24 July
1pm - On bus in Prague, off we go
4:43pm - Hit Bratislava, people unload
9pm - Hour delay but we made it to Budapest
9:50pm - At friend’s apartment
25 July
8:30am – My friend went to work, I rolled over and went back to sleep
10:30am - Out and about exploring the city
11am - Great bagel place, give my forint from my last trip but turns out that the money is no longer valid, have to go to the nearby bank, straight to the 1 English teller and get new money
11:40am - Crossing the chain bridge to the Buda side of town, just how wide the Danube is vs. the Seine and Chicago river, not used to such a walk to get to another part of town
11:50am - Eschewing the 1000HUF/€3/$3.34 very short cable car, take a 7-minute walk up
11:58am - Only a very short walk, great view of the city, see the Pest side, parliament, Margaret island, enjoying the July sunshine
12:30pm - Walk up to the parliament building and I catch what looks similar to a changing of the guard at Buckingham palace, two guards marching and exchanging guns. Last time I was here at 5:30pm I caught 6 men on horses in their full regalia doing a short procession near the palace
12:45pm - Fisherman’s bastion is the main attraction but I love the colorful Matthias church. Walk down the hill and back to Pest.
1:15pm - At Retro Làngos Bufé stall to get làngos, favorite Hungarian food. I get the classic; fried dough with sour cream and cheese, adding a twist of fried onion. Delicious. No place to sit + lots of construction so trying to eat a bit now
1:30pm - Creating a makeshift to-go package, take the metro back home
3pm - On a train to Balatonalmádi, a popular town on lake Balaton, Budapest and Hungary’s main weekend and holiday destination.
4:43pm - Arrive and take the short walk to friend’s family’s lake house
5:30pm - Swimming in the lake, feeling the soft and squelchy mud under your feet, relaxing on the “beach” or grass near the water. You have to pay an entry fee for the beach, which was new to me.
7:15pm - At dinner, they were out of fish and chips so I tried the Hungarian fried cod, mostly bone and not much fried so took some getting used to, give you pieces of white bread and minced garlic
8pm - Have ice cream at the best place Amaretto, so many flavors but settle on strawberry cheesecake and salted caramel.
26 July
10am - Hanging out in the garden, some timing issues but saved money on the beach entry fee so that’s a plus
5pm - Back on the train back to Budapest, was here 24 hours ago but feels like a while, nice to get some relaxing in
8:30pm - Having a late dinner + wine (red, surprisingly I loved it), oh those summer nights!
27 July
8am -My friend is a yoga instructor and aficionado so naturally we are at one of Budapest’s summer events: yoga on the bridge. Every summer weekend they close the Liberty bridge (further south than the chain bridge) for workout events, parties, etc.
8:45am - Very verbose instructor, or maybe it’s just that it’s in Hungarian. Looking around me and marveling at the number of people doing yoga together and the fact that I’m doing yoga on the car lane in the middle of a bridge in Budapest, wow!
9:30am - Finish yoga and get lots of healthy goodies + a tote bag. Walk through the Pest streets to the Erzsébet square (named after Empress Elisabeth "Sisi" of Austria in 1858).
10:30am - After some searching, find the English free walking tour by the Ferris wheel. Feels weird to do a walking tour on my second trip after spending a total of a week in Budapest but I love me a free walking tour and I wanted to try it out, plus I love getting the historical background, etc. and it’s a great way to meet other travellers as I learned in Berlin!
12:45pm - After walking around Pest, St Stephen’s basilica, seeing buildings from pre-World War 2 that share a wall with reconstructed, very ornate ones, past the Academy of Sciences, crossing the bridge and back up to the fisherman’s bastion, and meeting some new people (Dutch, Australian, and American), I’m heading back down the hill and back across the river to the same langos stall, the same as two days ago but the real Budapest experience!
1:30pm - I can’t believe that I’ve been in Budapest for longer than a week total and have never had a kürtöskalács (chimney cake). I had avoided them in Prague where our tour guide had berated them for being not Czech. My friend had said that the stall by the Deak metro was the best, but it was closed! At least I have my langos.
2pm - Back home and so happy that my friend has had a long morning, happy to nap and chill in the apartment.
8pm - Some friends come over and we chat and bond over growing up in places different from where our parents were from.
9:45pm - In the university district so check out a local bar; looks very fun but lots of people and very hot and busy, so venture out.
10pm - Find a great open-air bar with long picnic tables and alcohol. I try my best Hungarian to order “czia, ej mojito kosonum” (hello, 1 mojito please) and the bartender has no clue what I’m saying, oh well. I feel better when the friend who has lived here for 5+ years orders in English.
12am - Starts pouring and they close the outer portion so we head home.
1:30am - After a lot of laughs and snuggling under blankets with the rainstorm outside, it’s bedtime.
28 July
11am - Having a chill last breakfast with my friend.
1pm - Adamant that I can’t leave Budapest for the second time without having a kürtöskalács, we go to a shop by the airport bus in pest center. Clearly not the “best” as it was a very touristy stall and not very fresh but who cares, it’s fried dough with cinnamon sugar and I added whipped cream, it was delicious!
1:30pm - On the bus to the airport, sad to be leaving Budapest but back to Paris next so excited! After having stayed in hostels for a while and with friends, I had booked a cute hotel between opera and Gare du Nord to relax pre-Asia. Was starting to get more nervous for this very different, mostly unknown part of the trip.
4:40pm - After an hour delay, we take off from Budapest airport. Sitting by the window and get some beautiful views of the city!
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