Budapest

Budapest was my first jaunt into Eastern Europe and is the most unique place I have visited thus far. It was filled with old, large, bushy mustache-covered men. It was not filled with people who speak English. Budapest doesn't mess around with silly things like new paint jobs or refurbishments. It is old and dilapidated and proud of it. This was its best quality! Everything was so old-looking! So authentic! Well, actually most of its big sights were built in the year 1896 for the country's millennium celebrations...so the big stuff isn't that old...but most of the other buildings make such a contrast to the shining metropolises of, say, London and Paris.

The first day we spent exploring what is known as Castle Hill. The main sights we visited here were the Fisherman's Bastion, Matthias Church, and the Labyrinth of Buda Castle. The Fisherman's Bastion is reminiscent of something out of a Disney movie with beautiful views over the Danube River to Pest (Budapest is actually a combination of the two cities Buda and Pest) and the Parliament Building.

Fisherman's Bastion

Us with some statues

Me, as a statue

Parliament

When Charlotte and I went into Matthias Church we handed the ticket guy our Bologna student IDs and he started speaking to us in Italian! It was so obscure but really funny. The church has a beautiful, frilly mosaicked roof while inside is very dark and gothic. It was beautiful.

Afterwards, we headed to the Labyrinth of Buda Castle, which consists of miles of caves under Castle Hill. It was very dark and creepy (especially when the boys jumped out from hidden caves) and so a very cool experience. There was even a wine fountain (don't ask me how it works):

That night Andrew really wanted to go to this sports bar because they were showing the Patriots v. Chargers game, and we went reluctantly because, come on, we all know bar food isn't that great. However, it was fun to watch the game (even tho the screen was minuscule and the narration was in Hungarian) and I called my dad to verify my hunch that he was watching the game too! It was neat to share that game with him from halfway around the world.

The next day was dedicated to Budapest's THERMAL BATHS! This has been one of my favorite experiences since coming to Europe, and I think a lot of that had to do with the novelty of being in a bikini in the middle of January. Plus, it was such an awkward, uncharted experience that we just had to kind of roll with it. There was a lot of shrugging, laughing, and "umm...oookay"s involved. I've included a lot of pictures because the place was just so beautiful, I want you all to get the best picture you can! There were jets and current pools and fountains and people playing chess in the baths (pictures of Charlotte and me in bathing suits are purposefully omitted):

Everything was relatively cheap in Hungary, and so when Charlotte and I saw that they offered other spa services, we jumped right on it. We each got pedicures (which were really strange and included scalpels but no nail polish) and I also got a massage. This was bizarre as well. The guy that ended up being my masseuse was so strange looking, had selective English and sang something about the Starship Enterprise as I entered. When he untied my bikini strap it was so awkward because it flew and hit my face and he made a whip sound! Later, when he was moving to my hips, he wanted to move my bottoms down and so he asked if he could "steal some territory." Haha! It was not a good massage, but it was a hilarious experience. After a couple more hours in the baths we headed home. We walked through City Park, Hero's Square, and a street called Andrassy ut which is supposed to be the best shopping street in Budapest.

Hero's Square

The next day we went to the Great Market Hall to check out Budapest's culinary possibilities. Simply put, I've never seen more parts of animals in my life. I mean, what the hell do you do with a kilo of chicken feet? Bleh. I just have to show you though:

Chicken feet

But it was cool to see all the baked goods, meat products, paprika and various souveniers including goulash mix and lace that they sold. Afterwards we started heading back to Andrassy Ut but this time we decided to brave the metro, where we ended up getting lost for about an hour. At one point, this guy walked up to us and started asking in Italian if we needed help. It was so bizarre...I asked him why on earth he thought we would speak Italian, and he said he recognized one of us or something. It was SO out of nowhere, but he was really helpful and sweet and we got where we needed to go!

After, we headed to the House of Terror which was the former headquarters of the secret police during the regimes of Nazi-occupied Hungary and communist Hungary. There were very memorable, moving exhibits in the museum that really conveyed the feeling of terror from those times. The most striking exhibit for me was when we were able to actually tour the prison cells. There were three main types. One had about 3 inches of water all along the bottom, another was like the Chokie in Matilda where one is unable to sit, and the last one had only a 3 foot tall ceiling so one is incapable of standing straight. We went into that last one and were overtaken be fear and claustrophobia after just seconds. It is impossible to imagine what it was like for the poor innocents who were incarcerated and tortured in these horrific conditions for years. This is just a sampling of everything we saw and learned about. The building has an overhang that casts the shadow of the word "Terror" onto it. It was a very modern museum, with extremely effective exhibits.

House of Terror

Ironically, after the House of Terror, we went to eat at a restaurant called Menza, which is the old communist word for "school cafeteria". It's decorated all in 1970s decor and has a great vibe. It was our last authentic Hungarian meal, so I ordered goulash again of course. It was so nice to have a different set of spices on my palate!

I haven't talked about our hostels yet! The one in Budapest (7x24 Central Hostel) was so much better than the one we stayed at in Berlin (BaxPax Downtown hostel) even though that one was just fine. In Budapest, there was no one else staying in the hostel which basically meant we had an entire apartment to ourselves, including our private room and bathroom, a kitchen with free tea and coffee, and a common room with TV and free internet. It was so personal and the family was really sweet...the mom even made us cookies! We spent lots of time here relaxing, playing gin, and watching VH1 Classics...in ENGLISH! What a novelty.

Budapest Hostel

It was an interesting experience traveling with new friends from Bologna and staying in hostels. I was worried that traveling would put a strain our friendships because it can be a very stressful thing, especially when personalities and preferences clash. However, it actually went quite smoothly. Charlotte and I had a lot of fun commiserating over the shortcomings of the boys and took several opportunities to distance ourselves from them! But it was great to have an even four and an even balance of boys and girls. It made for a great trip.

Now it's time to get my life back in order, start classes, and start studying! Besides, I'd like to keep my feet on the ground for awhile anyway. That last flight from Budapest to Milan was my least favorite ever...so Bologna is where I will hang my hat for at least the next month!