Firstly, we arrived at the train station semi-late and it really wasn't the most comfortable place to be walking around. Lots of loiterers and some people advertising hostels right on the train tracks (we later were told these are run by the mafia and they don't "allow" other hostels to advertise here. Good thing we planned in advance) and when we finally found an ATM around the block we could not for the life of us figure out how to get a 10,000 note changed into coins for bus tickets. I don't know why men love large bills so much, but I detest them! Just give me small notes and change already! Not to mention...a 10,000 note bill?! TALK about monopoly money. So, frustrated, we just hopped on the bus and promptly missed our stop in Pest, heading over the river and far away from our hostel. Switched busses, headed back, and searched for our hostel for another 20 minutes, passing the front door twice without even realizing it. It was just one of those days. After climbing 4 flights of stairs, things finally began looking better when we got to our cozy loft hostel, full of friendly travelers and nice amentities. I drank a beer and considered the day a success.
The next day (of course I slept in until noon...not the best decision) we had a traditional 4-course meal for only €5 with some guys from the hostel, including the mustached owner who hailed from Mexico. Things were DEFinitely looking up at this point (who doesn't love a great deal?!) despite the fact that we did not want to pay for water and therefore were parched, so we headed over to the local market located in a massively large, two-story building. The bottom floor housed local foods which was majority dried meat, while the upstairs balcony was full of tourist junk...I mean local paraphernalia. I don't know why I just dissed this because I definitely bought a gift here for my brother (high quality, of course) but I will not reveal the item here because my gifts are all surprises. Sorry I'm not sorry! I debated buying my other brother a cool communist lighter but was wayy to cheap to pay 500 crowns for that. No way, Jose! Yes that actually is my brother's name thankyouverymuch. Post-shopping we opted for...more shopping! At this point I was getting sick of my shoe options after my cute sandals broke in Prague, options being: lesbian sandals (aka Chacos), stinky TOMs, Vibram non-toe running shoes, and "fast flats" which are cute but sadly have no sole. Don't worry, like the good history majors we are Megan and I planned our route past the Jewish Synogogue (one of the largest in Eastern Europe) and the Opera House (not as pretty as Vienna) but the highlight of the walk was definitely finding attractive, beaded, white sandals! All the men reading this are thinking, "Who cares?" but you know what...these European women look at your shoes first to judge you. I do not joke. So having these killer sandals definitely put me in a good mood AND they're Italian, as all adorable shoes are, so I acquired some quality digs. High-five, Mathilde!
On our way back towards our hostel to take much-needed showers, we came across a...beer festival? Things are DEFinitely looking up! As we all know, Megan and I are serious lovers of beer, so this was right up our alley. On the other hand, zero people spoke English and in order to buy beer we had to wait in a long line and then attempt to buy tickets of 500 crowns each by miming what we wanted. In the end though, we drank beers with the Hungarians and listened to authentical Hungarian music. Winning! And the night wasn't even over yet. Got back to the hostel, showered, and drank more beer in preparation for a night out with the friendly hostel-goers and, again, the mustached owner. We walked to a very cool bar with outdoor seating in what looked to be like old, cut up cars and other very interesting furniture, and Megan and I tied in a very aggressive game of foosball. These Europeans loooove their foosball! Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to try Absinthe, but good ol' Megan here overheard some Americans ordering 3 shots of it and shot her gaze their way, "Did you mean FOUR shots of Absinthe?" Why yes indeedy, they did mean 4!
Sadly, this was our last night in Budapest. The next day was spent desperately trying to book the hostels for Venice, Bologna, and Ferrara because we all-too-late realized that now that it is mid-June the high season for traveling has begun. No more last-minute-and-we-still-don't-have-to-pay-a-lot. No more last minute with full availability, either. So we walked across the river to Buda, just to say we went there, and had to head back to catch our train on time which, fortunately, we did. All in all, you can see that this was far from a bad trip. Its just that we did not get to see the beauty of the town (which apparently resides in Buda) and most of the cultural things we did involved drinking. Not that I'm complaining, of course!
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