Budapest
Well, hello! It is good to see you all again.
The boyfriend and I recently came back from a lovely, yet entirely exhausting, trip to Budapest. But let me recall the trip day by day since so much has happened that it is the only logical way to proceed.
Saturday
Day One
Pristina, Kosovo - Skopje, Macedonia (FYRM) - Belgrade, Serbia
We left Pristina at 7.40 in the morning and took a UN shuttle bus to Skopje, Macedonia in which we had a few hours to kill before boarding a train to Belgrade, Serbia. We spent that time in a café that we always go to when we are in Skopje because it had nice, clean things to eat and is rather pretty. Skopje in the summer is much nicer than it was in the dead of winter. The sun made the communist looking buildings less intimidating. However, even in the height of Summer I can’t say that I enjoyed Skopje any more then I usually do. An interesting fact about Skopje that I do not think that I have ever mentioned was that it is apparently the birth place of Mother Teresa. There is a plaque near the square and close to the mall where her house used to be.
At 12.55pm we went to an ancient looking ticket office to book our tickets to Serbia. It would take us 9 hours and 30 minutes to get to Belgrade. The train was old-styled with cabins which held six people. It started off that only three of us were in a cabin but ended with six of us crammed into the small cigarette smoke filled cabin. All of the people with the exception of two other foreigners were Serbian or Macedonian. We obviously do not speak the language but we are getting used to the fact that everywhere we go or live we will have to struggle a little harder to be understood and make the effort to learn a few words in the native language.
As the train neared the station in Belgrade we realised that we were very close to missing our connecting over-night train to Budapest. By the time we had pulled into the station it was 10.30. We ran to the ticket station because we had yet to buy our tickets for Budapest only to be informed by an information officer that we had missed the train to Budapest. We were not happy with that news and decided to go by tickets to Budapest for the next day so that we would have them already. We we got to the ticket counter the lady told that the train had not yet left but was about to. Again, with our bags, we ran to the Budapest train and saw that it was indeed still there and held up by some sort of police activity. We learned that some teenagers had gotten drunk and had caused a disturbance. Thanks to them we were able to catch our train to Budapest that night!
We were able to get our own sleeping cabin since most of the public cabins were already occupied. However, having our own cabin was better since it had a sink were we could freshen up. Its interesting to note the fact that in the Balkans anyone and everyone will try to rip you off of you let them. We paid 26 euros each for the room in the train; however, on the way back we only paid 20 euros for the entire room. So either someone made a mistake or the train conductor made quite some money on us the first time around. Unfortunately, you live and learn but at least we got the money back on the return trip. I guess the world is like that, everyone screws everyone else over when they can and most of the time it is about money. Sad but true.
Sunday
Day Two
Budapest
So we spent a good part of Sunday morning on the train sleeping (or trying to, we were woken up a few time at the border crossings). We got to Budapest at 5.45am. We were not able to check in at our apartment until 12pm so we had to carry our luggage on our backs until then. We were very tired physically but thankfully I have a rucksack, which is a large backpack that is designed for trekking. I love that bag. Jerome had a large backpack. However, after a few hours everything becomes uncomfortable. We spent the morning walking around in Pest. Budapest used to be made up of many villages that were conglomerated into two cities, Buda and Pest. The two cities are separated by the Danube River and people get across it by the various bridges that surround Budapest. When we got tired we rested our poor shoulders, backs and feet at parks and benches close to the Danube which at the city centre is slightly bigger then the Thames. We crossed the famous chain bridge, which was destroyed during the severe flooding of Budapest in 1800’s. Actually, much of Pest was destroyed during the flooding and had to be rebuilt. Buda was luckier because it is situated on higher ground.
We saw the Funicular, which is a lift situated on a slope of a mountain. This lift was on a hill called Gellert Hill. After a rest we walked back to the Pest side and visited the Danube and the Parliament buildings. Many of the buildings here are rather odd and much different then the buildings that I have seem across Europe. The Hungarians have a particular interest on a archectural style which they call the eclectic style. Hence, a building might have a Greek statue on it next to an Egyptian Sphinx. It makes for an interesting array of visual delights. Along the Danuabe we were able to see the National Museum and the Castle District. We also walked along pedestrian streets. On the Pest side we saw St. Stephens Basilica. At noon we were able to check into our apartment which was not to far from a impressive Synagogue and a Mosque. We rented an apartment from a company that buys apartments and rents them. The cost was actually less then a hotel room and the room itself was bright, clean, and new and quit cozy. We had our own bathroom, kitchen and bath so it felt like home.
