Depressing (Buda)Pest

Walking with Mr. Reagan in Pest Budapest Day 3 - July 3

This morning, we woke up in time for a 10:30 am walking tour of Pest, the other city that makes up Budapest (on the other side of the Danube). It is 3 times bigger than Buda. Our guide was very knowledgeable about the town, as her family has lived here her whole life. She explained a lot about the city's history, and it basically sounded like Budapest has had the short end of the stick for most of its history. Occupied by the Ottoman Empire, by the Austrian Hapsburgs, then the Nazis, then communism...they've only been a republic since 1989, so this is a fairly new stage, which probably explains some of the massive hyperinflation I mentioned earlier. Hungary is part of the EU, but I don't think they'll be allowed to switch to the Euro until they can pay off some of the 22billion they owe the IMF...Greece part 2, no thanks.

It was definitely not as exciting, visually, as the tour of Buda--but there's just not as much to see on the other side. Lots of communist monuments and buildings you can see bullet holes.

I think that's why I'm not a huge fan of the city--it's pretty, but instead of walking the streets and thinking about how beautiful life in the city must've been at the time these buildings were built (like I did in Vienna), I just think about all the terrible things this city has seen. Kind of depressing!

It's also caught me off guard how poor people are here. I expect it in some place like India or southeast Asia, but this is Europe! Our guide said the average salary is 150,000 Forints. A YEAR. That's less than 800 dollars. Shocking.

On the bright side, this means that Hungary is dirt cheap. We bought tall cans of beer for 89 Forints...which is about 75 cents Canadian.

Tonight, we went to a place recommended by our guide to try traditional Hungarian food, called Castro Bistro. We tried to order the layered potato dish she said we should try, but they were out! So instead, I had Hungarian pasta (which basically was pierogies with bacon, sour cream, and onions, except with pasta) and goulash. Hungarian food is HEAVY. We definitely had some serious food comas to deal with after that meal.

Tomorrow, I'm hopping a flight to the northernmost island in Greece, Corfu. Our hostel owner said he'd drive me to the airport which is awesome, because apparently I would otherwise be navigating 2 subways, a tram, a bus, and a km walk. Can't wait for some sun! Hungary has been way too cold for me in July.

My Hungarian feast!

Bed at Sunrise

Budapest Day 2 - July 2

After our epic night on the town, we dragged ourself out of bed at the crack of noon just in time to grab a quick bite at the BK Lounge (note to self: stop eating fast food. Note to the world: stop making it so much cheaper than anything else...this is why you're fat, America) before heading to the walking tour of Buda.

Jamie and John introduced me to this concept...basically all the hostels advertise free walking tours. You show up at the meeting point at the designated time, and don't pay a cent to be shown the city sights. All they ask is that if you like the tour, you tip the guide at the end. I think this is a great bargain for travelers on a budget, and allows you to get a real feel for the city from someone who cares if you get something out of the tour. You might even learn a few things guidebooks won't tell you.

Our guide, Tomi, spoke the most fluent English I've heard in Hungary so far. We chatted a bit and found out he's a student at the university in Budapest and also studied political science, like me.

He took us down by the river, across the Chain Bridge, up to the castle, parliament, and the Fisherman's Bastion. We learned that Katy Perry shot her music video for "Firework" at this castle, and that Buda is mainly residential. We also discovered that the city has a lively history, being destroyed and rebuilt numerous times, whether it was flood, plague, or war that wiped the city out. One of the Hapsburg descendants even occupied the castle for a while--was neat to understand that after having just visited Schonnbrunn a few days earlier.

The fisherman's bastion is GORGEOUS- I have seen it quite a few times on travel photography sites, and it does not disappoint. It was really full of people, but I saw a wedding party doing their pictures there, and I can imagine that it is just magical when devoid of crowds.

After the tour, Tomi took a few of us from the tour to this little hole in the wall place (literally--it was a shop built into the walls of one of the gates in the city) that had fresh baked strudel, a Hungarian treat. I watched my cherry strudel being taken out of the oven...it doesn't get better than that. So yummy!

We walked down the street to a local grocery store and picked up some supplies. I made dinner (penne with homemade bolognaise sauce--I added zucchini, onion, peppers, tomatoes, and lots of garlic to a store-bought sauce; salad to complement) and we had a hearty meal at the hostel.

