Wednesday 11 May 2016

BACKPACKING EUROPE: Budapest - Part Two

Heroes Square, Budapest


Sunday 11th May, 2016

I had woken up to another bright and beautiful day in Budapest. Jack and I must have enjoyed the quietness a little too much last night, as we both ended up sleeping in. As I lay there smiling, welcoming the new day, I suddenly remembered that we had only booked two nights, which meant that we had to check out of our current room (as it was fully booked when we decided to extend) and then check into another dorm room. So we jolted out of our beds and quickly packed our belongings. Although, it was late morning when we eventually set off, we still managed to make it in time for breakfast (priorities and all that).

Today Jack and I were visiting Heroes Square and Margaret Island, and as it was another gorgeous day, we decided to ditch the public transport and walk.

Streets of Budapest


Heroes Square was not what I was expecting. I assumed it would be a tiny area, which would be suffocated by swarms of tourists but actually, it was massive and there weren't that many people about. The square was surrounded by magnificent museums and art galleries but as it was Sunday, they were all closed. I wasn't bothered anyway because I wanted to be outside.

It was late afternoon when we arrived at Margaret Island, as it is situated in the central part of Budapest and is quite a long walk from the city centre. The island is surrounded by the Danube and is covered with greenery, promenades and nature. I enjoyed strolling through the park and watching the musical fountain (a definite a must-see if you visit Budapest), which was pretty spectacular.

Margaret Island was was too big to do a full loop so we decided to catch a tram back to the hostel and check out more ruin bars. Well, I say more but we ended up back in Szimpla and only visiting another ruin bar because it was across the road. We also tried some goulash in Szimpla, as it's a Hungarian delicacy and although, it was made in a small kitchen behind the bar, it was still pretty good. I enjoyed it as I chilled in a bath and sipped on beer. We couldn't enjoy the night too much though because we had to be up at 4:30am tomorrow to catch an early train to Slovakia so not long after midnight, we headed back to the hostel for a good nights sleep, or at least I hoped it would be anyway...

The romantic Vajdahunyard Castle, Budapest

Creepy statue situated in Vajdahunyard Castle grounds

Chilling with this guy
It was without a doubt the worst sleep and hostel experience of my life (so far). Firstly, two girls checked into the room super late, which is not a problem, as that's expected in a hostel but they were so loud and chatty that nobody could sleep. Thank god Jack asked them to keep the noise down because I was ready to charge about the room like Hitler and explode. And secondly, oh man how do I explain this without sounding like a total bitch...

"It smelt so bad that I was actually praying for Jack to fart..." 

So, I was fast asleep on the top bunk bed above Jack until it hit 2:00am and I was woken up by the worst stench of my life. I lay there sniffing the air trying to work out where it was coming from and whether it was me or Jack. The smell was so pungent that I couldn't stop heaving. Now you may think that I am being a drama queen but I kid you not, the stench dominated the entire room that even shoving ear plugs up my nose didn't help. I am not exaggerating at all when I say that the boys feet in the bunk bed next to me fucking stunk. It was horrendous! It smelt so bad that I was actually praying for Jack to fart so I could smell that instead. I've never smelt anything like it in my life, it was honestly that bad that I couldn't get back to sleep. I considered grabbing my blanket and sleeping in the common room but there was still people about making a racket and I needed to sleep. So instead, I just lay there for a good few hours trying to suffocate myself with a pillow and muttering the words, "dirty bastard," repeatedly. I couldn't wait for my alarm to go off and get out of this stinky ass room. I did feel a little guilty for judging the poor guy but when someones feet smell that bad, you can't help it. We were warned by the receptionist earlier on about our fellow dorm buddy because he had been camping in Croatia for two weeks and hadn't had access to a shower. She even had to spray his backpack down because it not only stunk out the eight bed dorm room, but the entire floor of the hostel!

Szimpla Bar's furniture 

My new friend, Szimpla Bar 
What Szimpla bar looked like with the flash on

Patiently waiting for lingerers to leave the car


Monday 12th May, 2016

When my alarm went off at 4:30pm, I was already dressed and ready to go. Even Jack woke up muttering, 'what the fuck is that rotten smell' but at least he hadn't been trying to escape it for the last two hours! As we both held our breaths, we quickly packed up our stuff and darted out of that room, leaving the bad smell behind us. I hoped I would never smell that ever again.

The sun was beginning to rise when we left the hostel and the streets were so peaceful and quiet that we decided to walk to the train station. The train was leaving Budapest at 6:30am for Kosice and I was excited but also nervous about visiting Slovakia for the first time, a country that I had never even thought about visiting before this trip.

Overall, I absolutely LOVED Budapest. It is one of the best cities I have ever been too and I'll definitely be back one day. It's reasonably priced for a city, the public transport is excellent and although Budapest is huge, it's very easy to navigate. There is however, so much to do and see that I recommend you stay for at least two or three nights. Don't waste the day in bed, start your day at sunrise and don't come home until after midnight. We spent 3 nights here and it wasn't enough, which means.. I will be back. But for now, it was time for Slovakia.


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Tuesday 10 May 2016

BACKPACKING EUROPE: Budapest - Part One

The famous 'Chain Bridge' in Budapest
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