Catching Up - Budapest

Hi all,

Sorry again for the delay, but here's my adventure highlights for Budapest.

I got to the Hungarian capital on Friday Sept 29. The hostel I stayed in was relatively small, only 30 beds and located in the 5th district of the Pest side. Pretty much right in the tourist center of the city. A guy I met in Bratislava was also staying in the same hostel so I had a buddy from the start. We met up with some British girls, Sarah and Gina, that evening for an interesting introduction to Budapest nightlife. We went to this bar, not too far from the hostel, with sawdust on the floor and a unique decorative pattern. The theme was centered around obtaining a push pin and tack anything you have on you to the walls, ceiling and posts. There were thousands of business cards, IDs, passports, bus passes, ect. all over the place. The entertainment was also a hoot. They had a karaoke set up, but there was no rotation. One, very attractive women, sat at the helm the entire time singing American and British pop songs. After a couple of rounds, we all had a great time laughing and talking with other travelers and locals.
The next couple of days were filled with typical site seeing mostly on the Pest side although I did get a long walk in around Buda on my last day.
I ended up finding another bike tour company. This time I was again with a local as well as two more British girls and two guys from Spain, one of them spoke English, the other just chain smoked for the 5 hours we were riding around. The first half of the tour was pretty standard, introduction to the city, mini history lesson, blah, blah, blah. The our guide, who never introduced himself, suggested that we stop a local market for some snacks. Snacks turned into four rounds of beer and some interesting fried pastry with cheese and sour cream. Needless to say, the last hour was interesting. I'm not sure how everyone managed successfully to navigate Budapest afternoon traffic, but we all returned to the bike shop in tact.
I absolutely loved Budapest. It was clean and charming. Each district has its own unique character. The people were incredibly friendly. Even on the train into the city, they had a tourist bureau representative coming around asking if anyone needed maps or directions to their accommodations or questions about the city. The bridges are amazing and the Danube is breath-taking. I did indulge in a mineral spa experience. Sitting around in a very large, luke-warm bath tub with several old Hungarian women was surprisingly relaxing. My $12 15-minute massage wasn't bad either. Another city on my list to visit again in the future.


Heroes' Square


Me touching the "golden pen" - like the blarney stone - this one has special powers. It is supposed to give me the gift of articulate writing. By the merits of this blog, I don't think it works, but I got to take a photo next to a funny looking statue of a monk. His importance: commissioned to write the history of Hungary.