The Return of the Dude
Trip Start
May 25, 2007
1
65
73
Trip End
Oct 29, 2007
Budapest,
Hungary
Thursday, August 30, 2007
The hostel I'm at is called The Loft, and it is just that: It's a big apartment suite, really. Homey and cozy. A good way to offset the hustle and bustle of the city. I was given my city info by this tall hairy dude from Oz named Phil. He was also on a long trek through Europe and managed to snag some work at the hostel for a short while. He's a good guy...we ended up going to great (and surprisingly cheap) steak dinner at a place near the hostel.
My stalkers Fred and Nikki arrived at the hostel not long after I did, as did several other people. Everyone seemed a little tired from traveling and no one had much energy to go out and party, so we just grabbed some beers from the market and stayed in. After watching several episodes of Scrubs I decided to put on a movie. Among the collection I was elated to discover they had The Big Lebowski, one of the best movies ever. Only Freddy had seen it before so I was doubly excited to introduce the Dude to a whole new group of people. I was just so happy.
After a late start, I headed out to walk the city. The weather had turned a bit sour, but it wasn't too bad. Even so, I finally broke down and bought an umbrella.
I started on the Buda side of the Danube, and headed up to the top of this hill where a good view of the city was promised me. Of course, my stalkers were up there waiting for me. Imagine my surprise.
After snapping some shots and playing with the artillery, I headed down to the Royal Palace, once the main castle. One I found it I toured the Budapest city museum, and hodge-podge collection of the city's long history. There wasn't much in English and the audioguide didn't work so I was left a little wanting. Oh well, they can't all be great.
Crossing the famous White Bridge I headed back to Pest and just wandered the main areas for a while. Much of Budapest is newer than I expected, but still hangs on to a bit of that poor eastern bloc reputation. Before long that'll be entirely gone, as the gates of western culture have been opened wide. I foresee a McDonald's and Star bucks on every corner before long.
That evening I went with my stalkers and a Kiwi named Scott to a club which was promised to be full of Hungarians. It was, and was pretty cool. It was one of the few bars that actually isn't so loud you can't hear yourself talk. And I got to be part of another stagette party, which is always fun :)
