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| View of the Danube River and the 'Buda' region of Budapest |
This weekend, most of our class decided to join in on a trip to one of the places that has been on my "must see" list since the beginning. We all were extremely excited for what lay ahead and, as a result, had increasingly high expectations. We had finally figured out our ticket fiasco the night before we were supposed to be leaving and were so relieved that the 3rd time truly was the charm. We boarded our train in the afternoon after classes and powered through the 6 hour train ride to our much anticipated weekend destination. When we had finally arrived, our expectations were a bit shaken. The train tracks traced the outskirts of town, which, unfortunately, does not shine the best light on the city whatsoever. We continued in high hopes, however, as we FINALLY reached the place I had been most excited to see!
Before arriving in Budapest, we had researched things to do and had found a boat party we were all excited to join! Because of this, we were very anxious to get settled into our hostel, find something to eat, and get ready in time to partake in the cruise. However, walking up to our hostel was something you might imagine to be from a nightmare or a scary movie. The outside had gated windows and was covered top to bottom in graffiti, while the inside continued with the graffiti trend, had bras, underwear, and shoes hanging from every possible place, and was filled with people like the ones who welcomed us named 'Pixie,' 'Sleepy G,' and 'Ballsack.' We figured (and sincerely hoped) it couldn't get any worse so we decided we'd give it a chance, at least for a night, since it was so cheap! We had to wait for others in our group to join us from a different train so in the meantime we were given a tour (YAY). This was the tipping point. We found hair on half of our beds and were given a look at the restrooms and showers we'd be using for our stay... I'll let you envision that one.
This is where our trip took a turn for the better, however, because Super Moms Rachel Leach and Nikki Baumert came to the rescue (yet again) and had the 7 of us a new place to stay almost immediately! Our new hotel was just down the street and though it was no Four Seasons, I don't know if I have ever been happier to see a hotel in my entire life. Unfortunately, because of everything that had unfolded that night, we missed our boat cruise and felt so defeated by Budapest that we decided to just stay in for the night, rest up, and hope for better luck the next day.
Just as we had feared, our bad luck continued. Our plan was to grab ourselves breakfast before the walking tour we wanted to do that day, but that plan took a bit of a detour. At breakfast that morning, a homeless man helped himself to 20,000 Forints (or nearly 75 US dollars) of my money. A few of us tried to stop him, but to no avail. I had given up hope on the money and was more concerned with everyone being alright, when God shed some light on our 24-hour case of bad luck. A man outside had seen what had happened, chased after the man, and brought him back, money in hand. The homeless man apologized and wandered off while I was in complete shock for what the other man had just done for me! I think it's safe to say, our trip finally took another turn for the better in this moment. Thank you random stranger!
That day, our walking tour ended up being just what we needed and turned into a really fun adventure! We found beautiful views of Budapest, a few souvenirs, some yummy lunch, and spent most of our day exploring. On another positive note, we also found a boat cruise to attend that night and it seemed as if our trip was looking up! The dinner cruise and the night time view of Budapest it gave us was one of the highlights of my trip and seemed to be a fun time for everyone! I don't know if I'll ever forget the image of how beautiful the lit up city was from the Danube River out of my head.
I think that my favorite part of Budapest, however, was our day trip to the Széchenyi Thermal Baths. They are one of the things the city of Budapest is known for and definitely did not disappoint! The thermal baths sit upon 2 thermal springs, consists of 18 pools at varying temperatures and used for different purposes, and had their own spa on site. I definitely don't think I will be alone in saying that we were more than ready for the relaxation that the thermal baths provided and that this adventure, along with our delicious pasta dinner (special shoutout to Jessica Krecklow for that one), was the perfect way to end my trip on a high note (something I didn't think I'd be able to say)!
I apologize for the negative vibe this blog post gave off; my expectations were set way too high and the city just didn't come close. I was, however, pleasantly surprised by the overwhelming amount of English almost everywhere we went in Budapest. Our language professor had mentioned just how difficult the Hungarian language is to learn so we were relieved to find that the city was very English-friendly! I am definitely HUNGARY for more adventure, though, so I can't wait for what's to come! Love and miss you all <3
Before arriving in Budapest, we had researched things to do and had found a boat party we were all excited to join! Because of this, we were very anxious to get settled into our hostel, find something to eat, and get ready in time to partake in the cruise. However, walking up to our hostel was something you might imagine to be from a nightmare or a scary movie. The outside had gated windows and was covered top to bottom in graffiti, while the inside continued with the graffiti trend, had bras, underwear, and shoes hanging from every possible place, and was filled with people like the ones who welcomed us named 'Pixie,' 'Sleepy G,' and 'Ballsack.' We figured (and sincerely hoped) it couldn't get any worse so we decided we'd give it a chance, at least for a night, since it was so cheap! We had to wait for others in our group to join us from a different train so in the meantime we were given a tour (YAY). This was the tipping point. We found hair on half of our beds and were given a look at the restrooms and showers we'd be using for our stay... I'll let you envision that one.
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| Inside view of Grandio |
Just as we had feared, our bad luck continued. Our plan was to grab ourselves breakfast before the walking tour we wanted to do that day, but that plan took a bit of a detour. At breakfast that morning, a homeless man helped himself to 20,000 Forints (or nearly 75 US dollars) of my money. A few of us tried to stop him, but to no avail. I had given up hope on the money and was more concerned with everyone being alright, when God shed some light on our 24-hour case of bad luck. A man outside had seen what had happened, chased after the man, and brought him back, money in hand. The homeless man apologized and wandered off while I was in complete shock for what the other man had just done for me! I think it's safe to say, our trip finally took another turn for the better in this moment. Thank you random stranger!
I think that my favorite part of Budapest, however, was our day trip to the Széchenyi Thermal Baths. They are one of the things the city of Budapest is known for and definitely did not disappoint! The thermal baths sit upon 2 thermal springs, consists of 18 pools at varying temperatures and used for different purposes, and had their own spa on site. I definitely don't think I will be alone in saying that we were more than ready for the relaxation that the thermal baths provided and that this adventure, along with our delicious pasta dinner (special shoutout to Jessica Krecklow for that one), was the perfect way to end my trip on a high note (something I didn't think I'd be able to say)!
I apologize for the negative vibe this blog post gave off; my expectations were set way too high and the city just didn't come close. I was, however, pleasantly surprised by the overwhelming amount of English almost everywhere we went in Budapest. Our language professor had mentioned just how difficult the Hungarian language is to learn so we were relieved to find that the city was very English-friendly! I am definitely HUNGARY for more adventure, though, so I can't wait for what's to come! Love and miss you all <3
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