I tried really very hard. I thought maybe I was just struggling with being back to staying at smelly backpackers and having to lug my crap around with me everywhere and feeling like a bit of a sitting duck being on my own... But, in hindsight, I just didn't love Budapest.
Parts of the city are really beautiful and the people are very friendly and helpful. I absolutely loved the castle and some of the architecture is completely amazing. There are some stunning park areas and the museums are fantastic... most importantly, I had some really good food, the weather was perfect and its cheap. So my problem is what exactly? I can't put my finger on what it is, I just wasn't feeling it. It felt kind of dusty and dirty. There was a bit of construction around the place, so maybe that's it and I'm just being a bit harsh. I had some issues with my bank and had to spend a lot of time hanging around the train station like a homeless person, so maybe that's it. I don't know, the whole thing just seemed like a bit of a pointless exercise.
It was late afternoon
when I got there... The chick at the tourist information thing at the airport was really nice and helpful and got me onto a train into the city. I booked into the first hostel i saw, which was just across the road from the train station, and it was completely fine, nothing to write home about but cheap and cheerful. I found a cheap restaurant just up the road with heaps of delicious goloushy type things i could stuff myself with, and everyone was more than accommodating with my complete lack of Hungarian speaking ability.
Next day I wore myself out something huge, its been a long time since i've spent all day just wandering around... Of course I got horribly lost within an hour, but managed to stumble across an area on the Pest side with heaps of museums and stuff, then found myself on the map and managed to get down to the river and over to Buda. I spent aaaaages at the Castle, having 2 cups of the most expensive yet eagerly anticipated cups of tea known to man (may have been in England too long, am fanging for a cup of tea even as we
speak). Then found a beautiful park to mooch around in, and only moved when some crackhead starting harrassing me for money. He soon lost interest and I could see other people looking over to make sure I was allright, so it wasn't a huge drama.
Even though it was quite a nice day and I managed to fill the time ok, I booked myself an overnight train ticket to Brasov, Romania for the next day...
Next day i went back up to the museums bit in Pest and stumbled across and zoo and thought "why not?". Bit of a random way to blow some cash, but as soon as I walked in and saw some seals splashing about I thought it was money well spent. Then I started to feel kind of sorry for them, then I remembered that i hadn't been to a zoo for years because i kind of feel sorry for the animals... and then I started to see some dead things in some of the enclosures... which may have been discarded food. I'm telling myself it was discarded food. Got out of there pretty fast nonetheless!
Next blog from Romania
Hungary's Flag
Map of Hungary