Monday
Day Three
Budapest
We took a three hour bus tour of Budapest which was very interesting because it took us to all the important touristy parts of Budapest. I was really impressed with the Buda side because it was calm and peaceful with a lot of greenery, which I dearly missed. We went to the Castle District and saw Fisherman’s Bastion which held incredible views of the city from the hill. We also saw Matthias church whose interior was influenced by Indian designs. This church was taken over by the Turks and only later ‘retrieved’. The tour took us to Gellert hill, which also afforded one a beautiful cityscape from the top. In short, Gellert was a Bishop who kind of forced the Hungarian people to accept Christianity. He told the people that Christianity would become the new religion if no one came forward to say otherwise. Unfortunately, he said it in English so no one understood him. Understandably, the people were quite pissed off when a new religion was proclaimed days later. In order to show their appreciation of Bishop Gellerts influence they put him in a barrel and pushed it down the hill and into the Danube. That was the end of Mr. Gellert. I loved that story, thought it was rather amusing actually.
Tuesday
Day Four
Budapest
Today we visited the Buda side after seeing a portion of the Pest side in the previous days. Before getting there we stopped at the central marketplace which was inside of an old train station. Many vendors sold Hungarian salami and various sausages perfumed the air. Paprika, a Hungarian spices hung from the stalls everywhere as decorations and sale items.
We walked across Elizabeth Bridge towards Gellert Hotel and Bath and saw the Gellert Statue. Before walking up the statue we went into a church that is situated in a cave. Walking up Gellert Hill was not as easy as we had planned. Much of Budapest did not have good signs to attractions so going up the hill was a guessing game. It started to heavily rain and thunder while we were up on Castle Hill and the Citadel. From Gellert Hill we walked to the Castle Distract, and through the Castle to Fisherman’s Bastion. It was a great place to take pictures. I was quite excited to get there because I really wanted to visit the Buda Castle Labyrinth. The Labyrinth is an underground natural and man-made cave system sprawling throughout the Castle District. My interest in it was that it had spiritual connotations. The Labyrinth is an important spiritual symbol of renewal and not being afraid to learn about oneself by entering the darkness of the consciousness. The caves were created by the hot springs that used to run underneath the Castle District. The caves were first used as a refuge and hunting ground for prehistoric man and were later used for secret military purposes during the Cold War. A Labyrinth is ‘a web of paths leading to our world, our history, or ourselves'. It was very fascinating. One part of the path was called the Labyrinth of courage and you had to go through it silently. It was completely dark and you could not see a hand in front of your face. The only thing that you could trust was the rope that you had to hold which would eventually guide you to the exit. There were 90 degree turns and even a quick but surprising up slope step in total darkness. If you let go of the rope you would be lost. This process had many spiritual connotations. I totally loved it and wished that I could have gone back to do the Personal Labyrinth which is harder, just as dark and you go in alone. Unfortunately, we ran out of time to do that and to go to the Baths.
Wednesday
Day Five
Budapest
We started the day by taking a tram out to the Chinese market. It basically is like the market in Camden Town, except that it does not really sell alternative stuff. In any case the difference between this market and every other one that I have ever seen was its sheer size. It had to be the size of at least and entire football field. Mostly, the market sold clothes and shoes. The size of it basically turned us off from stopping to shop because it was just too big.
From there we went to Octogon Square to have lunch and look around briefly. Afterwards we went to Hero’s Square and the Museum of Fine Arts. I specifically wanted to go there to see the Durer exhibit but it was very disappointing. The exhibit was called Durer and his Contempories, instead it should have been called Durer’s Contempories. It only featured a set of their work in a very specific style and nothing else. Although it was quite impressive and there was a piece, a large engraving, that was extremely beautiful and intricate, on the whole it was not what I expected to see. Afterwards the boyfriend and I walked in the City Park and saw City Park Lake and Szechenyi Bath. We also walked to Vajdahunyad Castle which was charming standing on its own little island.
