Unfortunately I left Budapest feeling like I had no grasp on the city. I think this feeling stemmed from poor planning done on my program's part and a lack of excitement on my part. This late into the semester most of my excitement is being poured into finishing classes and getting back to my family which unfortunately made it hard to keep my energy and excitement up for Budapest. Despite that the trip overall was nice and I definitely want to return to get a fuller experience in Budapest.
 |
| CET in Budapest |
We got off our bus to quickly get to our hotel and check in before heading to our first lecture. The lecture was somewhat entertaining I suppose, but the purpose was to give us a feel for the culture in Budapest. I thought this was strange seeing as we didn't have any similar lectures in any of the other cities we visited, but I went along with it. The lecture consisted of information easily found by doing simple research in a travel book or Wikipedia. Most of the students really enjoyed the lecture but I guess I'm so used to (and really enjoy) learning a little about a place
before I get there that the lecture was pretty useless. We left the lecture for dinner at a restaurant with a great atmosphere but mediocre food that could not be deemed Hungarian at all.
 |
| Group Dinner |
The next day we headed to a little town called Szentendre just outside of Budapest. After a quick description of the town we were told to explore for the rest of the day. The town was really pretty and quaint but exploring consisted of stopping in a few of the numerous souvenir shops before sitting by the lake for the rest of the day. I think the purpose of the trip was to relax, and it was relaxing, but again I could have done that anywhere. We got back to Budapest for another lecture focused more on history. The lecture was a bit more substantial and reinforced what we had already learned in class. It was interesting to learn that the Hungarian national anthem pretty much says "Because of all the crap we've gone through we can pretty much do what we want without retribution. Thanks god!" That was a funny tidbit of info for the day. We met up with a few Grinnellians and headed to a ruin bar for the night. This was probably the most Hungarian thing we had done yet and it was a blast. A while back there were several buildings that were set to be torn down and built into something new until they were taken over by creative and hip bars and clubs. The dilapidated buildings were reinforced and given a face lift with modern art and hip accessories. The ruin bar we went to had ceramic rabbits hanging from the ceiling and animals playing instruments on the walls. There are several of these bars throughout Budapest.
 |
| River by Szentendre |
The next day we finally got a tour of Budapest and I finally felt a bit more grounded. We hiked up to the castle to see St. Stephen's and the great views of Pest. We stopped by the Opera on our way back to the hotel for a break before heading to the baths. This was by far my favorite thing we did in Budapest for so many reasons! Getting to soak in hot water and catch some sun (there are few things that are better) would have been enough to make me love the baths, but the location also provided the most entertaining people watching I've ever done. There was such a mix of people ranging from three adorable Hungarian men in Speedos who clearly hung out there all the time to an American guy with long dreadlocks who had just moved to Budapest. There were people from every corner of the world and every possible age group. There were three drunk men making fools of themselves and groups of kids splashing around. We even found a gay man with his daughter who really loved Arsenal (well more he found us, or even more specifically he found Ben). By the end of the day I was pruney and totally relaxed. I tried to find some people to get a traditional Hungarian dinner but everyone was set on saving money. Fortunately I found a good compromise by eating the cheap Hungarian dish called Lángos. It consists of a dough much like funnel cake topped with anything from strawberries and Nutella to salami and ham. I ordered the most typical Lángos with sour cream, garlic, and cheese on top which I quickly devoured. I watched a bit of the NFL draft (thinking of Chris Jarmon as
I watched the clips) and headed to bed.
 |
| View of Pest from the Castle |
 |
| Baths! |
Our last day was ours to do with what we pleased. Kylie and I grabbed a Hop on Hop off bus tour brochure and decided to save money by walking from stop to stop. We finally saw Pest (which we didn't get to in our tour) including the Synagogue, National Museum, and Grand Market. We walked down the river to see the beautiful parliament building up close which was by far my favorite building. We also saw the monument to Jews shot into the Danube during WWII which was moving and very well done. By this point we were pretty pooped so we hopped on the metro to return to the park the bath was in. We saw the Hero's Square which reminded me of Vienna and walked around the city park. The park came right out of any kid's dream. There was the zoo, a circus, a fun park, carnival games, candy stands, ice cream, peddle boats, and almost anything else a kid would ever want. We got some ice cream and enjoyed the sun and grass before heading back to the hotel to cool down and head out.
 |
| Parliament building |
 |
| In Hero's Square |
Even though our Budapest trip was a bit of a disappointment to me, I mostly feel like I need to come back with my own itinerary so that I can really see the city. It surprised me that almost all of my class mates immediately fell in love with the city and even said they wished they had studied abroad there instead. I honestly think the city's draw had a lot to do with the 80 degree weather, but I don't think I could ever like Budapest as much as Vienna or Prague. I decided the city felt like a bigger Prague mixed with a dirtier Vienna. Seeing that I enjoy Prague's smallness and my deep attachment to Vienna had a lot to do with the lack of dirt and trash, maybe you can see why Budapest comes in third for me. I also realized I saw zero art in Budapest which is something that shaped my experience in Vienna and I've also enjoyed in Prague.
Anywho, I'll definitely come back to Budapest, but in the meantime I'm currently on a train to Ljubljana! Almost every Czech has told me to go to Slovenia. I'm pretty sure it is the vacation destination of Czech people. I'm really excited for the weekend of fun, and I can't wait to tell you all about it!
 |
| Train View! |
Egészségedre! (Cheers)
-Patty
ps. Hungarian sounds like a kid pretending they can speak a language...
No comments:
Post a Comment