Europe Day 16 pt two & Day 17
Alright! So we took a train from Bratislava, Slovakia, to Budapest, Hungary.
We walked from the train station to the apartment we rented through airbnb and waited there for my sister, who had flown in the same day. So she met us in front, and we were buzzed in by the owner’s father, who was meeting us because the owner was out of town (hence renting the apartment!). The elevator… was broken. So with our backpacks (getting heavier by the day ;_;) we trekked up 7 flights. I started thinking about just abandoning my backpack and buying new things as I went… but we did make it! And of course, he showed us a working elevator (wish he’s told us that on the intercomm…).
So after getting everything sorted, we dumped the bags and went in search of a grocery store for breakfast things.
We passed this! My sewy heart went pitter patter. Closed for the night, I meant to go back but actually never did.
We found an ATM on the corner, so we could get forints, and I discovered Jey’s credit card is better than mine XD In that, it showed on the screen how much it was in both USD and HUF. I wanted to see how much USD 50,000 HUF was (before committing, since I had figured out my budget in USD), and not only did it not show me, it didn’t even have the “are you sure?” screen/question, so 50,000 HUF is what it gave me.
Anyway, then we went looking for a place to eat that was still open that wasn’t a bar. After much wandering, we ended up at a less crowded bar.
It had pictures, I don’t recall if it had English. I just remember pointing, and that’s what I got!
And what my sister got!
End day 16!
Begin day 17!
The view from the apartment!
We set out to Budapest Castle this day, because it was the #1 recommendation from a Hungarian friend of ours.
We passed a Lego store on the way.
So we looked at a map right, and went as the crow flies to the castle.
Well, approaching it from this direction was… a chore.
Lookit Jey trekking up like a trooper. I am less enthused.
(Since my sister was with me, now there are non-selfie pics of me!)
But wait, there’s more!
FINALLY
So apparently people actually live here too!
Very rich people.
Because of that, some places seem fairly modern, then there are these awesome glimpses of Very Old.
I don’t know what this church was called, but I just love the tiling of the ceiling, so pretty and vibrant!
This is not the same church, but I love the bell structure.
This is the old foundation of how large that church used to be.
This was in the courtyard/old foundation area. It looked like a bizarre sundial with the 12 apostles.
So the bell tower would be to the right of me, and the sundial thing to the left :D
Random view from over the wall.
I can’t remember if this is just a door/building I liked the look of, or if this is the Fine Arts Museum. It looked interesting so we went in, but mostly because it had AC and cold water. And it was interesting, but very very small. It had a sculpture garden in the back which was all of 7 statues. Interesting enough to pop in, especially for free, but it didn’t really leave an impression on me.
That church from the other side!
I did really like the tiling. Totally not colours I like, but styling wise.
The door to the prettily roofed church!
A statue, taken pretty much from the same spot as the previous pic, just 180.
This is as close as we could get to the actual castle, there was a beer festival going on in the courtyard.
But the castle has a museum as part of it, and it was free because their machine was broken, so we wandered around inside a bit (mostly because it was super warm outside). It was all modern art sooo… we didn’t stay that long.
This is the other side of the castle walls, the opposite side from where we came up, and I think it looks very Disney 8D
On the stairs directly down from the last pic.
So then we walked down those stairs, which were WAY SHORTER than the stairs on the backside.
The parliament building, directly across the danube.
Then we crossed the Chain Bridge which had a lion motif going on. It was the first bridge to connect Buda to Pest. Fun factoid.
That’s…. possibly the same parliament building, from the backside (also I just realized I am wearing that exact shirt right now, as it’s casual Friday).
Then food!
We chose this place based on the Lonely Planet guide book (I don’t remember the name, and didn’t write it down :/), and my sister and I got fried cheese on rice, a Hungarian dish.
IT WAS DELICIOUS.
From there we headed to a bath house!
So, I had told my sister Hungary is pretty much in her hands, all I did was ask my Hungarian friend for advice. So she did all this research and I guess bath houses are hugely popular there. And since I didn’t do the research, I didn’t really know what that meant. And every time she said bath house, I was thinking more like in Japan with the onsen.
Turns out it’s sort of a glorified pool. We went to Szechenyi, the biggest one. You could pay for private dressing rooms, massages, and so on, but we went for the basic option, which is admittance and a locker.
In the main courtyard there’s two large pools, one was for laps or something, and one was the “fun” pool, which had jets in the middle and in the center, and a circle thing in the center with a current you could be swept along. We spent a few hours there, then went in search of the thermal pools, which were not clearly marked D:
They were indoor, and there were two, one was muuuuch warmer than the other, like it wasn’t even comfortable for me. They also put stuff in the water which is suppose to be good for you.
After we were done and semi changed back we came back to snap a pic!
That’s the fun pool.
Then we walked back to the apartment, which google had said would be a 30 min walk, but actually took an hour. On the way we passed by a cool looking castle and Hero's Square, which is almost exactly what it sounds like.
