Budapest

  Budapest, Hungary
Thursday, September 6, 2007

Oh Budapest!  What an interesting experience we had!  Paige and I went from Istanbul to Budapest and the two cities could not be more different.  We had enjoyed a perfect week in Istanbul, which is a beautiful and colorful city that is fast-paced and fun.  We had beautiful hot, sunny weather and our days were filled with activity.  We arrive into Budapest and it is rainy and cold and everything was going wrong.  We were riding the bus to our hostel and at one point Paige and I just looked at each other - we both knew what the other was thinking: why the hell didn't we stay in Istanbul?!  We didn't even feel like we were in a capitol city - we felt like we were in a random nowhere town in Russia!
 (pic: cold and sad and hungry in budapest)

We ended up having a blast in Budapest - not because of what the city had to offer but because of our hostel.  We stayed at Backpack Budapest, which was a complete hippie hostel.  Everyone who came with plans to stay only a few nights ended up staying way longer than expected because the hostel was a home to everyone.  We ended up making friends with three boys our age from Florida: Joe, John, and Kyle. 
 (pic: left to right, Joe, Paige, Me, Kyle, John, Waiterfriend)

The five of us had so much fun together and instantly became a little family.  We didn't leave the hostel very often because it was so cosy.  But we did tour a bit of Budapest...

-- the baths: There were these natural hot baths that could pay to get into and they rocked.  The air was a bit cold, but the water was great.  And there were spas and cold tubs and all sorts.  I particularly liked the baths because I was skipping showering in Hungary all together.  We liked/hated to go from the sweltering hot spa to the ice cold pools.  It hurt so bad it almost felt good.  Almost. (I forgot to take pics, sorry)

-- House of Terror: This was once the headquarters of Nazi and Soviet regimes.  The museum was full of information (unfortunately most was in Hungarian) but was one of the best museums I've ever been to because of its artist display.  Every room was incredibly unique and moving.  Unfortunately, the basement of the offices was a prison and torture chamber.  I'd prefer not to go into detail - its grueling. 

So thats pretty all we toured.  We walked around alot and looked at stuff, but didn't do much touristy stuff.  By the end, I must say, that Budapest had grown on me.  It has so much history and the best part: free transportation throughout the city (only because we cheated) and pretty good beer.  Haha.


But when I think back of my time in Budapest, I think more of our hostel and the people we met:  (A holla out to my homies!)

-- Chris Bobby: Who's real name was Bobby but I accidentally kept calling him Chris so he eventually became Chris Bobby to everyone.  He was a semi-obnoxious Californian who was half-enjoyable to hear his take on things, half-miserably annoying.

-- Tyler: The guy at the front desk who liked to talk about religion and bite people.  Me and Paige in particular.

-- Georgie-Peorgie: May he forever live in my heart!  The 40ish year old Englishman who was completely inappropriate and smoked over 2 packs a day.  He was a riot because you could never tell when he was serious and when he wasnt and whether he was a genius or just that simple.  I decided in my head that he probably has around 4 illegitimate children, two wives, and at least one mistress.

-- Steve and No-name: Georgie's friends who also smoke somewhere around 2 packs a day.  Also hilarious.

--Fabiana: 38 year old woman from Argentina who lived each day to the fullest.  She was intelligent, made friends everywhere she went, was full of energy, and was traveling the world by herself.  I hope one day I can be as loving, effervescent, and independent as she is!

And so many more unique characters that will always randomly make me smile.

So thats Budapest.  Once again, I hope everyone is in good spirits and good health.  I hope everyone is also laughing enough; on average, children laugh 400 times a day - adults laugh on 15 times a day.  So laugh it up - we've gotta up our number!