Budapest, Hungary
I have always dreamed of taking an overnight train to get somewhere, so when I saw the option of an overnight train to Budapest I hopped right on. My friends and I selected a six person sleeper car. Going into this train ride I had imagined the sleeper car like the ones in Murder on the Orient Express, spacious and comfortable. Well my image of that was quickly replaced with the less luxurious reality of fold down beds stacked three high in a tiny room. I couldn’t even sit all the way up in bed or lay all the way out because the bed was too short for me. Once I settled in, I eventually fell asleep and woke up the next morning in Hungary!
We went to the hotel and put our stuff down then headed straight to a walking tour of Buda and Pest! The first thing we saw was a gate with a bunch of padlocks on it. People had written their initials and the initials of their partner on the lock then put it on the gate and threw the key in the Danube river. Our tour guide pointed out some locks that had a numerical code instead of a key; she said these were for people who weren’t too sure hahaha. We also saw a fountain that represented the fact that Budapest was so centered around water. Poseidon was at the top and there were four women at the base representing the rivers that flowed through Budapest. Then we walked through the city and our tour guide pointed out some good places to get authentic local cuisine. Some of the most well known are goulash, chimney cakes, and this frozen chocolate bar with, get this, cottage cheese inside! Ew, I know. I tried it and it was not good. The goulash and the chimney cakes were amazing though.
We saw Saint Stephen’s Basilica, crossed the chain bridge, went up to the Buda Castle, saw Matthias Church, and ended the tour at Fisherman’s Bastion for a great view of the Danube and the Hungarian Parliament building. There was a monument in the square in from of Matthias Church that was built in honor of those who had survived the plague. The tiles on the top of Matthias Church are original and self cleaning! The tiles were so bright and colorful. I had never seen a roof so pretty.
After the walking tour we got some goulash for lunch then went to the Parliament building for a tour. That parliament building was so beautiful. I would be a politician just to be able to work there. We were shown some hallways and one conference room and were then quickly ushered out. I headed back to my hotel room to freshen up and head to a bar called Szimpla Kert which was so charming and cute! It had a bunch of mismatched items and cool lights and a garden. It was cold though so we sat inside. After we left the bar, we went on a boat party/cruise down the Danube. The party was lame but the views were so pretty! The buildings lit up at night was so nice. Once the cruise was over, I went to bed. The next morning, I got on a train and left Budapest for Vienna!