But not very square!
And then! Much needed sleep.
We walked from the train station to the apartment we rented through airbnb and waited there for my sister, who had flown in the same day. So she met us in front, and we were buzzed in by the owner’s father, who was meeting us because the owner was out of town (hence renting the apartment!). The elevator… was broken. So with our backpacks (getting heavier by the day ;_;) we trekked up 7 flights. I started thinking about just abandoning my backpack and buying new things as I went… but we did make it! And of course, he showed us a working elevator (wish he’s told us that on the intercomm…).
So after getting everything sorted, we dumped the bags and went in search of a grocery store for breakfast things.
We passed this! My sewy heart went pitter patter. Closed for the night, I meant to go back but actually never did.
We found an ATM on the corner, so we could get forints, and I discovered Jey’s credit card is better than mine XD In that, it showed on the screen how much it was in both USD and HUF. I wanted to see how much USD 50,000 HUF was (before committing, since I had figured out my budget in USD), and not only did it not show me, it didn’t even have the “are you sure?” screen/question, so 50,000 HUF is what it gave me.
Anyway, then we went looking for a place to eat that was still open that wasn’t a bar. After much wandering, we ended up at a less crowded bar.
It had pictures, I don’t recall if it had English. I just remember pointing, and that’s what I got!
And what my sister got!
End day 16!
Begin day 17!
The view from the apartment!
We set out to Budapest Castle this day, because it was the #1 recommendation from a Hungarian friend of ours.
We passed a Lego store on the way.
So we looked at a map right, and went as the crow flies to the castle.
Well, approaching it from this direction was… a chore.
Lookit Jey trekking up like a trooper. I am less enthused.
(Since my sister was with me, now there are non-selfie pics of me!)
But wait, there’s more!
FINALLY
So apparently people actually live here too!
Very rich people.
Because of that, some places seem fairly modern, then there are these awesome glimpses of Very Old.
I don’t know what this church was called, but I just love the tiling of the ceiling, so pretty and vibrant!
This is not the same church, but I love the bell structure.
This is the old foundation of how large that church used to be.
This was in the courtyard/old foundation area. It looked like a bizarre sundial with the 12 apostles.
So the bell tower would be to the right of me, and the sundial thing to the left :D
Random view from over the wall.
I can’t remember if this is just a door/building I liked the look of, or if this is the Fine Arts Museum. It looked interesting so we went in, but mostly because it had AC and cold water. And it was interesting, but very very small. It had a sculpture garden in the back which was all of 7 statues. Interesting enough to pop in, especially for free, but it didn’t really leave an impression on me.
That church from the other side!
I did really like the tiling. Totally not colours I like, but styling wise.
The door to the prettily roofed church!
A statue, taken pretty much from the same spot as the previous pic, just 180.
This is as close as we could get to the actual castle, there was a beer festival going on in the courtyard.
But the castle has a museum as part of it, and it was free because their machine was broken, so we wandered around inside a bit (mostly because it was super warm outside). It was all modern art sooo… we didn’t stay that long.
This is the other side of the castle walls, the opposite side from where we came up, and I think it looks very Disney 8D
On the stairs directly down from the last pic.
So then we walked down those stairs, which were WAY SHORTER than the stairs on the backside.
The parliament building, directly across the danube.
Then we crossed the Chain Bridge which had a lion motif going on. It was the first bridge to connect Buda to Pest. Fun factoid.
That’s…. possibly the same parliament building, from the backside (also I just realized I am wearing that exact shirt right now, as it’s casual Friday).
Then food!
We chose this place based on the Lonely Planet guide book (I don’t remember the name, and didn’t write it down :/), and my sister and I got fried cheese on rice, a Hungarian dish.
IT WAS DELICIOUS.
From there we headed to a bath house!
So, I had told my sister Hungary is pretty much in her hands, all I did was ask my Hungarian friend for advice. So she did all this research and I guess bath houses are hugely popular there. And since I didn’t do the research, I didn’t really know what that meant. And every time she said bath house, I was thinking more like in Japan with the onsen.
Turns out it’s sort of a glorified pool. We went to Szechenyi, the biggest one. You could pay for private dressing rooms, massages, and so on, but we went for the basic option, which is admittance and a locker.
In the main courtyard there’s two large pools, one was for laps or something, and one was the “fun” pool, which had jets in the middle and in the center, and a circle thing in the center with a current you could be swept along. We spent a few hours there, then went in search of the thermal pools, which were not clearly marked D:
They were indoor, and there were two, one was muuuuch warmer than the other, like it wasn’t even comfortable for me. They also put stuff in the water which is suppose to be good for you.
After we were done and semi changed back we came back to snap a pic!
That’s the fun pool.
Then we walked back to the apartment, which google had said would be a 30 min walk, but actually took an hour. On the way we passed by a cool looking castle and Hero's Square, which is almost exactly what it sounds like.
But not very square!
And then! Much needed sleep.