So as hard as it may be to believe for all my Facebook friends, this is my serious, studious year. Well, I'm not going to be taking pictures of my stack of books in the library and posting them on Facebook, so I don't think that's a very representative view of my life right now. But the past two years, I wasn't very challenged academically. My year in Spain taught me more about myself and about life and the world than I have learned in the past 10 years. But in terms of classroom teaching.... I wasn't enthralled. My final year for my Bachelor's in America was also kind of boring. While I'm glad I got all my required classes out of the way before I went to Spain, my final year consisted of classes such as Tennis and French 101. So while I complain all the time, and I'm sleep-deprived, I'm glad to finally be challenged.
Anyway, this tangent had a point. My blog during my time in Spain had a very trip-related organization concept. Every weekend, I would jet off somewhere, come back and write a post. Well, here if you pass too many classes, you fail. Or fall behind and can never hope to catch up. But I have SUCH a bad case of the travel bug... I literally forced myself to attend every single class the whole semester, even when I wasn't feeling good. Just to save up my days for when I wanted to travel. Yes, I'm a freak. I also like to stalk airline websites at night to find good flight deals. Double freak. But that's how I found tickets to Budapest roundtrip 69 euros. Booyah! And they don't have the euro, so everything would be cheaper there! Double booyah! One situation I'm not used to: when I studied in Spain I was with a lot of Americans who were trying to see as much of Europe as they could while they were there, because they didn't know the next time they would be there. Here... basically all my friends are European. They can go to these places whenever they want. So not too many were very motivated to skip class and give out money to go to ... Hungary. Which is why I'm so happy I had wonderful Bea!! Bea is my Brazilian friend who agreed to go with me, and I'm so glad she did :)
Getting up in the morning was rough, because it was the day after election day in America, and I had to attempted to stay up the night before to wait to see who won. I made it until 3... but I woke up to a barrage of texts at 6 am.. and I didn't even care, because I was so happy! So Bea and I met at the station, took the train to Eindhoven, and soon we were on our way to Budapest!
Now, I'm going to be honest. I didn't/don't know a lot about Hungary. Usually before I go to a place, I do some research. On the history, language, culture, climate, culture, etc. But I'm so busy here I didn't have time to do that. Which was actually pretty interesting because I had absolutely no context for what I was about to see. Our flight was scheduled to land around 3:30 in the afternoon. While I'm in the plane, I look out the window, and I am so confused. The sun is shining, I just saw it shine above the clouds before we descended. But then we descended... and there was a sunset. I thought, 'no, this couldn't be'. Explanations I came up with were: the light here is just red, we have to set the clocks forward here, or that I had discovered where Mordor was. But no, we landed and it soon became apparent. The sun sets here at 4. As in DARK at 4. Disorienting was putting it lightly.
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| Budapest's main station. Not kidding, this picture was taken at 4:30 in the afternoon. |
We got to our hostel around 5:30, pitch black. Bea and I are nearly fainting from hunger (helpful note: sandwiches at Eindhoven airport cost 7E... not kidding. Orange juice? 5E!) We soon realized we were not just in a hostel.. we were in a YOUTH hostel. Which is fine... I mean, we're youths, right? ...... no, we're not, we soon realized. We got there, and this young kid with a long scruffy beard and handlebar mustache (yes, I'll just let you picture that in your mind) jumps over the couch to check us in. "Hey guys, so where ya coming from? Really? Sweet. Me? I'm from Detroit. Yeah, just, like, traveling around, living in Budapest. So.. uh... can I have your passports? I'll keep them safe, I swear." Second question after getting our passports: "so you guys going out tonight? It's pub crawl tonight!" Ohh no.. we just got here and spent the whole day traveling, we're kind of exhausted... is there a good restaurant around here. He stared at us like we had four heads. Apparently exhaustion is not a good excuse. But we grandmas stayed strong! Bea and I got up at 8 AM the next morning, and it was apparent from the 6 snoring Australian girls around us that we were the only ones in the hostel who didn't go out last night. But Bea and I had plans!
