May 18: Budapest

May 18

Our first full day in Budapest was a blast. Our hotel served us a surprisingly good breakfast for free when we woke up. Which was a good thing because our day was packed with activities. At the hotel, Dr. D gave us our bus tickets and explained how they worked. Some people complained about the bus system we used but I really enjoyed it. Being able to ride on top was a lot of fun and they took us everywhere we needed to go. The only problem I had with them is the long wait time between busses, but even that problem wasn’t a big deal. We walked from our hotel to the nearest bus stop, and that proved to be quite a challenge. Apparently the city of Budapest doesn’t believe in cross walks because we spent a solid 10 minutes trying to find a way across a 5 lane road. But through rigorous trekking, we found a zebra crossing and managed to get across the street to our bus. 

Just riding the bus around town was a lot of fun. We road on the top of the bus with the top down so we had a great view of the city. Our first actual stop was the Fascist Museum, in the old Secret Police headquarters of the post world war 2 Communist party headquarters. This type of museum is my bread and butter so I was so intrigued by the exhibits on display. I know it’s a niche interest, but the topic of Soviet occupation and shadow governance of Eastern Europe fascinates me. Others thought it could have been shorter, but I certainly didn’t. I think it should have been an optional stop, because sadly some just aren’t interested in that topic and I don’t want to hear them complain and kill my happiness buzz. After the museum tour, we split up for lunch. Anna, Victoria, Peyton, Grayson, and I went to this amazing Vietnamese restaurant called Viet-nom-nom-nom(how cute, right?). I had some noodles with veggies and chicken and it was so delicious, as was everyone’s food. Whenever we go out we make sure to taste everyone’s food, for full effect. After lunch, we went to a desert place called street cakes and got ice cream in a beautiful creation: a cinnamon coated, tube shaped cake... thing. I’m just going to have to post a picture because it was so unique is hard to explain. 

After lunch, we went home and gathered our stuff for bathhouses. But this proved to be contentious, because I accidentally held up the group and caused us to lose to much time to do both a tour of the Buda side of the city and go to one of the bathhouses. But in my defense, I didn’t mean to hold up the group. I went to the front desk to ask what the number was to call ÖBB to buy a later train ticket back to Vienna. The plan was to walk and talk to save time. But instead of that, the front desk lady handed me a phone that was already dialing the number. Which was very nice of her to do, but it inadvertently held us back and I think a lot of the others were mad at me. :( 

But regardless, Victoria and I got our later train tickets so we could stay in Budapest the next day. After they were bought, five of us went to the Széchenyi bathhouse by the square of heroes. The thermal baths and the full back massage was delightful. After all the walking and stress we were under, it was exactly what I needed. After the boathouse, we took a hectic taxi ride to the Danube River to go on the night boat tour of the river. Seeing the historic areas of Budapest all lit up was hands down the most beautiful thing I’ve seen on this trip. Seeing the castles, churches, and Parliament lit up against the black sky was magical. But all great things must end, and after our boat ride ended our group on the boat went to the Farris wheel and got to see more of Budapest from the night sky. I didn’t even step foot on the Buda side of the river, so I’m ecstatic that Victoria and I pushed our tickets back.