Budapest: A Tale of Two Cities

We started our second spring break in Budapest. We arrived in the late afternoon on Friday, hungry in Hungary after our overnight train from Lugano. We made our way to an authentic Hungarian restaurant suggested to us at our hostel. I tried Hungarian beer and potatoes with a thick garlic cream sauce. After a delicious and very filling lunch, we explored the city a bit. The currency in Hungary is heavily inflated. One US Dollar is the equivalent of 220 Hungarian forints. With that, we treated ourselves while in Budapest. During our explorations, we came across a Doctor Fish shop, and treated ourselves to fish pedicures. I was hesitant at first, the idea of fish eating at my feet was not my idea of a good time. After watching a few of the others try it however, I had to give it a go. It was surprisingly relaxing and my feet felt refreshingly smooth afterwards. It was a 3000 forints (13 USD) well spent. That evening we ate like kings at a fancy all you can eat and drink restaurant.

Buda on the left, Pest on the right.

Budapest is a city split in two, Buda and Pest. At first, I thought this was a joke. It's not, Buda is the residential side of the city and Pest is the city. On Saturday, Madison and I took a tour through the city. At the start of the tour, our guide wished us all a Happy Ladies Day. Before we left the guide asked us if we had any questions. I wasn't familiar with "Ladies Day" and made the mistake of asking what it was. Upon asking I immediately got glares from every girl on the tour. Madison and I were the only Americans on the tour, and apparently the only ones unaware of the holiday. I was under the impression the holiday was of Hungarian culture, but quickly learned that our guide was referring to International Women's Day. I was rather embarrassed, but somehow avoided harm from the mass of European women who put me on their hit list.

During the tour we explored Pest and made our way to Buda. The tour offered incredible insight into a city I knew very little about. We made stops at St. Stephen's Basilica, the Chain Bridge, Buda Castle, and the Fisherman's Bastion, among other important spots.

Hungarian Parliament Building

We learned of the influences Hungarians have made on the world, including but not limited to the rubik's cube, Shrek, and Yoda's dialect. We learned that Jedi Master Yoda's script was not originally considered alien-like, so the producers translated his script to Hungarian, and then back to English. We also made a stop at Buda Castle where Katy Perry filmed her music video Firework.

Buda Castle

Following our tour, Madison and I had a long list of Hungarian foods we wanted to try. First on our list was Langos, a pizza of sorts made on fried potato bread and topped with sour cream, cheese, and your choice of toppings. We stopped at the Central Market Hall, the largest and oldest indoor market in Budapest, where we had our first taste of this Hungarian delight. From what I experienced, Hungarian food was very heavy. I left each meal feeling as though I had  eaten Thanksgiving dinner. Frankly, I found it difficult to be hungry in Hungary. After the market, we met back up with the rest of the group, who had spent their day exploring the city on a beer bike. We ended the night at the ruin bar, Szimpla. The bar was huge, with several floors and was built around the ruins of Budapest.

One of the highlights of the trip to Budapest was our visit to the Széchenyi Hungarian Bath on Sunday. Upon arrival, I was surprised to see it looked like a glorified pool. A few of us, myself included, started to think we were scammed and had wasted our money. It wasn't until we got in the baths that we realized our money was well spent. Upon stepping foot in the water, there was immediate relief. The gigantic natural hot tubs were just what the doctor ordered. We spent several hours relaxing before catching our late night train to Berlin.

I have no clue when I'll return to Budapest. Hungary was the first country I have visited with no prior exposure to the language and was my first trip to Eastern Europe. While I would have loved to spend more time there, new adventures were ahead in Berlin. Viszlát, Hungary!