Back in Budapest

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The last time we were in Budapest was a chilly December 2010, it was the first time we had travelled overseas and it was love at first site! After visiting numerous European cities we both still hold a special place for Budapest so we were very excited to return and it did not disappoint. It is definitely a very different city in summer, beautiful green trees lining the roads instead of knee deep snow.

Our stop this time was brief, but we knew exactly what we wanted to see and do and it was achievable. Last time we had neglected to go to the famous thermal baths, so this was on our list along with getting up close to the parliament house which is a magnificent building. Along with this we were keen to visit Trophia, a Hungarian buffet restaurant that a Hungarian we met in Africa insisted that we visit.

We arrived in Budapest late at night from Krakow on a bus with squeaky breaks and in need of a service. Our hostel was right in the city center, which meant everything was in walking distance. We woke the first morning ready to hit the baths but decided the weather was not quite hot enough and instead went in search of breakfast, this was harder than we thought, and the prices in Budapest had increased since our last visit. Instead of paying far too much for some eggs and toast we settled on chocolate milk and a muesli bar (a healthy choice). We spent the morning walking along the river and admiring the view of the parliament house, in the afternoon we wondered around Margret Island, an Island in the middle of the Danube River. Here we rented a two person peddle bike which we rode in perfect unison through the gardens and water fountains.

That night after consuming the least amount of food possible all day we hit Trophia, all you can eat traditional Hungarian food, seafood, meats, salads, soup (goulash of course) deserts and all you can drink, local beer, wine and cocktails. We had a great night out even sharing in 21^st birthday cake from the locals sitting at the table next to us! After quite a few drinks Aaron got so excited he lit his napkin on fire with the candle on our table and then tried to blow it out only causing the fire to get bigger. Our night was so good in fact we returned the following night (lucky they didn’t recognise Aaron after his fire incident) with a group from our hostel and definitely got our money’s worth!

Our second day was spent almost entirely at the thermal baths, which was very relaxing swapping from warm to cool baths (not quite sure of the medical benefits but we did feel very clean!). Early the next morning we woke up and took a train to Belgrade.

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Photos

Getting into the hot baths
Thermal Baths

Hostel in the background
Fantastic location!

Peddle bike
Margaret Island