12:07 1 August, Malev Airlines flight 232
I have a history with short visits to foreign countries. During my 12 day tour around Europe, my usual habit was to sleep in a different city, if not a different country, every night. However, because I was traveling by train, the process of getting to and from the station, as well as the "check-in", was much quicker and easier. As I type this, I am sitting in seat 17A (next to a Greek teenager who seems to have never familiarized himself with the term "personal space") of of Malev Airlines flight 232 from Budapest to Athens, having spent the last 15 hours in the former city. I arrived in this capital of Hungary armed with reasonably detailed, yet lengthy, instructions on how to get from the airport to my hostel. Having successfully transferred from the plain to a bus, the bus to a metro, and a metro to a tram, I turned left at the blue & white shop and took my first left, following the street 200 meters to the address of the hostel. I have to say, the instructions were perfect. Getting in, I offloaded my things in a hostel that was so nice it made me wish I'd be staying there longer, and caught up with a group of guys who were heading out to explore the Hungarian nightlife.
The hole in the middle of the flag is a symbolic tribute to Hungarian freedom fighters who cut out the Soviet symbol from the flag before Hungry gained its independence.
I'm not a big fan of clubs. Ever since I had my first experience clubbing in Boston, I've known that they're really just not my thing. Guys in clubs behave with a sense of aggressive forwardness that I could never bring myself to emulate. But since everyone was going to a rather popular club in Budapest, I went along and made the best of things. It was a pretty neat club, with many different rooms on several different levels, each with their own style: a dance hall, a karaoke room, a light and sound room, even an open air lounge in the middle of the tenement. After a few hours though, I had enough, and alerted my companions that I was leaving. I walked out of the club about 80% sure I knew where I was going, and felt empowered in that I had a map (even though I had no idea the address of my hostel). But because we had come on tram line, it was easy to follow the rails back to where we had caught the tram. I stopped at a 24 hour Subway Restaurant, which was actually quite good.
The Parliament Building did not disappoint.
The Chain Bridge, with the City Palace in the background.
Returning safely to the hostel, I slept for about 4 hours until 7:00, packed up my things, grabbed a quick breakfast at the hostel, and headed out to see the city. It was rushed. I ended up having about an hour to see Budapest, but this afforded me just enough time to see the three major highlights: the Parliament Building, the Palace, and the Chain Bridge.
Maybe a little Russian influence... in Soviet Russia, car drives you!
All in all, a beautiful city.
Budapest is a beautiful city. It has the kind of artful architecture that you only find in old European cities that have avoided major bombing. But after seeing "everything", I made my way to a metro station and repeated the many transfers of public transportation in reverse. I got to the airport without incident, and I'm now being told that the flight will be a little bit delayed while they wait for some passengers to show up. It gives me a chance to write this anyway. Next stop: Greece.
It seems like you've planned your schedule out well though since you'll have a couple weeks to see Greece and then a few weeks for Egypt. No more plans for a while!
ReplyDeleteOh, and I must say that I was rather disappointed at the lack of a group of foreign girls to hang with in Budapest.
Oh, sure, you make it to your gate in Munich with 2 minutes to spare, and the plane takes off early without you. In Budapest, you're delayed while they wait for passengers. Another travel lesson learned: if you're going to run late for a plane, don't do it in Germany.
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