Budapest - Part 3

Tuesday morning I woke up early and met Piotr in Pest. From there we hopped on the suburban railway and headed to Szentendre, a small town about 50 minutes north of Budapest - Piotr's home town. Szentendre is very old. It was inhabited by the Romans and later the Serbs and evidence of both parties is apparent. There are actual Roman ruins just outside the current city center. It was absolutely charming. It had small, cobblestone streets, many beautiful old churches, darling little shops and a great view along the Danube. Szentendre is also known for its many artists, and has many museums and galleries. I loved looking at all the old buildings and asking about all the products in the shops - many of which were playing music. One vendor had a bunch of carved wooden boxes, which had locks and keys that were hidden. You had to remove a loose part of the box to find the key and yet another to find the lock. I loved the clothes with the traditional Hungarian floral patterns - they were beautiful - and I really enjoyed learning about all the foodstuffs for sale - Paprika, hot peppers, spices, jams, Palinka, etc.

A view from one of the narrow passageways

one side of the main square

A small square

view of the Danube from the hill

This was hilarious. A hole in the fence for 

the dog to bark out of

 Dried fruit and spices

We had lunch in a little glass house along the Danube. I had fish soup, which I was a little wary to try as the idea of a fish soup kind of gives me the heebie jeebies, but I was definitely curious. It ended up being one of my favorite dishes. I also had pork knuckle and spicy potatoes with....Palinka! We tried apple and black cherry. For dessert we went to a cafe not far from the main square where I tried Esterhazy cake and apple poppyseed cake. On the way to the cafe Piotr ran into someone he knew and then while we were having our cake and people watching he would tell me who the people were walking in and out of the shops across the way. One of the perks of living in a small town. 

Lunch

                                 Enjoying the View                                Not in the mood for Pictures

After dessert, feeling completely stuffed, we walked to Piotr's house where I met his Mom and sister. We had a little more Palinka to aide in digesting our huge meal and relaxed for a minute. His family was very nice to me, and somehow we managed to communicate slightly even though we didn't have a language in common. Then we headed back to Budapest for more activities. 

Warming up and borrowing some 

Wifi at BK lounge

On the train back to Budapest both Piotr and I had a hard time staying awake. He had a meeting at his University, but we arrived early so we grabbed a quick coffee to perk up a little. At the meeting, I got to see another one of my classmates here in Poland, Patricia. I was surprised and excited to see her because I thought she was still in Kraków. Unfortunately, she already speaks Polish fluently, so she won't be returning to Kraków for the second semester because she has completed all her credits. But, she said she was going to visit Kraków in a May and that I should come and visit her in Budapest before that so that I can see her take on the city. 

Back in Krakow

After the meeting we headed to the ice skating rink outside of Vajdahunyad Castle. The rink was absolutely huge and the view of the lit city and the castle was spectacular. We skated for three hours with one break for tea and then headed home. I went out for a walk with a Palinka stop with Oguz and then I crashed. I woke up at 5am the next morning hopped on my favorite train line - the yellow line has very, very old trains and old bugle-like tunes that play at every stop - and caught the 7am bus back to Kraków. 

Budapest - part 2

The next morning, I moved out of the hostel and went out to meet my first couchsurfing host. We met in the morning in front of the Opera house and I moved into my own room. He is a student from Turkey, studying finance in Budapest. He has lived in Budapest for about six months We got acquainted over tea and then I headed out for lunch with a native Hungarian I had met in the hostel. I tried some Hungarian food, Hungarian tea and then went to a famous candy shop, 'sugar' for dessert. After dessert I headed home and went out with my hosts for a few rounds of black absinth, before hitting the hay. 

My Couchsurfing Hosts with their favorite poison:

Black Absinthe

Sugar

 Jiim with our treats from Sugar

Monday morning I woke up early and headed to Parliament where I got a ticket for the morning tour. It turned out to be the only one for the day since Parliament was going to be in session all afternoon. It was cool because I got to watch them set-up.