Tee hee, we took the train back to our hotel and got soooo busted by transit ticketers for not having a ticket on the train. For our daring attempt at screwing the system over we had to pay a fee which probably would have paid for a weeks worth of tickets. The lady threatened to call the cops if we did not pay. The thing is that we showed her a 48 hour pass for the transit that had expired like...not even four hours earlier. She could have given us a break but, why do that. In any case, she did not believe our story of not realizing that our passes had expired...I do not blame her, neither did I. Stupid adventure.
In the evening we went out to dinner with Krisztina, a friend of J's, who was in Budapest at the time for her brothers wedding. The restaurant served Hungarian food and had some singing and dancing by performers who crafted their act to order to cater to tourists. All in all, it was good fun.
Thursday
Day Six
Budapest and overnight Serbia
We checked out on Thursday and left our bags with the people who rent the apartments. We went to the West End which has a mall. We went to see what it was like and again it was huge, quite expensive as well. We did not stay very long. After heading out from the West End we crossed Margaret Bridge which, in the middle of the bridge, has a little bridge of to the side which led us to Margaret Island. It was great to be there. It was a like a one big park with a fountain whose waters danced in time to various classical music. Afterwards we heading back to pick up our bags, eat and chill out in a local train for a few hours before catching the 11.50pm train out of Budapest to Belgrade.
Friday
Day Seven
Belgrade, Serbia Pristina, Kosovo
We got to Belgrade at 7.30am only to find out that the only bus to Pristina was at 4pm that day. We were so tired and we had to keep our bags with us throughout the entire day in Belgrade. We have been to Belgrade twice before, it is not the prettiest city but the summer made it less grey. We went to see Kalemegdan castle in Belgrade which we did not have the opportunity to see last time we were there. It is on top of a hill so getting there was tiring but we had a lovely view of the Danube and the city. We rested in the park for a few hours before heading back into town. We got back into Pristina at 10.45pm. It was a very busy trip!
Pictures appear on my other journal
The boyfriend and I recently came back from a lovely, yet entirely exhausting, trip to Budapest. But let me recall the trip day by day since so much has happened that it is the only logical way to proceed.
Saturday
Day One
Pristina, Kosovo - Skopje, Macedonia (FYRM) - Belgrade, Serbia
We left Pristina at 7.40 in the morning and took a UN shuttle bus to Skopje, Macedonia in which we had a few hours to kill before boarding a train to Belgrade, Serbia. We spent that time in a café that we always go to when we are in Skopje because it had nice, clean things to eat and is rather pretty. Skopje in the summer is much nicer than it was in the dead of winter. The sun made the communist looking buildings less intimidating. However, even in the height of Summer I can’t say that I enjoyed Skopje any more then I usually do. An interesting fact about Skopje that I do not think that I have ever mentioned was that it is apparently the birth place of Mother Teresa. There is a plaque near the square and close to the mall where her house used to be.
At 12.55pm we went to an ancient looking ticket office to book our tickets to Serbia. It would take us 9 hours and 30 minutes to get to Belgrade. The train was old-styled with cabins which held six people. It started off that only three of us were in a cabin but ended with six of us crammed into the small cigarette smoke filled cabin. All of the people with the exception of two other foreigners were Serbian or Macedonian. We obviously do not speak the language but we are getting used to the fact that everywhere we go or live we will have to struggle a little harder to be understood and make the effort to learn a few words in the native language.
As the train neared the station in Belgrade we realised that we were very close to missing our connecting over-night train to Budapest. By the time we had pulled into the station it was 10.30. We ran to the ticket station because we had yet to buy our tickets for Budapest only to be informed by an information officer that we had missed the train to Budapest. We were not happy with that news and decided to go by tickets to Budapest for the next day so that we would have them already. We we got to the ticket counter the lady told that the train had not yet left but was about to. Again, with our bags, we ran to the Budapest train and saw that it was indeed still there and held up by some sort of police activity. We learned that some teenagers had gotten drunk and had caused a disturbance. Thanks to them we were able to catch our train to Budapest that night!
