From Buda to Pest and Then Some.

September 13, 2023, View of Parliament building from the Buda side of the Danube River.

Our ninth month on the road finally found us in Europe. Hungary to be precise. Prior to Budapest, the longest we'd stayed in one spot was a week in Capetown, South Africa. Chaing Mai, Thailand was a close second for 6 days, and no more than 2 or 3 other five-day stops in the last 9 months. Most of our stays have been about 3 days on average. The pace sped up a lot when we were road-tripping in Africa, changing just about every night, so we were more than ready for an extended stay. Budapest wasn't somewhere necessarily on my radar, but Johnny found it when researching spots in Europe that wouldn't break the bank. With notable buildings and a lively nightlife, it seemed like a perfect first stop for the European leg of our trip and a good place to kick up our feet for the next 3 weeks.

We stayed in District VII, also known as the Jewish Quarter. Once part of the Jewish ghetto, is now known for its ruin pubs and as a result, is now the "party district". I think directly out our window were no fewer than six different Gyro spots to serve the late-night revelers, which included ourselves more than a couple times. So. Much. Shawarma. (Without the pita for me, of course) Even with the regular 5 a.m. partiers hanging in the street below, it was a great spot to stay, giving us access to all the well-known tourist locations. In between relaxing at the apartment, watching some TV for the first time in months, and being able to cook every meal in a real kitchen, we did make sure to hit all the must-sees. From thermal baths to history museums, we took in the sites, but I must say, the thing that stood out to me the most was how charming the city was to just walk around in. It seemed that every street or alley you turned down offered some picturesque tidbit, like a colorful mural, a lively local watering hole, or a historic building of note. The city was clean, friendly, and unlike SE Asia, cars actually stopped for pedestrians! 

An interesting fact learned from our walking tour, what we call Budapest is actually made up of the two "separate" cities on each side of the river, Pest and Buda. We were staying on the Pest side. In fact it seems that locals don't even use the name Hungarian or Hungary but rather use Magyar and  Magyarország when referring to themselves or country. Just another reminder of how much we are learning about the world through our travels; there was so much fascinating and moving history that we discovered during our time in Budapest. Although our walking tour gave us a great overview of the history from the very start in the year 895, it is the last 100 years have proven to be especially tumultuous.

Two museums visited that captured some of that history were the House of Terror and the Hospital in the Rocks. Both document parts of the Hungarian story from the 1930s onward. From the siege in 1944, to the revolution of 1956, what stood out to me is just how much rebuilding this city has had to do in recent decades. I learned that Hungary only gained its independence from the Soviets in 1989, as well as a long complicated story before that involves the Ottoman Empire (oh hey paprika in EVERYTHING), the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, and German alliances. (Also, please someone who knows this history better than me add any corrections in the comments for the 12 people who actually read this blog. I'm trying my best to summarize but I'm sure I made some mistakes in trying to generalize for brevity.)

Another interesting tidbit that has stuck with me is how the Hungarian language has survived all that. An interesting language that shares some origin with Finnish only, it seems to be (from what I've been told) a language that is unique from most other European languages, with no Latin or Germanic roots. The fact that this rather obscure language could survive Austrian rule, having its landmass cut to one-third following WWI, and then living behind the Iron Curtain, is just fascinating to me. I will also add that it is one of the most difficult languages I've ever encountered, and in a month I've only barely managed a very pathetic version of "thank you", "hello", and "cheers".  The one phrase that I am most proud of is in regard to one of the common drinks here (no, not Palinka, although it is great, that one is easy enough to say). There is a sort of wine spritzer, but there are different names to denote the ratio of water to wine that you would like. I have found that I prefer the viceházmester (“deputy janitor”) with 2 parts wine to 3 parts soda water. Want less wine and more water? Order the hosszúlépés (“big step”) with 1 part wine to 2 parts soda water. There are literally 4 or 5 different names to denote the various soda-to-wine ratios and I love it. 

Now, moving on to the sites. A must-see is, of course, are the thermal baths. Although they are plentiful, for our bath experience we visited Szechenyi. One of many natural baths around the city, this one is located in the park with Vajdahunyad Vara, a castle that looks straight out of a fairytale. (Or Disneyland if you are a Verdegaal.) It was a relaxing experience, and I would have liked to visit more, but in an attempt to save money, we just decided on the one. Honestly, if we were visiting with jobs (a.k.a. more money), I think I could've hit a different bath every day and been happy. 

The other places of note include the parliament building, a very impressive structure that houses the crown jewels. On the Buda side of the Danube River, we visited the Castle district with Fisherman's Bastion and the Citadella, beautiful and memorable in their old European feel (even if a lot of it is reconstructed). What I hadn't heard a lot about that is also worth mentioning is Margaret Island, a large park with various fountains, bars, and trails that was a really lovely green space right in the middle of the river. 

And a final Budapest shoutout for their public transportation; one of the best I've seen in my travels. We mostly got around with the city bike system, which we were able to sign up for 1000 forint, less than US$3. For that amount, we could use the bikes as much as we wanted for a whole month and only had to pay if we kept them for over 30 minutes at a time. I used those bikes just about every day, most days multiple times. Best $2.79 I've spent. I also rode on the oldest metro in Europe, built in 1894, as well as some very cool trams that run right along the river. We could get anywhere for cheap, with each bus or tram ride only costing 450 forints ($1.26). 

After almost 3 weeks in one spot, we were ready to hit the road again and took a rental car for a week to explore some of the Hungarian countryside. Substantially smaller than the Toyota Hilux Truck Johnny had in Namibia, his tiny Peugeot took some getting used to. The first stop was Esztergom, famous for its Basilica, and although the church was undergoing renovations, we were still able to walk around the dome at the top, giving quite the view of the Danube, as well as the Hungarian and Slovakian countryside. Esztergom is also situated right on the Slovakian border, and it was a quick walk between the two countries with just a line of paint on the bridge and a sign to let you know you crossed the border. I ultimately decided to not count Slovakia as country #15 since we just walked around a small border town for an evening, but it is still fun to say I have technically been to Slovakia. 

Another highlight for this part of the country would have to be the hikes we did out of the nearby town of Dömös. One trail took us up to Prédikálószék mountain viewpoint. The other, known as the Rám-szakadék, was a ravine hike that had you taking ladders up alongside waterfalls. Despite the well-marked trails, Johnny and I ended up following the wrong trail blazes and ended up off course. We were pretty far along by the time we realized it, so in true Johnny fashion, rather than backtracking he did a sort of impromptu adventure race (orienteering), reading a topographical map he had downloaded to cut us down a steep reentrant and along a creek bed until we were able to find the intended trail. My contribution to getting us "unlost" in the Hungarian woods was accidentally sitting on an ant hill and getting my right arm pretty chewed up. Same, same.  

Our last few stops would be centered around Lake Balaton. Although it was quiet in the off-season with many of the bars and restaurants closed for the year, we were still able to enjoy some days warm enough to dip in the lake. We stayed in Siófok on the South side of the Lake, and Hévíz on the North, tried some of the local Hungarian wines from the region, and used the few rainy days to relax and plan the next leg of our trip. 

With half of our total travel time spent and we look ahead to the next 9 months, Albania will hold the title of country #15, with a multi-day hiking trip in the Alps already planned out as we continue our European adventure. 

September 20, 2023 Prédikálószék mountain viewpoint, Domos