I always think one of the best ways to learn more about a country is get out of the capital or the large cities, and go to the smaller ones. I wanted to go to a smaller Hungarian town, picturesque, see the sights, churches... we couldn't have picked a better one. After breakfast at the grocery store, we boarded a train that we were about 75% sure went to the right place. Either there or Slovakia. But as soon as we made our way out of Budapest, I was completely speechless. The hungarian countryside is so beautiful. You know, maybe it's the fact that I live in a country that is somewhat vertically challenged (it's the flattest country in the world), but these rolling hills with little chalets built up on the side were so charming it hurt.
After a weird transfer where everyone on the train got off on the side of the tracks and climbed into a bus (??? what was that???), and another hour of driving, we finally made it! Esztergom!!
I wish I could say we researched for hours. But we literally googled 'day trips from budapest' and then clicked on 'images'. And Esztergom looked beautiful. Well, it certainly didn't disappoint. Esztergom lies on the Danube, and borders Slovakia. Why it's important: it was the capital of Hungary from the 10th until the 13th century, and its basilica is the largest church in Hungary.
After somehow finding our way from the 'bus station' (dropping us off in front of dumpsters) to the old town (when in doubt, just keep walking), we finally saw what all the buzz was about. There was not a single tourist to be seen. Just Hungarians. Even the old man we met in front of the museum refused to believe we were not Hungarian, as I'm sure he was emphatically telling us in Hungarian, but we just smiled and nodded at him, pretending we understood. We wanted to go to the Basilica first, because that was what it was famous for. Well, holy crap. It was already an unbelievably glorious, balmy day, so I'm sure even Detroit (sorry mustache man) would have looked beautiful. But I can honestly say, the view of the Danube from the basilica was one of the top 10 most beautiful I have ever seen. And I've been some pretty cool places.
After taking a million picture, basking a little in the sun, and taking a visit around the basilica, we decided it was time to eat again. Esztergom actually has a destination restaurant, apparently so good people come from Budapest to eat there. It's called Primas Pince, and it's in the cellar under the Basilica. And yes, it lived up to the hype. DELICIOUS. 3 course meals for under 10 euros. I kid you not. It was all traditional Hungarian fare, but with a modern twist. My Danubian duck pate was so delicious, and encased in a flaky phyllo crust, and my chicken was perfectly cooked and mixed with some pumpkin gravy and ligonberries. And the hungarian wine!! Also delicious :)
After stopping at the only tourist store in Esztergom to stock up on some handmade traditional Hungarian crafts, we decided it was getting late (it was flipping 3 o'clock, but this sun messes me up so much) and we decided to head back to the bus station since it was a 2 hour trip home. We were tired from all the walking/running to catch the bus, but by the time we got back to the hostel, they're first question: you going out tonight!? It's all-you-can-drink night at our sister hostel! a.)we're tired because we woke up at 8 and walked all day. b.) why would I go to Budapest to go out to a hostel?? We decided we would go to one of the city's famous tea houses instead. But before we left, I wanted to ask Detroit dude what he thought of Esztergom, since we loved it so much. "Where?" Dear lord. This guy LIVES in Hungary, and has never been outside of Budapest... but he can tell you the location of every good bar in Budapest. Priorities, people.....
So we were recommended a tea house called Sirius. Apparently it's notoriously hard to find. Well, I thought because we knew it was hard-to-find, we'd find it. Nope, we walked up and down that block, and couldn't find it. A tut-tut stopped with some tourists looking for the same thing. We asked people who lived on that block, they didn't know. As we were about to head back, I noticed this cellar door that kind of went down into the ground, but it looked like someone's house. I don't know what made me do it, but I kind of pushed, expecting it not to even open.. and tra-la! There it was! -__- that tea house is like platform 9 and 3/4 you literally just have to have enough balls to try to get to it. Well I was expecting a Moroccan tea house, because that's what I'm used to from Granada... Moroccan teterias con cachimba... well this was more Alice in Wonderland themed. It was ridiculous. Every time you thought you'd reached the last room, there was another little hole you had to climb through. We ordered tea from the overwhelmingly extensive tea menu, and while it was good, I'm not gonna lie, I miss my "Sueños de Alhambra" tea from Granada.
The next day we devoted to just seeing Budapest. As much as I cringe admitting this, we got tickets for the tourist hop on, hop off bus. Yes, yes, i know.. but it's honestly the best way to see the whole city.
