
 |
| The Cathedral at Budapest Castle |
 |
| View of Buda and Pest...or Pest and Buda. Ah, who the hell knows. |
 |
| A little girl walking around the castle. |
Budapest is also somewhat known for its bathhouses, so we checked that out, too. There were a bunch of different temperature baths, ranging from freezing to burning, that people were hanging out in. The specific bath house we went to was open for late night swims, so we went during the 10PM to 4AM session. A surprisingly decent amount of people were there, too. And no, nobody was naked (although there were a couple Speedos). All in all, I've seen much worse at the J back home.
We also decided to go to a flea market, because it sounded like it could be interesting. When we told the woman at the front desk of the hostel, she laughed and said, “Oh yeah? You'll see lots of strange people there. Homeless people, you know? I can show you more bad places to go, if you want.” We laughed and said no, we just wanted to see this one. And it turned out the woman had a point- there were some strange people at the flea market, but what else did we expect? The area was like a fair ground, with hundreds of merchants hocking their crap. Personally, I was quite content. I got a couple of good souvenirs that weren't just the run-of-the-mill t-shirts you find everywhere.
Other stuff we did:
 |
| We went to the catacombs in Budapest. They were pretty scary, and occasionally giant heads popped out of the ground. |
 |
| We toured the 2nd biggest synagogue in the world! I also got a souvenir yarmulke here. OK, fine. I stole it. |
 |
| Inside the synagogue |
 |
| I call this one, "The Temptation of the Jews." |
I'll admit, I was kind of sad to leave Budapest and our little hostel. Walking out of the cold room, down the stairs, and down the alleyway for the last time- I knew I would miss it. A trip that had seemed destined for disaster ended up becoming one of my favorite experiences in Europe. Not a bad weekend at all.
