Sunday 11th May, 2015
I woke up feeling energised and ready for a full day of exploring Budapest. Jack and I must have enjoyed the quiet peace of the dorm a little too much last night, conveniently ignoring both alarms and oversleeping. As I lay there, smiling and ready to greet the day, I suddenly realised that we had only booked two nights in this hostel, meaning we had to swap rooms. So, we jolted out of bed and scrambled to pack our things.
Today, we had Heroes’ Square, Városliget Park and Margaret Island on our list, but we decided to skip public transport and enjoy the city on foot.
Read 'Part One of Budapest' here...
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| Streets of Budapest |
Heroes Square wasn’t what I had expected. I had imagined a small, crowded space overrun by tourists, but instead, it was vast and surprisingly quiet. The square was surrounded by museums and art galleries, though all were closed since it was Sunday. But I didn’t mind—I was more interested in being outside.
Városliget Park, or City Park, was the perfect spot for a stroll, with its gardens, lakes, and attractions like Vajdahunyad Castle. It was a peaceful escape from the city's hustle, seamlessly blending nature, culture, and history.
By late afternoon, we made our way to Margaret Island, situated in the heart of Budapest and a long walk from the city centre. The island is surrounded by the Danube River, reminding me of New York's Central Park, with the city stretching out on either side of this green oasis. I loved strolling through the park and watching the Music Fountain—a must-see if you’re ever in Budapest. It was very amusing.
The island was so large we couldn’t do a full loop, so we decided to hop on a tram back to the city and check out a few more bars. Well, I say more, but we ended up back at Szimpla. This time, instead of just beer, we also tried goulash—a hearty stew made with tender beef, paprika, and vegetables, typically served with bread or dumplings. It’s a comforting Hungarian classic. Though it was made in a tiny kitchen behind the bar, it was surprisingly tasty. I savoured it while relaxing and sipping beer in a bath (see the first picture at the top of the page).
Not long after midnight, we made our way back to the hostel. As we were heading to Slovakia at the crack of dawn, I was more than ready for another solid night’s sleep... Or so I thought...
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| The romantic Vajdahunyard Castle, Budapest |
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| Creepy statue situated in Vajdahunyard Castle grounds |
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| Chilling with this guy |
It was the worst sleep and hostel experience of my life (so far). I thought it was bad when two girls stumbled in at 1:00am, loud and chatty, waking everyone up. But oh, how wrong I was...
How do I explain this without sounding like a total b***h...
"It smelt so bad that I was actually praying for Jack to fart."
I was fast asleep on the top bunk when, at 2:00am, I was jolted awake by the worst stench I have ever encountered. I lay there, sniffing the air, trying to figure out where this smell was coming from—and whether it was me or Jack. It was so overpowering I was gagging. Now, you might think I’m being dramatic, but even shoving earplugs up my nose didn’t help. I kid you not, the guy’s feet in the bunk bed next to me (of course) reeked. It smelt so bad that I was actually praying for Jack to fart so I could smell that instead. I’ve never experienced anything like it—it was bad.
I couldn’t get back to sleep. I even considered grabbing my duvet and heading to the common room, but it was still loud with late-night bar crawlers, and I needed sleep. So instead, I just lay there for hours, trying to smother myself with a pillow and muttering "dirty bast**d" under my breath. I couldn’t wait for my alarm to go off at 4:30am so I could be free of that stinky room.
I did feel a little guilty for judging the poor guy, but when someone’s feet smell that bad, you just can’t help it. The receptionist had actually warned us about our dorm buddy whilst swapping rooms this morning, mentioning that he’d been camping in Croatia for two weeks without access to a shower. She even had to spray down his backpack because it didn’t just stink up our eight-bedroom—it had stunk up the entire floor of the hostel!
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| Szimpla Bar's furniture |
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| My new friend, Szimpla Bar |
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| What Szimpla bar looked like with the flash on |
Monday 12th May, 2015
When my alarm went off at 4:30am, I was already dressed and ready to go. Even Jack woke up mumbling, "What the hell is that rotten smell?"—but at least he hadn’t been trying to smother himself for the last two hours! As we both held our breaths, we quickly packed our stuff and darted out of the room.
The sun was just beginning to rise when we left the hostel, and the streets were so peaceful and quiet. Our train to Kosice was leaving Budapest at 6:30am, and whilst I was excited, I couldn’t help feeling a bit nervous about visiting Slovakia for the first time—a country I had never even considered visiting before this trip.
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| Heroes Square, Budapest |