We're pretty pooched from last night so we didn't do much tonight--sometimes it's nice to just relax for a bit.

I booked my next destination (it's a surprise...I know you're dying to hear where in the world I'm going next!), but other than that it's early to bed, and up for a walking tour of Pest. That's all for now! Gonna go try to catch some Zzz's, but between it being Saturday night, 2 pubs outside our window, and Jamie's tendency to sleep on his back, it's looking like an earplug night is in order.

Hungarian Hyperinflation

Budapest Day 1 - July 1 Happy Canada Day! I wore my t-shirt with the flag on it during our travel day in honor of the occasion (thanks, Beacon Hall!).

We checked out of the hostel in Vienna and caught an 11:54 train to Budapest, which took about 3 hours. This was my first train ride of the trip, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was reasonably priced, compared to flying, even without a Eurail Pass- I paid 36 Euros. We arrived at Keleti station at 3 pm and were immediately greeted by several men and old ladies consecutively asking us if we needed a nice hostel...ummm so you can lock me in your dungeon or watch me while I sleep? No thanks.

Nothing is in English, and no one speaks English here. It's quite overwhelming, this is the first Country I've been in where nobody speaks my language and I don't know any of theirs. We managed to figure out which way the exit was, amid other travelers clutching their belongings tight--Keleti confirmed earlier comments that theft is common in Eastern Europe. I was not getting a good vibe from this place, even though I was trying really hard to like it.

We found a bank and withdrew about 200 dollars each...which translated to 40,000 Forints. Gotta love that inflation. Really confirming eastern european stereotypes. Necessary ballin' photo included:

We navigate the subway, which is indicated by a rough sketch on a piece of plywood with an arrow...yeah, Im feeling great about this place so far. A one-way fare costs 320, but all we have are 10,000 notes. which the ticket lady and the machine both will not take. I guess the bank likes to get rid of them so they spit them out of the ATM at tourists like us to deal with. It took a trip to an exchange booth and a stop at McDonalds before we had proper denominations of Forints that were usable.

Speaking of. I have had McD's in every city so far, and this may become a tradition--not gonna lie, it's kind of fun to try the local specialty, it's dirt cheap, and you probably won't die from eating it. Although the security guard standing at the door didn't do my sense of security any favors. Is this a target for tourists here? Can I trust you with my life here, Ronald?

We finally found the hostel, which is essentially a 3-bedroom apartment. Really nice. And so different than our last hostel. This is family-owned; they did our laundry for us! And they only staff reception from about 9-5. The rest of the time, we're on our own. There are no locks on the doors, but we have codes to the gates and outer doors. Interestingly enough, I actually feel like my stuff is safer here than in Vienna, I guess I trust this family? May be a terrible life decision, so I'm still being careful and using the locker provided.

So. After we check in, we relax for a bit before getting ready to meet up with some guys from Manchester that the boys had met earlier on their trip. They're in Budapest at the same time but in a different hostel. We trekked over to their hostel (which was like a mexican cantina party--salsa lessons, a pool, and a cabana bar full of goth locals--such a weird and random combination!) and hung out there from about 10 pm til 1:30 am.

Then we hit the club. This place, INSTANT, had 6 bars and 23 rooms. No cover charge, and beer was 350 Forints. The exchange rate is 189:1. So less than 2 bucks for a pint? Don't mind if I do!

We headed down the stairs and emerged in an underground cavern that used to be an old wine cellar. In Budapest many of the bars are "ruin pubs", old ruins that have been converted into popular night spots. It's hard to describe the feeling that came with being in a place like that, knowing its age and history in those walls, seeing the scene of writhing bodies in front of me, just completely lost in the music of the DJ, knowing how lucky I am to be here, experiencing moments like this. It was just a fleeting feeling, but those are why I am on this trip. That's what I seek.

We explored the rest of the club, which included a top 40 room, a bar with seating, and plenty of random alcoves, but the underground techno extravaganza was definitely the highlight. Even the DJ was getting pumped just looking at how much the crowd was into the moment.

We danced til the sun came up...it was about 6:30 am by the time we hit the sack.

Today we are going on a walking tour of Buda (Fun fact, Budapest is actually 2 cities separated by the Danube River--Buda, and Pest).

Also, random observation: public washrooms in Hungary are not fans of toilet paper. Another strike against Eastern Europe. Thank god for Shopper's travel section--I knew that roll would come in handy.