City Post: Budapest

Nine hours on a train from Krakow to Budapest. Nine hours. On a single train. In the same seats. Talk about rough. But we finally made it!

We didn't know anything about Budapest except that the hostel was cheap and everyone we'd talked to that had been said they loved it. We honestly weren't blown away, but at the same time there are a lot of things that went into that. Firstly, it is a city without much in the way of a historical city center or preserved ruins. We had become accustomed to that, and weren't ready for the change. Secondly, the things to see all cost a bit of money that, in our opinion, didn't match the experience. That said, the Buda Castle might have been better, but there just happened to be movie filming going on while we were there. Thirdly, we were both irritated with the other for one reason or another. At this point, we'd been together 24/7 for nearly three straight months. Every meal, every experience, every social media post, everything. People who are dating or even married don't spend that amount of time together, let alone two friends who hadn't lived in the same state for two years. It was bound to happen eventually.

That said, we still had a generally pleasant experience in Budapest.

We spent a morning at the House of Terror, which is a museum dedicated to the Nazi and Soviet regimes which ruled over Hungary for most of the 20th Century. It showcased how the Nazis oppressed, repressed, and ultimately deported the Jews, and told stories of those who had lived through the Holocaust, told the story of how the Soviet secret police, the KGB, enforced a reign of terror on the population, and drove home how easily ideologies can transfer from one side of the oppressive political spectrum to the other. We thoroughly enjoyed this museum, but we would have enjoyed it more if it wasn't for the guided tours. Jo commented that these tours made museums very difficult in Eastern Europe, because people like us like to peruse, while the tour showed up and just dominated the museum space. There were a lot of them, too, so we were constantly trying to beat a tour through an exhibit (something we didn't manage to pull off a single time).

We made our way to the Buda Castle one afternoon, stopping at a Hungarian tavern along the way. The food was beyond phenomenal, especially for the price. The castle was a deceptively long walk from the tavern, but walking along the Danube was pleasant, especially with the parliament building on the other side. It is a beautiful, massive building, especially when lit up at night. When we finally made it to the castle, we learned that we had to walk uphill to get there. Great. We'd just walked 30 minutes, and now we had to finish with a giant hill. We made it, and were rewarded with some spectacular views of Budapest. The castle grounds are beautiful as well. We couldn't fully explore them, though, because a movie was being filmed there that day. Many of the castle's features were decorated in World War I French military accoutrement for the filming, so we didn't really see the authentic side of the castle. We did, however, go to the Budapest History Museum, which was a bit of a misnomer. The museum was more about the castle than Budapest as a whole. It was cool, but we're not archaeologists. The gardens below the castle, though, absolutely beautiful to walk through. Great if you're looking for an Instagramable spot!

The night after the castle, we went to the thermal baths, which everyone from local to casual traveler to travel blogger said we need to see. They were an interesting experience, and we only had two hours until closing time. There are baths of different temperatures, from cold (above freezing, unless Jack is telling the story, at which point they're sub-arctic) to hot and everything in between. The one we went to also had several outside pools, some for exercise and some for leisure, and different saunas. Jo had us jumping around to the different areas, so we definitely got our money's worth. Definitely recommend spending some time at one of these, especially if you workout while on the road. You definitely feel better afterwards. We also got a 20 minute massage each while we were there. Honestly, more than a bit lacking, but I guess you get what you pay for, so definitely pass on this optional extra.

We checked out the biggest ruin bar in Budapest one evening, Szimpla Kert. Budapest has several of these bars, which get their name from them being set inside bombed out buildings from World War II. Rather than tear down the walls and supports, businesses, including bars, cleaned the insides up and set up shop. Szimpla Kert was massive. It just kept going and going. There was a constant flow of people in and out, and it never seemed to get full. That said, it was expensive. We joked, "we came, we saw, we could not afford to conquer." On top of that, all the friend groups seemed to segregate themselves. There seemed to be no cross-interaction, which was odd to us given the number of young, hostel-going tourists there were. We came, we saw, we went back to the hostel to watch Onetoro.

Our last day, we spent exploring the Jewish Quarter. It came recommended to us on several fronts. We're not really sure why. It is just a neighbourhood. Granted, there is a big synagogue, but that was about it. Ultimately, we got tired of the underwhelming walk, and decided to settle in at a cafe to read a bit before we hopped our train to Munich.

Oh, yeah, Jack met a girl on Tinder! But she stood him up. Womp womp.

Where we stayed: Netien Hostel Budapest

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