Whose hungry....?
Soooo since the adenvture with Jessica Chaney and Amsterdam I've been on the move again....specifically to BUDAPEST! While I can't say that Hungary was on my to-do list for Europe I am sure glad I went! I crossed the former iron curtain with my friends Dustin, Eddie, Brad, Connor and my roomie Megan. We landed in hungary at 11 am with essentially no clue what the city held for us. The first stop was to get cash out. They use a currency called forients or HUFs, better referred to as monopoly money! In taking out 80USD I got 20,000 HUFs!!!! If that exchange rate wasn't the most exciting way to begin the trip idk what would have been? From getting the money we all headed immediately to get some HUMMUS! This city is crawling with the delicious chick-pea past I have been dying for this whole trip...not to mention they also have BAGELS...jackpot. After enjoying a feast in a park lawn, which we eventually discovered was a dog park, we ventured into the city.
Budapest is located along a river and is technically separated into the cities of Buda and Pest....considering their English connotations I think it was a wise decision to combine the two... As we walked we could see the old soviet influence and remains of WWII. Many of the buildings were dark black from being covered in soot. We quickly learned this was because Budapest was one of the most completely destroyed cities in Europe during WWII and they did not clean most of the buildings due to lack of money. Now there is a mix of the old Pre-WWII buildings such as the castle and churches with the soviet architecture which had a lot of metal and minimal ornateneas. A hodge-podge of a city with a clearly difficult past one could say.
Our first stop was the market. This gorgeous buildings was a site for one of the World Fairs and contains a gorgeous mix of tiled roofing, stained -glass windows, and steel. Inside is two stories of anything you could want. Fresh fruits, meats, and a large array of trinkets. Naturally, I stopped to purchase a spoon to add to my random new collection I have gained in Europe. I also bought some paprika as that seems to be what Budapest is known for...sooo if anyone ever wants to make some deviled eggs I'm your girl! From there we crossed a bridge a walked along Buda which is the older city containing the castle which looks like parliament and a church that looks like a castle...confusing I know. This side appeared dirtier than the other, but something about the dirt made it seem more beautiful in its own way. This side was built into a hill so from atop the castle we were about to see the WHOLE city! We waited up there until sunset when the bridges and gorgeous monumental city buildings lit up! That night we went to an authentic Hungarian restaurant and ate some of the most delicious food in Europe family style. Orange glazed duck, goulash, turkey and bacon stew, potato pancakes, bacon wrapped asparagus, blue cheese and steak salad, potato croquettes, and two bottles of wine. Stuffed and paying under 10$ a person for the meal we left super satisfied. Naturally our next stop was a bar...we found ourselves at a place called ankur which was a bar/club. This extremely eastern European place had graffiti projected on the walls an two DJs spinning euro music. The crowd was all dressed hipster and grungy, legitimately it felt like I imagine Portland to be...from there we made our way to a smaller bar with original newspaper clippings of the Beatles and other Euro bands all over the bathroom. From there Megan and I called it a night while the boys stayed up to watch the UK IU game. UK won. Obviously.
The next day we spent doing what budapestians do best...bathe! There's about 6 baths in the city which consist of naturally heated pools that people soak in all day. Before this Megan and I walked to see parliament which is the most breathtakingly frightful building I have seen...Dracula could easily have called this dark place with huge pointy spires home. After our walking we decided to relax in the baths. While the water smelled like rotten eggs from the sulfur it was the most relaxing day iv had in Europe thus far. We ended the day with the sauna and steam room and went home to continue the day with a relaxing dinner. After a 30 min walk we found out way to the restaurant strip of the city. We ended up at a Indian place called Karma and man we must have all done something great to deserve this karma! The dinner started with appetizers from bubba ganoush to pumpkin soup.... Next I had a delicious chicken with spiced mash potatoes and roasted cinnamon pears...to.die.for. And the total for all of our amazing gourmet meals and wonderful wine? $18.
Needless to say waking up the next day at 4 (3 bc of the time change the night before :/) was hard but the amazingly culture and cheapness of the city made it much harder. The city overall wasn't what I had anticipated. It was much more clearly eastern and different than what I had seen and I loved it! The people were extremely nice and even a bit coy or shy when talking. The city wasn't gorgeous but it was a beautiful mix of the citys history. Despite how much this little city has been through it wears those sooty buildings and soviet remains well and proud as it should....because any country that can survive so much and still have the life and kindness we saw in the people we met should be proud. It makes me sad I only am going to eastern Europe once this trip as I was able to see in Hungary that it has such a unique story and culture I would love to feel more of...but for now that will have to be my little taste of the bloc. Overall for the 50€ flight and 100$ spent all weekend id say budapest was a success and soenthing I am glad I was able to experience and add to my overall understanding of European culture.
I'm now on a flight to the other half of Europe I haven't seen....the north!!! People seem to be critical of this area but I have been able to see the beauty in every culture thus far and I'm sure I will here as well...bring on the fired foods and bad teeth!
Side note: a drunk old Spanish man just handed out muffins to the back of the plane...I. Love. Europe.
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