From London Stanstead to Budapest is an easy 2 hour flight. I arrived mid-afternoon and took a bus then the metro to my hostel. When on the bus from the airport to the city centre, I wasn't too impressed by what I saw. The outskirts of Budapest are pretty run-down, there's lots of ugly grafitti and it's just not nice to look at in general. This had me thinking that this wasn't going to be such a nice place to visit after all. However, when I got out of the metro station and walked into the middle of Budapest, my view changed. One of the first things I saw was the most gorgeous Jewish synagogue, the Dohany Street Synagogue, which was quite a sight to behold! I didn't get round to going inside, but next time I'm in Budapest (cause I'm definitely going back) I will make sure to pay it a visit. Anyhow, from there I found my hostel and checked in to my room. There were two girls in my room when I got there, a very quiet French girl and a younger, friendly Australian girl called Slade. We had a bit of a chat about things to do in Budapest, which was cool. She'd been there for about 4 days already so was able to give me tips on where to go and what to see. By this point it was dark outside and I was tired from the day of early awakening and travel so Slade and I went out to get food. She took me to this awesome sandwich joint where I had a killer chicken and green curry sauce baguette thing. It. was. amazing. The place was run by two ex-top chefs who decided to throw in their aprons, quit their jobs in top restaurants and open a sandwich joint that sold great sandwiches. Not only that, but everything was Star Wars themed - from the names of the sandwiches to the decorations inside the place. It was really unique and quirky, and the guys running it were so cool. What was even better was this place was literally 50m from the hostel. Win! After our lovely meal Slade and I chilled out in the hostel kitchen with tea and our smartphones and maps, making plans for the days ahead.
Cool street art is all over the place in Budapest
On day two I got up early, had a shower and walked in to town to join in a free walking tour that was recommended by the hostel, and by Slade. Our guide was a super good looking, friendly dude with bright blue eyes and a bushy beard and a sweet hungarian accent. He was very endearing and cute. From our starting point at St Stephen's Basilica we walked through town to the edge of the Danube and crossed the famous Chain Bridge that links Buda to Pest. We then walked up to a lookout called Castle Hill, which gave beautiful views of the city. From there we went to the Matthias Church, another amazing building, and up to Fisherman's Bastion. That's where the tour ended, but my day of exploring had only just begun! heheh. By this point I was really hungry so I found this nice little restaurant and ordered myself some Goulash. I'd wanted to try traditional Goulash on my trip, and luckily it's EVERYWHERE, so not hard to find at all! It is also simply delicious! It's basically a tomato-y soup with bits of beef and vege and lots of herbs and spices. Very tasty. And filling!
St Stephen's Basilica
Our awesome tour guide - apparently if you rub the tummy of this statue it brings good luck, hence why his tummy has been rubbed so often it's become shiny!
On the Chain Bridge
Matthias Church - such a cool tiled roof!
Fisherman's Bastion
After this I decided to walk along the Danube to the Hungarian Parliament building, which is potentially the most beautiful European building I've seen thus far. What looked like a quick walk actually turned out to be quite a long trek so I was pretty tired by the time I got to the actual building back on the Buda side. Got to cross another cool bridge though so allgood! On my way back towards town I also stopped to see the 'Shoes on the Danube' art installation, which represents the Jews who were shot into the Danube during WWII. After visiting Auschwitz and learning how many Hungarians were killed made me really want to see this. On my walk back along the other side of the Danube it was quite weird because footpaths randomly just stop and then if you're not on the right one to go where you want to, you have to back-track until you find a crossing or where the paths converge. So it was kinda annoying trying to get to where I wanted to go! Also our tour guide had told us that Hungarian officials are very strict on people crossing in places that aren't crossings, and give fines out on the spot fairly regularly, so I was paranoid about that as well. So, as a result, it took me a while to get to the market up the other side of the river, which was my next destination. But, strolling along the bank of the Danube in the sunlight (it was fantastic weather, albeit a little chilly) with the beautiful Hungarian architecture around me dulled my annoyance down a lot.
Beautiful Budapest <3
The Hungarian Parliament Building along the Danube
Shoes on the river Danube art installation
My next stop was the central market hall, a HUGE triple story covered marketplace that had foodstuffs on the ground floor, clothes, gifts and souvenirs on the middle floor and fish and other smelly things in the basement level. Walking around here was really quite an experience. I wanted to buy so many things! I ended up buying a wee bracelet and a lovely hand-sewn traditional Hungarian style top. When I left the market it was getting dark so I grabbed some food from the supermarket and made my way back to the hostel for the night.
Marketplace
Next morning I got up, showered, checked out of my room and left my luggage in the luggage room for the morning. My next stop was Heroes' Square, which is north Budapest. This is a large square dedicated to important national leaders, and is quite a sight to behold. From here it's also a short walk to the largest of Budapest's thermal baths (which are all over the city - outdoor thermal bathing is a big thing there!), which I wanted to check out. Unfortunately I hadn't packed togs so I didn't bathe myself, but I was curious and wanted to see them anyway. And gosh it was stunning! It was called Szechenyi Bath and the building was bright yellow! Vajdahunyad Castle was right nearby as well, so I wandered around that too. I then made my way back to the hostel to pick up my bag and make my way back to the airport.
Heroes' Square
Heroes' Square again
Szechenyi thermal Bath
Part of Vajdahunyad Castle
Walking round Budapest is a treat and experience in itself. It's such a funky, unique place. There is street art all over the place, so many coffee shops and eateries, street food, talented buskers, these awesome ruin bars all over the place (they look run-down from the outside but take a peak inside and they're colourful, vibrant, busy, eclectic places). I would describe it as Wellington's older brother. It's got that funk, that artsy uniqueness about it that Wellington has. It's seriously a cool vibe.
Lovely sunset from the plane on the way home
Definitely a place I want to go back to. It takes the place as European favourite so far.
xx
