March 4-7, 2016
Budapest, Hungary
Budapest is a city with endless sights to see and things to do. After visiting a few cities in Western Europe, it was refreshing to see different architecture, raging nightlife in the city, and double-digit weather (I didn't even need my puffy jacket for a few hours in the daytime). You can choose to navigate this page in order, or go to a specific section by clicking on the relevant button on the menu to the left side of this text.
After a good breakfast of scrambled eggs and fresh bread from the farmers' market, we set out to the city. We had a few hours to kill before our Communism Free Walking Tour, so we walked along the Danube and to the Buda side of Budapest.
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Buda Castle is a World Heritage SIte. It's incredibly easy to get lost in its depths, physically and mentally. As much as it's a tourist location, it's peaceful and quiet and you can find locals and foreigners alike enjoying a beautiful day on a bench, or sitting atop a tower and drawing. There's even a small café at the very top that sells wonderfully hot mulled wine and hot chocolate.
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After walking around the castle, we headed back to Pest to Vörösmarty Square to begin our Communism Walk around the city. Our tour guide highlighted different aspects of lifestyle like healthcare, religion, and transportation during Soviet rule and Communism. It was super interesting to learn from a Hungarian about what life was like for her and her parents and friends!
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When the tour was over, we got some dinner, met up with Greg, and went back to the castle to get a glimpse of city lights and Danube by night.
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On our second day, we got breakfast at a local bakery, walked through Budapest's farmers' market, got burritos for lunch and began the hike up Gellert Hill.
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Tired and hungry after hiking up Gellert Hill, we decided to have the Nutella pizza we had been craving ever since our first night at Budapest. Then we headed back over to the Buda side to make our way through the labyrinth under the castle.
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After World War II, there were loads of old, unoccupied buildings in Budapest city. No one wanted to live in these ruined apartments even though there were cheap, so the youth of the day bought them and converted them into ruin pubs. These pubs are eccentric, vary in size, have at least one area without a roof, and you can find pretty much anything you want there. Ruin pubs are something of a Hungarian specialty and are slightly more expensive than any other bar in the city.
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