(BUDA)ful City

We went a little off track with the first itinerary I wrote down for Budapest so I change rewrote the itinerary to show what we actually did in Budapest.
I want to start by saying how spectacular this trip was. Carly and I enjoyed ourselves so much as we wandered around the city and took in all it had to offer. I must say, by far, my favorite activity was going to the thermal baths (particularly, Lukacs Baths because of how authentic our experience was!) Besides the thermal baths, the ruin bars and Hospital in the Rock were definitely some of my favorite activities.
The real reason for the change in our itinerary was how much fun we had Friday night with the hostel bar crawl. We arrived at the hostel a little later than expected because the airport is about an hour out of the city via public transport. This hostel was definitely one of the coolest I've stayed in since it was in a heritage building, which allowed us to see what a building in Budapest would look like without new renovations. Not to mention how friendly and accommodating the staff was!
After our late arrival, we scurried to get ready and make it out the door with the other stragglers to meet up with the rest of the pub crawl. The first stop was a karaoke bar and they had black currant vodkas, which were some of the

tastiest drinks I've ever had, leading me to consume just a little too much. Most of Saturday I spent gripping the toilet but wouldn't have asked for it any other way. Friday had been so much fun and we had hung out with other travelers from our hostel, particularly, Sam, Lauren, and YP. Saturday morning was spent nursing my hangover by attempting to eat Chinese food and napping.
In the afternoon, I powered through and ended up walking over 7 miles that day! We explored some of the city then ended at the largest thermal bath in Europe. Sadly, no classic thermal bath pictures were taken inside any of the baths since Carly and I were too scared we'd wreck our phones (understandable considering how clumsy we are). After we left the bath, we enjoyed our first Hungarian dinner, which actually tasted wonderful! Hungarian food may not have been my favorite in the world but was definitely worth trying! I love both the goulash soup and the langos but surprisingly, neither Carly nor I enjoyed my chocolate dessert (see pictures on the next page!) After dinner, we went to bed early since we had a big day ahead of us (and I still wasn't feeling great).
The days just kept getting better while we were in Budapest. On Saturday, we woke up early to explore Buda. We started by seeing

the Shoes on the Danube River, which was a heartbreaking sight. One set of shoes belonged to a child and my heart ached as I thought of the damage WWII caused. I also questioned how after all that the world has been through, how can we be letting history repeat itself today with President Trump? He has recently put a ban on Muslims and Syrian refugees entering the country and while he isn't killing them himself, is it any different to let them stay in the unsafe conditions they are in today? Only one thought came to my mind to answer my question and it was that maybe, individuals who haven't been able or want to remove themselves from their own countries don't fully grasp our history and therefore are not willing to work towards preventing it from repeating. I'm not sure that this is the real reason to my question but I just desperately wish I could understand their position so I could help them recognize how President Trump's decisions are so similar to that of Adolf Hitler. While this preoccupies

my mind many days while I have been here, I want to continue to talk about my trip and continue to discuss my thoughts in this diary.
After we left the Shoes on the Danube River, we walked through the Chain Bridge and had our second Hungarian meal at a local flowery cafe. Of course, I ate pasta. After that, we walked up Castle Hill and spent a few hours exploring Buda Castle, Hospital in the Rock, Matthias Church, and Fisherman's Bastion. Castle Hill was ideal for taking pictures of the beautiful city below.
Hospital in the Rock, however, was actually below Castle Hill in the mountain. We went on a tour inside the cave-like hospital. On our tour, we learned that the hospital was first used as a hospital in WWII and then later during the Hungarian revolution. After the revolution, it was turned into a shelter in case nuclear bombs were dropped on the city. Once it was no longer needed as a shelter, a family moved in as caregivers and for 40 years, they kept the building running. In 2002, they moved out and after 8 years of renovations, it was turned into a museum. I was fascinated by the history of the hospital and Hungary's history. Our tour guide shared that Hungary has always been on the losing side of the war including WWI, WWII, and their own revolution. I also learned that Hungary was under the Soviet Union communist regime until it fell in 1989.
Afterwards, we rushed back to the hostel to grab our swimsuits and

went to the Gellert Spa & Bath, which was suggested by my supervisor. While being beautiful on the inside, it was just as gorgeous on the outside as a statue overlooked us and we watched the stars sparkle in the sky. When we finished, we ate our second Burger King dinner, showered, got ready, and went to meet up with Na's friend, Karl at Szimpla Kert, our second ruin bar. We had one drink and took a tour of the bar before heading out with Karl to our next destination, a hookah bar. On the way, Karl showed us the largest synagogue in Europe. We arrived at Habibi Shisha Bar where we ordered lemon-mint hookah and indulged in some thought-provoking conversation. Being with Karl was so much more fun than anticipated and lead sleepy me to staying up until 3am! It was worth every minute of it as he gave us a tour of his place and we continued enjoying each other's company (and some skeptical tea leaves).

On Monday, we spent the whole day with YP and went to Central Market Hall as well as the Lukacs Baths. At Central Market Hall, there was a fresh market as well as little trinket shops. We quickly ate lunch at a cafe before heading to the Lukacs Baths, which I stated earlier was my favorite baths. It was such an authentic and relaxing experience as we sat with the locals in healing baths and steam rooms where everyone must be silent.
Since we enjoyed the bath so much, we had no time to shower on our way to the airport, a sacrifice we were more than willing to make. At the airport, we met Amber, a 21-year-old Belgian who is taking a gap year. She instantly felt like she belonged with us as we spent the night eating KFC (first time for me!) in the airport together. I am actually talking to her as we speak on Facebook right now! This has by far been one of the best trips of my lifetime and Budapest will forever hold a place in my heart.