Destination known and looking for jobs!: Budapest, Hungary

Go time for Budapest. What’s the best way to save time and money, how about a deluxe overnight train that leaves Krakow at 10 pm and gets you into Budapest at 9. I expected to arrive feeling rested and refreshed after a tranquil night of slumber, lulled by the rhythmic clickity-clack of the train as we smoothly passed through the quiet Polish-Hungarian countryside. So my predicted journey was pretty far from reality. We ended up in a 6 bunk couchette with 3 other people -5 total. All of us with large backpacks, no one trusted each other as we were told that there was theft on the sleeper trains as we attempted to shoehorn all of our belongings into the small cabin. As we realized that we were all travelers with the same fears of theft we formed a weak alliance and loosened our death grip on our belongings and decided to use our bunks for what they were intended for…people not luggage. Our train broke apart in different towns, so you would be jolted from your sleep by the train coming to a quick stop or by your car being attached to another train going in a different direction. In the middle of the night the conductor woke us up saying we were in Prague…Prague? One of our bunk-mates got up and attempted to depart the train as quietly as possible which does not work in that small of a space. Moments later we were on our way again only to stop a few hours later in Bratislava to repeat the process. When we made it to Budapest we were far from rested and refreshed and felt the strong need to remedy the situation. Enter the Szechenyi Baths. The baths on the Pest side (Everything on the west side of the Danube River is the Buda side, to the east Pest. Once separate towns they finally merged and… viola we have Budapest) are heated by thermal springs that sprout out all over the city. This complex offered a huge variety of ways to relax from saunas, steam baths, warm pools, hot pools, cold pools, and a huge outdoor swimming complex. Unlike Baden-Baden this facility was not au natural but we went anyways and after 4 hours later we felt human again. We made our way back towards our apartment, wandering the streets, grabbed some dinner of traditional Hungarian grub (I had the goulash and T had the chicken papirkash) and brews, then called it a day for some much needed rest and recovery.

The next day we were eager to see the city and after a quick cup of coffee we made our way. Upon reaching the Danube River we were instantly blown away by the beauty of the city. Still on the Pest side, which is the beginning of a large plain that extends into Hungary, we looked across the river to the hilly Buda side to see castle and monument topped hills and the “blue” Danube swiftly flowing between. Overwhelmed by what we saw we needed to form a plan to attempt to take in all in with only one day to do it and once we had our “strategery” we were off. Heading north on the Pest side we visited the Parliament building and town square checking out various monuments as we went. In the afternoon we crossed the river to the Buda side and climbed up Castle Hill to visit the walled city and soak up the views of Pest and the other touristy sites as this is where most were located. The sun began to sink closer to the Buda hills and it was time for our coup de gras, the accent of Gellert Hill for the best views of the city and an evening splash in the Gellert Baths to soothe our muscles and quiet our barking dogs. While the baths were not as large as the Szechenyi Baths they were none the less relaxing and all but erased any trace of the 8 miles we walked. Tired and hungry we made our way back to our apartment on the Pest side, enjoyed the best bowl of goulash soup we’ve had to date, then called it a night. Tomorrow we head towards Zagreb for a week in Croatia.

Cheers.