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Published: October 7th 2008
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Beautiful Budapest
Keletti station, a grand entrance to the city of Budapest greeted the weary eyes of our traveling duo. Travel fatigue hung over us as we stepped off the train and struggled to decide what way to procure ourselves a place to stay for our six days in Hungary. A strong cup of coffee helped to clear the fog and we ventured forth to yet another TI (tourist info); without much effort we met a gentleman whom was in the business of renting private flats for travelers. Lo and behold he had a vacancy just a few blocks from the station at a very reasonable price. We decided it sounded good and he walked us there to show it before we decided to accept or not. Into the maze of five storey dirty grey apartment buildings we went. We came upon a non-descript brown door and entered into a courtyard beyond it, climbed three flights and entered the unit. It was a cheery flat with a kitchen, laundry facilities, bathroom and television… Wow, a lot more than we had expected. We made the deal for five nights and settled in for a much needed nap.
Szechenyi Chain Bridge
John contemplating history Late that evening after sleeping longer than we had planned we began to feel our hunger and ventured forth into the new city at night. As the Lonely planet explained, Budapest is a thoroughly walkable city. We found ourselves some food and enjoyed the very vibrant night life as we strolled. Budapest has the look of an extremely new city for how historic it actually is. Mixed with the newer plainly constructed buildings were many older Art Nouveau style and neoclassical bas-reliefs all build within the last few decades of the 19th century. There were surprises around every corner such as bullet holes and shrapnel scorings left over from WWII and the 1956 uprising, interspersed with dozens of modern fast food joints, five star hotels and Parisian style tree lined avenues with jazz bands echoing in the distance. The recognition that we were actually in the east dawned on us, as we wound our way home for the evening.
The following day we did precious little apart from sleeping in, making breakfast, watching a rarely found English movie on the television, and enjoyed having what seemed more of an actual home. What a lovely day it was. Sometimes
there is nothing quite like having your own fridge and stove….
A new day, and a new possibility for seeing some of the culture surrounding us. After breakfast (at home of course) we headed out to see Castle Hill on the Buda (West) side of the Danube. We ascended the hill via a fun, however, overpriced “funicular” which rapidly had us looking over Pest, and marveling at the stretch of Danube and stunning views of the Parliament building and bridges. We spent most of the day exploring the outside of the Royal Palace (Budavari palota) built by Bela IV in the 13th century, having a great lunch with a view, and furthering our vinting education by taking a personal tour of the Royal wine caves and tasting room. With a sweet buzz and accompanied by the golden hue of streetlamps, we meandered our way through the only remaining medieval section of the city, Var, known also as the Old Town. From Old Town to Watertown we walked, crossed the bridge and headed back into the depths of Pest to our homely apartment for a home cooked meal.
As long term travel isn’t all fun and no
work, we spent a great deal of time working on-line and with travel agents to arrange our forward travel for the next couple of months. One huge task had been checked off our list and that was the security of our plane tickets to Burundi, Africa. Since working on them on-line before arriving in France, we had finally jumped through the last hoop of a 45 minute phone wait to the bank in the US while in Budapest. What an ordeal…
Whether we worked or toured, most of our evenings were spent strolling through the golden light of the illuminated beautiful Budapest. Some of the most amazing scenery was along the Danube; all the structures were magnificently lit, beautiful by day breathtaking by night.
One of the must sees of Budapest are the thermal baths scattered all over the city. Budapest lies on a geological fault separating the Buda hills from the Great Plains, over 30,000 cubic meters gush daily from 118 springs. In addition to access to the Danube, its plethora of thermal springs was another one of its draws contributing to its tumultuous past. Although a tough decision to make, Szechenyi Baths became our final
choice, as we could combine our ‘taking of the waters’ with a visit to the incredible City Park and Castle. On the way there we passed through the Millenary Monument under a great spire topped with a statue of Saint Stephen who was the founding saint of Budapest. Exploring the park we stumbled upon Vajdahunyad Castle and Agricultural museum and stopped to admire Jak Chapel surrounded by vibrant exotic flowers. After enjoying an ice cream sitting by the lake, we headed over to Szechenyi for more relaxation. The place was HUGE. Although confusing, not just at first, we eventually figured out where to pay, change, and actually enter the waters. Szechenyi has nine indoor and nine outdoor pools, the indoor ones ranging from 28c to 45c, yes tried them all… Just when we thought we had seen them all, we found another wing and the entrance to the outdoor pools. The outdoor pools were ornately decorated and equipped with enough fun for everyone regardless of age. While soaking up the sun at the side of one of the pools, people began to rapidly spin past us. As we moved away from the side we too were swept away with the
current, and found ourselves in a human washing machine. Too much fun. There were other water features as well: waterfalls, jets, sprays, poolside chess, and a lap pool. We soaked till our skin could hold no more water, and resembled that of giant prunes. This process took approximately four hours. As the sun slid behind the clouds, we took the opportunity to find a meal and refreshments and eventually make our way home.
Before we knew it nearly a week had slipped by. Well rested and marinated in the comforts of a real apartment, we prepared ourselves for yet another country, Greece.
Stay tuned boys and girls to find out which glorious island of Greece the Dynamic Duo plant themselves on for another week of luxury before heading to yet another new continent to fulfill a highly anticipated volunteer project. Same travel blog, same travel time.
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