We were able to get our own sleeping cabin since most of the public cabins were already occupied. However, having our own cabin was better since it had a sink were we could freshen up. Its interesting to note the fact that in the Balkans anyone and everyone will try to rip you off of you let them. We paid 26 euros each for the room in the train; however, on the way back we only paid 20 euros for the entire room. So either someone made a mistake or the train conductor made quite some money on us the first time around. Unfortunately, you live and learn but at least we got the money back on the return trip. I guess the world is like that, everyone screws everyone else over when they can and most of the time it is about money. Sad but true.
Sunday
Day Two
Budapest
So we spent a good part of Sunday morning on the train sleeping (or trying to, we were woken up a few time at the border crossings). We got to Budapest at 5.45am. We were not able to check in at our apartment until 12pm so we had to carry our luggage on our backs until then. We were very tired physically but thankfully I have a rucksack, which is a large backpack that is designed for trekking. I love that bag. Jerome had a large backpack. However, after a few hours everything becomes uncomfortable. We spent the morning walking around in Pest. Budapest used to be made up of many villages that were conglomerated into two cities, Buda and Pest. The two cities are separated by the Danube River and people get across it by the various bridges that surround Budapest. When we got tired we rested our poor shoulders, backs and feet at parks and benches close to the Danube which at the city centre is slightly bigger then the Thames. We crossed the famous chain bridge, which was destroyed during the severe flooding of Budapest in 1800’s. Actually, much of Pest was destroyed during the flooding and had to be rebuilt. Buda was luckier because it is situated on higher ground.
We saw the Funicular, which is a lift situated on a slope of a mountain. This lift was on a hill called Gellert Hill. After a rest we walked back to the Pest side and visited the Danube and the Parliament buildings. Many of the buildings here are rather odd and much different then the buildings that I have seem across Europe. The Hungarians have a particular interest on a archectural style which they call the eclectic style. Hence, a building might have a Greek statue on it next to an Egyptian Sphinx. It makes for an interesting array of visual delights. Along the Danuabe we were able to see the National Museum and the Castle District. We also walked along pedestrian streets. On the Pest side we saw St. Stephens Basilica. At noon we were able to check into our apartment which was not to far from a impressive Synagogue and a Mosque. We rented an apartment from a company that buys apartments and rents them. The cost was actually less then a hotel room and the room itself was bright, clean, and new and quit cozy. We had our own bathroom, kitchen and bath so it felt like home.
Monday
Day Three
Budapest
We took a three hour bus tour of Budapest which was very interesting because it took us to all the important touristy parts of Budapest. I was really impressed with the Buda side because it was calm and peaceful with a lot of greenery, which I dearly missed. We went to the Castle District and saw Fisherman’s Bastion which held incredible views of the city from the hill. We also saw Matthias church whose interior was influenced by Indian designs. This church was taken over by the Turks and only later ‘retrieved’. The tour took us to Gellert hill, which also afforded one a beautiful cityscape from the top. In short, Gellert was a Bishop who kind of forced the Hungarian people to accept Christianity. He told the people that Christianity would become the new religion if no one came forward to say otherwise. Unfortunately, he said it in English so no one understood him. Understandably, the people were quite pissed off when a new religion was proclaimed days later. In order to show their appreciation of Bishop Gellerts influence they put him in a barrel and pushed it down the hill and into the Danube. That was the end of Mr. Gellert. I loved that story, thought it was rather amusing actually.
Tuesday
Day Four
Budapest
Today we visited the Buda side after seeing a portion of the Pest side in the previous days. Before getting there we stopped at the central marketplace which was inside of an old train station. Many vendors sold Hungarian salami and various sausages perfumed the air. Paprika, a Hungarian spices hung from the stalls everywhere as decorations and sale items.