The Dome

Main meeting hall

Just a regular hallway

I did some wandering around Freedom Square and the surrounding area and then met-up with Piotr for lunch. Hungarian food, at my request. We walked into the restaurant and Piotr asked what I wanted. I looked at him like he was crazy. The menu was all in Hungarian and the food I could see was completely unfamiliar. He laughed, studied the menu for a minute and then said, 'I know. You're going to try....' (something in Hungarian) - 'and I'm going to have....' - (more Hungarian) - 'which you have to taste as well.' I said, 'sounds good,' having no idea what I was agreeing to.  I tried a delicious soup, spicy pork paprikas with a special type of Hungarian pasta that looks like potato chunks or cottage cheese, and a type of meat-filled crepe with sauce. It was sooooo yummy and VERY filling. From then on, whenever we went to a restaurant he would tell me what he was going to order for me, ask if that sounded ok - as if I would have any idea what it meant - and then proceed to order. His selections were always delicious and I got to try a whole range of different Hungarian food and drinks. 

Deliciousness

After lunch we went to Margaret Island, which is in the center of the Danube. It is mostly park and woodland with a small aviary and some medieval ruins. In the summer it is a popular place to walk around, jog on the spongey track the surrounds the island or picnic. You can rent colorful pedal cars, that look just like paddle boats and can pedal your way around the island or just walk. We walked around for awhile. I loved the ruins of the Margaret Church. They were beautiful. The little aviary was also really cool. They had all kinds of peacocks, hawks and exotic looking ducks. Then we headed to the high point on the west side of the Danube for a different view of the city.

HUGE statue

Bridge to the island

Birds

Church Ruins

More Ruins

View from the bridge

Afterwards we crossed back over to Pest and went to the Cave Church. The cave in Gellért Hill has served many functions over the years, and currently you can go and see a series of chapels it houses. It was very interesting to listen to the history and see the simple chapels in the caverns. There was a Polish chapel in the cave with a huge Polish Eagle hanging accompanied by a Hungarian symbol to signify unity between the two nations. I also really enjoyed the newest chapel which was adorned by ornate wood carvings. 

Backlit Polish Eagle 

Some of the Wood Carvings

 One of the Views from Gellért Hill

After the Cave Church, we climbed to the top of Gellért Hill and took pictures of the city. It was a very steep climb. Then we made our way down and headed to St. Stephen's Basilica. Unfortunately, the Basilica was closed for a private event, but we did get to go to the top of the Basilica. From the top of the dome you could see a 360 degree view of the city. It was fantastic. Afterwards, I was too exhausted to go out with Piotr and his friends. I went home and had cake with Oguz, and then when he went out to the bars, I crashed.

View from the top of the Basilica

St. Stephen's Basilica at Sunset

 Another view from the top of the Basilica

Budapest - part 1

the chain bridge

The bus ride from Kraków to Budapest is about 7 hours and includes one ten minute stop. You get to drive through the mountains in Slovakia, and the view is absolutely stunning. I arrived in Budapest around 10pm. I had been having some communication trouble with my host so I booked a hostel for my first night, right along the metro line so that I could find it easily enough. Even so, I was still freaking out about figuring out how to get there so late at night. But, when I got off the bus, to my pleasant surprise my classmate, Piotr, was there! He lives in a suburb of Budapest. I had told him I was coming and asked if he had any time while I was there to show me around one day. Well, he went above and beyond. He laughed at how shocked I was to see him there and then informed me that he wasn't about to let me wander around a strange city by myself at night. He got me a train ticket, took me to my hostel, and then we went out for a drink and a little city tour. When we arrived at the hostel, the registration area/kitchen was filled with people partying and guess what?!? They were Polish! They heard Piotr and I speaking Polish and immediately came over with a bottle of krupnik and shot glasses. So while I'm paying for my room and getting my keys, we take shots on the very same counter. It was one of the most ridiculous situations I've ever been in. 

Palinka

Out at the bar, I tried Palinka for the first time, which is a fruit spirit that is very popular in Hungary. It is very strong and looks like vodka, but the aftertaste has a slight flavor. It is served in a little glass about the size of a shot and you can either sip it or shoot it. The food in Hungary is very fattening, and Piotr informed me that it is often recommended to drink Palinka with your meal because the spirit 'eats the fat.' There are sooo many flavors of Palinka. While I was in Budapest I tried grape, plum, black currant, black cherry, apple, honey-ginger-pear and honey-peach. On the way home he had me try Túrórudi, a candy bar that is popular in Hungary. It is sweet cottage cheese covered in dark chocolate that is refrigerated. Very tasty. 

parliament

The next morning I was supposed to move to my couchsurfing location, but the guy I was going to stay with was being shady. I was getting bad vibes so I booked another hostel closer to the city center, which was much more comfortable. There I met Jiim who works at the hostel. He was concerned that I was a girl traveling alone - apparently that's unusual. He gave me his contact info and told me to call him if I had any trouble while I was in Budapest, especially at the hostel.

