Day 5: Budapest

Remembering Communist rule

Had a bit of a rocky start on the morning of our full day in Budapest - I forgot to set my alarm didn't wake up until 9.15 - when our walking tour for the city was leaving the hostel at half 9... SHITE!!!! 

I don't think I have got dressed/woken up to an extent faster, but it was some consolation that Bethany and Mikaela (who I was sharing the room with) were running behind too. 

After rushing downstairs and nicking some bread and Nutella for breakfast, we set out with our walking guide Anna (who also hosted the cruise the night before) across the Pest side of the city (Budapest was literally split into 2 cities by the River Danube until the unification in 1873). 

The tour lasted around 2 hours, showing us St Stephen's Church (where a Will Smith concert was being set up...!), Parliament, and other monuments like the one on the right depicting Budapest under Communist rule. Everything from that to a "magic" fountain that you can walk through and an adorable mini Kermit the frog statue. 

After the tour, Anna dropped us off at the House of Terror, THE museum to visit if you want to learn about Budapest's recent history. The city has had some rotten luck that's for sure; it was occupied by Nazi Germany during the war, and then liberated by the Russian's, only to THEN be under Communist rule until 1989! Ouch! Mainly showing the history under the Communist Party's regime, the House of Terror was incredibly interesting; after each room, there was a sheet, in both Hungarian and English, that you can pick up and take home with you. I saved the English sheets for my Mum ;P

After having done the walking tour though, a lot of the group were tired and only did the museum as quickly as possible. 

It only ended up with me and Benji left so we went round the museum at our own pace; and then went back to the hostel to pick up our bits and bobs for the Szechenyi Baths located in the Városliget Park in the North East of the city, where we knew a lot of the group was heading. 

Inside the reception are of the baths

The baths are beautiful, with many pools both inside and out at different temperatures, plus you can do spa treatments and even a beer spa.... If you fancy that is.

Well the main thing is that they're beautiful when you eventually find them...! The signage is so confusing, especially to get to the baths outside. 

Eventually, we did make it, and it was the perfect thing to relax to after so much travelling, hours on the bus and walking around. I only took pictures in the foyer of the baths and left my phone in the locker - as beautiful as they are I was NOT going to risk dropping it in the water!

After the baths, I managed to get separated from the others but managed to find my way back to the hostel; I was so impressed with myself as I had lost all my data, and relied on the map Darius gave us and a very kind American girl I met on the tube who let me borrow her Google Maps for a screenshot. 

I then went to grab some food with Bethany at a place just a few doors away from the hostel, where I had a mahoosive burrito. No chance I could finish all that, in fact I could only eat around half of it because it was so big....

Trying Palinka

Night time called for the ruin bars once again, only went along to a different one to start with. This one was perfect for a first drink, as it was smaller and quieter. We also decided to take Darius' advice and try some palinka, traditional Hungarian liquor, traditionally plum flavoured. It's only taken as a shot and is smooth at first but you feel the burn in the back of your throat. 

It tastes like Christmas cake fruit that has been soaking in brandy for a little bit too long - nice but rather strong. 

If you want to check if you have a good palinka, get a bit on your fingers and rub it into your wrist until it dries, just like you would with perfume. If you can smell plum (or whichever flavour palinka you have) instead of alcohol, then you have a good 'un. 

After that first drink, it was back to the same Ruin Bar from the night before as we had sadly missed the Will Smith gig - apparently it didn't last very long. 

I digress. Thankfully this time going to the main Ruin Bar, I was feeling a lot better and stayed out a lot later. It was another fab night out with good mates and plenty of rum and coke (yeah, Captain Morgan seemed to be my drink of choice on this trip...).

Admittedly, I think Budapest was my favourite out of all the cities we went to as it had the best variety - food, history, ways to relax (with the baths) and excellent nightlife. This is the one that truly has something for everyone, and I would love to come back! :D

Next up, back on the bus to Slovenia!