6 – 21 May 2018
On Sunday Jonas and I went to visit the parliament building. If you go to Budapest, I definitely recommend visiting the parliament building! The entrance fee is only a few euros and the tour through the building is amazing. Not many buildings are as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside. In my experience buildings are usually either one of those, but rarely both. Under the central dome you can find the original ceremonial crown, scepter, orb and sword that the kings of Hungary used during their coronation. The whole tour was quite impressive.
In the afternoon I went for a walk and I eventually ended up on some design fair. This didn’t interest me very much, but there was also a nice pool where everyone sits with their feet in the water, so I joined them. Then I went to meet someone from Couchsurfing. For me this was really interesting, because he played the role of French commander in one of my favorite series; The Borgias. We also had something to eat, and I – of course – had to try out another Hungarian dish. This time I had hortobágyi palacsinta. This is a Hungarian pancake filled with chicken (or another kind of meat) with a sweet sauce made of paprika, with some sour cream on top. This can either be eaten as a warm starter, or, depending on the size, as a main course.
In the evening I met with a girl from St. Petersburg in Russia. We met at the fountain on Margaret Island. This fountain gives a special show with music and projections, every night at 9pm. It was beautiful and it lasted for almost an hour. After this show we went downtown to have a drink (kinda feels like I’m repeating myself over and over). We actually wanted to go to a place called Szimpla, but we were not able to find it. And yes, we were indeed looking for the same place I had been just the day before (I had even checked in there on Facebook!), but I had forgotten that the place was called Szimpla. Now, apparently there are two pubs with a similar name: Szimpla and Szimpla Kert. We were supposed to find the latter one, but instead we searched for the first one on Google Maps. We ended up in a street, but we couldn’t find a place called Szimpla, even though we were at the exact spot that Google Maps pointed us to. So instead we had a drink in a bar next to it, that had the very applicable name, Refuge. We also asked the bartender if she knew a place called Szimpla, and she simply responded: “Ah, yes, of course! It’s just two doors away from here.” Our minds blown, we were really puzzled and not able to make any sense of it. I just had to solve the mystery of the pub that vanished into thin air. After taking yet another look at the supposed location, I finally noticed the barely recognizable, switched off neon letters that said Szimpla. The windows were covered and the place was definitely closed, yet some of the Russian girl’s friends claimed that they were having drinks inside. It got even weirder when they said people were queueing outside! “There must be some other entrance!”, we thought. So we started walking around the block (twice!), until we finally realized that there were two pubs that shared more or less the same name. After this whole fiasco I decided to just go back home.
On Monday it was time for me to switch hosts again. Luckily, my new host is also located in a very central location. His name is Lucas and he is from Brazil, but he’s been studying in Budapest for four years now. After he went to his university, I went into the city. For this day I decided I would spend as less money as possible (I see it as a challenge) and that night I would work again for the same pub as last time, and try to earn as much as possible. I had only 100 Forints left in my wallet and I didn’t want to get any more money from an ATM. So I managed to spend only 44 Forints, which is 0.17 euros, by buying two buns at a supermarket for breakfast. I used my public transport card for a nice boat ride across the Danube. I got off the boat on Margaret Island, where I had a nice walk. The island is basically one big park, with lots of facilities. There are a few swimming pools, a small zoo, a restaurant and several hostels. Because of the hostels, there are a lot of young people on the island riding around on a sort of bicycle-cart for five or six persons or on one of the scooters. The Island has a very pleasant vibe, and at night people can enjoy the show at the fountain. I did some sunbathing and then went to my work. This time I also worked as a waiter, (which is what I also do back at home) and I managed to earn a bit more than last time. My boss ordered some goulash for dinner from the restaurant above the pub, so we got a big pot of goulash with bread for the two of us. It was very tasty and we had more than we could finish.
The next day Lucas made some scrambled eggs with toast for breakfast. This morning it was raining a lot, but we had to go outside. So we brought umbrellas with us and Lucas showed me the way to the post office, since I wanted to send some post cards to home. After he went to his university to study, I searched for a nice place where I could write and have some coffee. I found a nice place near the Basilica, that had everything I wanted: power sockets, Wi-Fi and a normal price for the coffee. After I spent a few hours here, and the rain had stopped, I started to walk around the city. I bought some lunch and later that afternoon I went to work again. Standing outside the bar to ask people if they would like something to drink, is really starting to annoy me. I’m starting to feel like I’m assaulting them as they jump aside or grab onto their loved ones when I – as enthusiastically as possible – try to ask them to have a nice drink. So I’m kind of fed up with this job, but I could use the money at the same time. For dinner we had some lasagna though, which could have been nice if I didn’t have to wait for half an hour outside until I could finally start eating the now cold lasagna. At the end my boss asked me if I could show up at work tomorrow at 10 am, instead of 5 pm. He wanted to do a big cleaning and do some redecorating, and he could use my help. So I wouldn’t have to assault helpless passers-by. In my mind I had just quit my job already, but alright, I would do it (one last time).