It took us to Buda and Pest, and even up the mountain to the Castle District, without having to pay for the funicular. So we got our money's worth. We even used it later in the day to get us to the famous mineral baths! Fun, everyone should do it, but jeez those 4 seconds running from the locker room to the water was painful, I think it was around 3 degrees Celsius. That night, to the hostel's relief, we finally went out. They had planned a booze cruise down the Danuze... I mean Danube (I'm sorry, I think I'm really funny) with Champagne. I heard the views of Pest from the Danube at night were beautiful, so we wanted to go. Well, first we pregamed at their sister hostel (why is that fun?? Why do people go to Budapest to just drink at a hostel?) and then we finally went to the boat. It was fun, but too short :( Bea and I wanted to stay on the boat forever, just dancing, drinking champagne, and looking out the window.
But they dragged us off to a Hungarian disco. Nope, uh, uh. Not having it. I think we stayed a grand total of 10 min. I had two Serbian gangsters squeeze my butt, and a clingy Brazilian trailing me (not related to Bea), and in the bathroom, I passed two stalls where two girls that looked like prostitutes were puking their brains out on the floor. Sure enough, on our way out, we passed one of the hostel employees (What? Where are you guys going!? It's so early!) Peace out, sorry we're lame, but I prefer Leiden's nightlife. I don't have to worry about being sold into the sex trade.
Our last day, we decided to go caving. We heard it was one of the things you had to do before you left Budapest. Well, we probably should have done more research on it. I mean, I love to do physical things, I consider myself quite sporty, but holy hell!! That was one of the hardest things I've done in a while! And I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one. I should have known when they gave us the full-body mining suits and helmets.
But I am not kidding when I say some of the holes we were supposed to go through were smaller than a manhole cover.
And there's absolutely no light, no one ahead of you sometimes, so you just have to drop into darkness, completely trusting. I was an idiot, and wore these old Mexican men's boots that I bought at a thrift sore that are literally as smooth as a baby's bottom on the sole.. not a lick of traction. Guess how many times I fell? And the worst was? Bea told me afterwards she had an asthma attack in the cave. I couldn't believe she didn't tell me, I mean I heard her breathing hard but I had no idea she was having an asthma attack! But she explained to me that she didn't have her inhaler on her, and the worst thing to happen would be for her to get a panic attack on top of the asthma attack. So she meditated and focused on her breathing, and somehow overcame it. Dear God, that is terrifying though. I'm glad she didn't tell me, we were about 40 minutes under the surface, I would have had the panic attack, and there would be no saving her. So all-in-all? Am I glad I did it? Hell yeah! I went caving under the hills of Buda! Without a rope and all that fancy American safety equipment! Crossing that off my bucket list! Would I do it again? Hell no.
We rewarded our physically demanding day with a nice big bowl of Goulash! Yum, hearty, warm, and filling.
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| Yum! |
When we got back to the hostel, we found mustache dude so we could check out because we were leaving early the next morning (What!? You guys aren't going out tonight? Lame...) and he told us how much we owed. It's always scary hearing money amounts in Hungary because you buy a shot class and say "1,200 please" and you freak out. But you get used to the forints after a while. Downside, you become a little careless about how much you're giving out because you can't do the conversions so fast in your head. So Bea was the first one that caught on, because she said the amount sounded a little fishy. We went back and got the confirmation email, and sure enough, he was charging us 4000 forints more! You know what his excuse was? We were 'upgraded' to the female room after we complained. Are you serious?? Do you know what happened the first day? He took us to a room... and it was FREEZING. I mean, I think I could see my breath. When we asked if he could turn the heater on, he finally admitted the heat in that room was broken. SERIOUSLY!? You expect people to stay in a room in Budapest in November with no heat?? Even prisoners have heat! So an upgrade? To a room with the same number of beds? Give me a break.... ok, rant over. In the end we got a 'discount'. .... dumbass.
In conclusion, Hungary is awesome. Everyone should go. Beautiful views, good beer, good wine, good food... learn how to play charades because no one speaks English. Oh, and venture outside the city! My favorite day of the whole trip was our day in Esztergom.
Now I'm Hungary for more! Ok, ok... I'm done now.
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