Nightview

After I got settled in, Piotr picked me up and took me on the first of many tours. We started out with the scenic tour. It was late afternoon and Piotr planned it perfectly so that I got to see the sights in the daylight and at night. It was beautiful. I saw parliament and Budda Castle, where we went to the art museum. Piotr was a great guide, especially in the museum because he knows so much about Hungarian history. As we looked at paintings, he would explain the events depicted - in Polish. It was actually really cool to speak Polish all the time. It was like being an American in disguise. 

After the night view from the castle and the Citadel, we took a break and went to a street festival for some traditional food. I tried lángos, which is like fried dough with your selection of toppings. It is savory, not sweet. I had the traditional lángos with sour cream and cheese and we had hot wine to warm up a little. Hungary is also known for their wine. There are several varieties of hot wine, unlike in Kraków where there is only one. It was very yummy. Then we headed to Vörösmarty Square where we had dessert at a fancy cafe to warm up. I had Samlói Galuska. It's like spongecake, but has a pudding texture and is filled with raisins, vanilla, walnuts, jam and topped with whipped cream. After dessert we went to Heroe's square and Vajdahunyad Castle, which was probably my favorite place in Budapest. It was stunning at night. And.....at 10pm we went to the Baths!

Heroe's Square

I had heard about the baths, but I didn't really get what all the fuss was about. Now I am definitely on board. It was a wonderful experience. You walk in, get a little bracelet, which unlocks your personal changing room where you can leave all your stuff. Then you head to the pools. The bath I was at was fairly small. It had one big room with a huge pool in the middle and four smaller pools in the respective corners. Each pool has steps you can sit on and is labeled with a temperature. The middle pool was warm, the outer pools were a range of very hot and very cold. There were also a series of saunas you could enjoy, a humid relaxation room and a message center. We spent four hours floating in the different pools and also tried the sauna. It was unbelievably relaxing and exhausting. Afterwards I was like a wrinkled prune. I got home around 3am and hungout with some hostelers for awhile before going to bed. I had seen half the city and it was only my first day. 

My favorite place in Budapest

Vajdahunyad Castle

Finals

Of course, the week of finals I got the flu. I was so delirious, I don't even really remember much from those days. I didn't even get out of bed. 

Finals went really well. I got an almost perfect score, and the highest score in my class. My teacher informed me that good marks make for a very boring report card. She also told me she loved having me in her class and that she hopes I stay in Poland. 

Me, Marek, Anastasia & Doro at Lizard King

After finals, the theater class had their final performance, a play in Polish - which was hilarious - and afterwards, the school director sent us all over to a bar in the square where he had reserved us a table for karaoke night. Only in Poland. 

 Patricia. She is from Budapest and is one of my favorites!
So sweet and so much fun on the dance floor! We
had a wipeout one night dancing, and have
been dance partners ever since.

The presentation of diplomas took place in one of the main university buildings a few days later. Students that are only here for one semester received diplomas in a little ceremony. I said good-bye to many of my classmates that won't be returning. It was sad, but they all offered to be tour guides if I ever went to their countries. It's nice to know people in so many different places. 

Part of the gang at Luisa, one of our favorite 

dance spots.

Since all of Poland pretty much is on break, the city became party central practically overnight. At night the streets are packed with people, many of them, completely wasted. It's pretty hilarious to see them weave their way down the streets. They often have trouble getting on and off the trams and some of them just get on, find a seat and pass out. 

Notice the lipstick on my

forehead...Shelley kissed me good-bye 

and I couldn't get it off. It was the running

joke of the night.

My classmates and I went out together for about five days in a row and then people started heading out on their winter travels. It was so exciting to hear where everyone was going and I can't wait to hear the stories when they get back!

Piotr & Nico feelin the music at Karaoke

I decided to go to Budapest. Everyone I know here has already been, so I set about booking my first trip abroad solo. It was incredibly nerve-wrecking to plan. I did nothing but sit on my computer for several days straight. Fortunately, a few of my classmates live right outside of Budapest, and they were able to help me a little. Several months ago I became a member of the couchsurfing community here in Krakow, through which I have met some great people, so I decided to try my first couchsurfing adventure in Budapest. I got a bus ticket, booked a couch and headed on my merry way. 

Karaoke night