So on Wednesday I went to work early to help my boss with his redecorating stuff. Now my boss hardly knows any English, so it was rather hard for him to tell me what to do. Most of the time I was just waggling behind him like a penguin, waiting for him to tell me what I could do. At 1 pm I had enough and I told him that I had to go. Man, did I feel free after that. Still, I didn’t really have an idea of what to do, so I went to the main park where you can also find the large thermal baths that I have been to earlier. In the park there is also a sort of castle named Vajdahunyad. It is not your typical castle, since it only has a fortified wall at the front, while the rest of the castle just consists of different buildings that stand close to each other, with no walls protecting it. The main building looks like a manor and is now the museum of agriculture. However, the whole complex looks beautiful and it’s a great place for taking pictures. Surrounding the castle is a nice pond, with lots of places to sit and relax. So I sat in one of the chairs, while listening to my music and enjoying the view.
Thursday was my last day at Lucas’ place, so I had to bring my backpack to the next place in the morning. My next and final host in Budapest was Daniel, from Venezuela. I had already met him two days ago, when I helped him with carrying all his stuff from the third floor all the way downstairs. He was moving to a different apartment, which is the place where he could host me. After the three days of working and earning a bit of money, I really wanted to relax and just enjoy. So Daniel and I went to Rulof Thermal Baths in Buda, they have the oldest Turkish baths in Budapest. Here we spent quite some time. The nice thing about the Rulof baths, is that there is a panorama bath on the rooftop, from where you have a great view over the city and the Danube. We decided to wait until it got dark and the lights of the city went on. Despite the fact that it was rather chilly outside, the bath was nice and warm. It was an amazing view. After the baths we had some good dinner at a restaurant on the other side of the river.
The next day I went to Balaton. This is a large freshwater lake in the western part of Hungary. In fact, it is the largest lake in Central-Europe, with a length of 77 kilometers and a maximum width of 14 kilometers. Balaton is a popular place for tourists, both international and from Hungary itself. In the towns surrounding the lake you can find some resorts and there are a lot of water-related activities. I visited Siófok, a popular town that is closest to Budapest. It only took me around 1.5 hour by train to get there. It didn’t do that much, but I enjoyed the view over the lake and the sunny weather. The tourist season hadn’t started yet, so it was still rather quiet. After I spent a few hours in Siófok, I returned to Budapest.
As the days are passing in Budapest, it becomes harder to think of stuff to see or do. That’s why I sometimes just spent a day by strolling around the city, while hoping to bump into something nice. Saturday was such a day. First I went to my workplace to collect some money that my boss still owed me. We also said goodbye, because I won’t be working there anymore. With the money he gave me, I bought a typical local lunch: lángos. This is fried bread with, traditionally, sour cream and cheese on it. I ordered one that had also some bacon and red onions. It is quite popular in Hungary and you should try it, if you have the change. A lot of places will charge you more at the touristy places though. A good place to get them is Retro Lángos, next to the Aran Janos u. Metro station. Another popular street food are the chimney cakes, similar to the ones they have in Prague (because those in Prague are not typically Czech, they are originally from Hungary).
On Sunday I joined Daniel and two of his Venezuelan friends to Szentendre, a town 15 kilometers north from the center of Budapest. It takes roughly an hour to get there. Szentendre is known for its Baroque architecture and its narrow cobbled streets. It is a cosy and colorful town with a lot of churches and museums. It is located next to the Denube and it has a pebble stone beach, which is nice for families with children and dog owners. We had bought some drinks (non-alcoholic this time) and snacks in advance and we spent some time sitting on the grass next to the beach. Once I got back in Budapest, I went to Keleti station to buy a ticket to Košice for Monday. That would be the end of my stay in Budapest and Hungary. . .
Looking back on my stay in Budapest, I can say that I had a great time. I met some great people and together with them I had a lot of fun. Budapest is a beautiful city, with an amazing architecture. They fact that Budapest has no high-rise adds to the feeling of being in an old, authentic city. However, when you go deeper into the city, you will also notice a lot of buildings that are in a poor state. One thing that really struck me was the amount of homeless people, especially near Blaha Lujza metro station. And not just the amount, but some of them just looked like any other person, but instead they were sitting somewhere on a carton board on the ground. I wonder who’s to blame. . . The government is not exactly popular. During my stay I witnessed one anti-government demonstration near the parliament. The amount of police surrounding the parliament was insane. There were groups of around seven policemen per group patrolling the area of the parliament and the building itself was surrounded by policemen as well. It does raise questions about the political stability of the country. . . But still, a tourist who would visit the city for a few days, probably wouldn’t notice these things. In short, Budapest is a great city to stay for a while, but I wouldn’t want to live there for the long term.
Dawn Under 