Budapest - West or East Europe?

Hi everyone, it's finally about time to write about my trip SEVEN WEEKS AGO. It was by far one of my most elaborately planned trips and the only one I did by myself. I requested three days off work, originally to go to Prague with my roommate (who's from Prague), but for some reason the dates didn't work out well for him, so that trip was postponed. The other idea was to visit Vienna during the semifinals or finals of the Eurocup (which took place in Vienna) and take part in some soccer madness. Therefore I began with this idea and scoured the internet for transportation, housing, etc, and immediately realized everything was either booked or too expensive. So I pulled out my letter-sized printout of Europe, courtesy of google images, and noticed how invitingly close the city of Budapest was to Vienna. I did a little research about the city, and made sure Hungary was part of the European Union, then found a great deal for a flight straight from Dusseldorf! Cha-ching! From there I planned the remaining days of the trip as follows:

Tues - arrive in Budapest in evening
Wed - tour the city
Thurs - take bus to Vienna in morning (2.5 hours), see the city - watch soccer
Fri - walk around city some more, take train to Munich in evening (5 hours)
Sat - tour the Bavarian country - mountains? hiking? biking? castles?
Sun - tour the city, take train back to Dusseldorf in evening (6 hours)

To describe the city of Budapest, I'll try not to just talk about the things I did, but try to somehow describe the atmosphere. First I'll begin with the people: it was very difficult for me to pinpoint a dominant race, because it just seemed so mixed: dark and light skin colors, bright blue eyes to dark brown, and an assortment of face types. But the one thing that stood out was the youthfulness and how everyone seemed to be in good physical shape. I think the city draws in a lot of young professionals because it's a cheaper place to live, and the government is really trying to promote growth since the fall of the Soviets. The Hungarians also place an emphasis on taking care of your body, because they have many fitness clubs and spas. They are definitely bringing in more tourists and working to rebuild many of the neglected historical buildings, so there is a positive sense of rejuvenation. At the same time I really felt the history of the city because it wasn't diluted by mass tourism, which many countries fear the European Union would cause. At any rate, there is a lot to do and see. The city is divided in half by the Danube River, with the West side called "Buda" and the East side called "Pest". I didn't explore "Buda" too much except for the old castle town on the hill, which is where most of the tourists hung out. The view from there was really nice and I would have loved to see a sunset from there but I didn't have time for pretty scenery; I was there for the city-life. "Pest" is where I spent the most time. This side consisted of government buildings, war relics - including a Soviet monument and a park devoted to FDR within three blocks, theaters, museums, authentic Hungarian restaurants, and my youth hostel.

The hostel was a backpacker's "mecca" especially for English speakers, because it's the first thing that pops up on the internet when you search "budapest hostel." It consisted of two rooms of beds, a kitchen, and two baths in this tall, old house. The house keeper is a very friendly Hungarian dude (who gave me really good tips for the city) and who lives in one of our rooms as well. He kept track of the tenants on his clipboard, and he asked me to remind him how much money I owed him, because he seemed to have misplaced that information. So I honestly paid him my amount for two nights in HUF cash (about $35). Here I met young people from the US, Australia, and England. They were doing everything from wandering around the globe, biking across continents, resting from the mountains they just climbed, or just taking their monthly jaunt to another continent. We sat one evening and told stories for a few hours and I mostly just listened, because I hadn't had a life threatening experience yet. One girl tried to hike Mount Everest in flipflops, and ended up being carried down half the way by monks after spraining her knee and almost freezing to death - she didn't seem very bright.

The tip for this Hungarian restaurant was given to me by the fellow hostel keeper and it was much appreciated. It was probably the best experience I've had yet at a restaurant in Europe. The waitress was very friendly and knew a little English, and the place was nice and cozy with a mixture of old and young people. I ordered the first thing I saw which was this Hungarian platter, that ended up given me much more than I thought. It was actually so much that I had to order two cups of coffee, which were about as strong as espresso. The first serving was amazing goulash soup with fresh bread, then came a salad, and then came a plate of seasoned beef kebabs, cooked vegies and potatoes. Then, when I thought I was done, she brought out this giant glass with a tiramisu-like dessert inside. I half expected her to pull out a candle and sing happy birthday to me. The meal only cost about $10 and that's why I had to order the second cup of coffee.

The weather was pretty warm - mid 80s or so, and I was carrying around my backpack around, getting pretty sweaty. But I wasn't very worried because I knew what I had in store for later in the day. Like I said earlier, the city prides itself in health spas and such, and I decided I would go visit these Turkish-style baths on the outer ring of the city. I paid $0.40 for the tram and reached this really nice park in about 10 minutes from the center of the city. It was a great relief from the city and was a hot spot for families with little kids. There were playgrounds and this little wacky-looking amusement park. For the adults, there were plenty of nature walks, museums, and of course, the baths. The foyer of the bathhouse got me excited with its classical vaulted ceiling, mosaic tiles, and a centerpiece fountain dripping natural spring water. After much confusion, I paid for my ticket, and was pointed through a maze of hallways, bouncing from attendant to attendant, until I made it to a changing locker. Then it took some more peeking around corners to find the entrance to the baths, and then it was just a matter of following people around to the various baths and making sure I didn't break any custom or rule or anything. But as I hopped from hot tub, to warm tub, to cool pool, to freezing cold pool, to the recreation area, I realized it was all pretty much open to anything. I was also there on a particular day where men and women were aloud to be there at the same time. Normally, they have a day for only women or only men (and in this case, Jim, nudity would be permitted). The saunas, though, were unbearably hot! I couldn't even last a minute or keep my eyes open. I don't think even dad could handle it!

So that was one day...