We walked across Elizabeth Bridge towards Gellert Hotel and Bath and saw the Gellert Statue. Before walking up the statue we went into a church that is situated in a cave. Walking up Gellert Hill was not as easy as we had planned. Much of Budapest did not have good signs to attractions so going up the hill was a guessing game. It started to heavily rain and thunder while we were up on Castle Hill and the Citadel. From Gellert Hill we walked to the Castle Distract, and through the Castle to Fisherman’s Bastion. It was a great place to take pictures. I was quite excited to get there because I really wanted to visit the Buda Castle Labyrinth. The Labyrinth is an underground natural and man-made cave system sprawling throughout the Castle District. My interest in it was that it had spiritual connotations. The Labyrinth is an important spiritual symbol of renewal and not being afraid to learn about oneself by entering the darkness of the consciousness. The caves were created by the hot springs that used to run underneath the Castle District. The caves were first used as a refuge and hunting ground for prehistoric man and were later used for secret military purposes during the Cold War. A Labyrinth is ‘a web of paths leading to our world, our history, or ourselves'. It was very fascinating. One part of the path was called the Labyrinth of courage and you had to go through it silently. It was completely dark and you could not see a hand in front of your face. The only thing that you could trust was the rope that you had to hold which would eventually guide you to the exit. There were 90 degree turns and even a quick but surprising up slope step in total darkness. If you let go of the rope you would be lost. This process had many spiritual connotations. I totally loved it and wished that I could have gone back to do the Personal Labyrinth which is harder, just as dark and you go in alone. Unfortunately, we ran out of time to do that and to go to the Baths.
Wednesday
Day Five
Budapest
We started the day by taking a tram out to the Chinese market. It basically is like the market in Camden Town, except that it does not really sell alternative stuff. In any case the difference between this market and every other one that I have ever seen was its sheer size. It had to be the size of at least and entire football field. Mostly, the market sold clothes and shoes. The size of it basically turned us off from stopping to shop because it was just too big.
From there we went to Octogon Square to have lunch and look around briefly. Afterwards we went to Hero’s Square and the Museum of Fine Arts. I specifically wanted to go there to see the Durer exhibit but it was very disappointing. The exhibit was called Durer and his Contempories, instead it should have been called Durer’s Contempories. It only featured a set of their work in a very specific style and nothing else. Although it was quite impressive and there was a piece, a large engraving, that was extremely beautiful and intricate, on the whole it was not what I expected to see. Afterwards the boyfriend and I walked in the City Park and saw City Park Lake and Szechenyi Bath. We also walked to Vajdahunyad Castle which was charming standing on its own little island.
Tee hee, we took the train back to our hotel and got soooo busted by transit ticketers for not having a ticket on the train. For our daring attempt at screwing the system over we had to pay a fee which probably would have paid for a weeks worth of tickets. The lady threatened to call the cops if we did not pay. The thing is that we showed her a 48 hour pass for the transit that had expired like...not even four hours earlier. She could have given us a break but, why do that. In any case, she did not believe our story of not realizing that our passes had expired...I do not blame her, neither did I. Stupid adventure.
In the evening we went out to dinner with Krisztina, a friend of J's, who was in Budapest at the time for her brothers wedding. The restaurant served Hungarian food and had some singing and dancing by performers who crafted their act to order to cater to tourists. All in all, it was good fun.
Thursday
Day Six
Budapest and overnight Serbia
We checked out on Thursday and left our bags with the people who rent the apartments. We went to the West End which has a mall. We went to see what it was like and again it was huge, quite expensive as well. We did not stay very long. After heading out from the West End we crossed Margaret Bridge which, in the middle of the bridge, has a little bridge of to the side which led us to Margaret Island. It was great to be there. It was a like a one big park with a fountain whose waters danced in time to various classical music. Afterwards we heading back to pick up our bags, eat and chill out in a local train for a few hours before catching the 11.50pm train out of Budapest to Belgrade.
Friday
Day Seven
Belgrade, Serbia Pristina, Kosovo
We got to Belgrade at 7.30am only to find out that the only bus to Pristina was at 4pm that day. We were so tired and we had to keep our bags with us throughout the entire day in Belgrade. We have been to Belgrade twice before, it is not the prettiest city but the summer made it less grey. We went to see Kalemegdan castle in Belgrade which we did not have the opportunity to see last time we were there. It is on top of a hill so getting there was tiring but we had a lovely view of the Danube and the city. We rested in the park for a few hours before heading back into town. We got back into Pristina at 10.45pm. It was a very busy trip!
Pictures appear on my other journal