Budapest

I arrived in dingy Budapest with a smile on my face. I shared a train car with 5 other girls from Nigeria, Austria and Ireland, while the rest of the train was packed with partying kids on their way to the music festival on the island (there was a 3 hour line to check in to place tents, apparently).

 

All that I imagined Eastern Europe to be is right here.  The buildings look old and run down, there are crevices to explore all over the place, they have no violent crime statistic, the people are friendly but not overly so (no one has asked for my phone number yet!), and the history of the place can be seen on the faces of the old men playing chess in the courtyards.

 

The river Danube really is beautiful AND blue.  Of course, I saw it at sunset, so it may be a chocolate brown when I see it in the morning.  I arrived at the hostel around 4:00 PM and promptly fell asleep unpacking my bag.  I was counting out Euros to pay the front desk and it's a tribute to the hostel culture that my cash was still at my feet when I woke up.  The doors to the bedrooms have no locks (there are only 3 rooms but with 10 beds each) but the entry procedure for the building makes me feel like I'm a freemason.  I'm surprised they didn't have a secret knock when I finally found the door to the place.  The ceilings are 20 feet high and it reminds me a bit of Georgetown townhouses.  The hostel is a converted 3-bedroom apartment and it's roomy and fairly clean. This is the first place with free internet! The keyboard is standard American with all the keys where I can find them, including the @ symbol.  What a gift!   @@@@@@@

 

I'm in love with Budapest but not sure yet how I feel about each side independently yet. I'm staying on the Pest side of the Danube and spent the evening in the touristy pedestrian area where the waitresses wear low-cut shirts, everyone speaks English and the menus have photos of all the food. It was mildly overpriced but I've been opting for fresh produce and gelato for dinner since I arrived, so I figured I've 'earned' myself a pricey dinner (it was 3900 Ft, about $20 I think).  That's about the same as one night's stay in a hostel, so comparatively it was a high price. 

 

I'm considering leaving on an early excursion tomorrow to a valley where Ottomans hid out in caves.  The caves have been transformed into 300 family-run wine tasting cellars of sorts, and apparently it's not expected to purchase wine, they just want you to taste it.  Some also sell food and some offer free snacks (I hear rumors of buttered wonderbread). There are the traditional thermal pools there too.  That's what Budapest is famous for, but the city is so full of tourists.  It will be nice to get out of the hustle for a day. 

 

More tomorrow.