Melissa: Hungry in Hungary

The view of Buda from Pest


the overcrowded outdoor baths


walking along one of the many squares


our room at the loft

Just got out of the shower and am already dry. It is so ridiculously hot in Budapest. We are staying in a hostel called "the loft" which explains our elevated position on the 4th floor and the heat that comes with it. There are actually a lot of hostels in Budapest so we chose this one after a friends recommendation and so far have been very pleased. We thought we would couch surf the last two nights but out of the four girls that we emailed requesting to stay with them, only one of them wrote back with a negative. So we were pleased when Alex, one of the two main people who manage to hostel everyday, told us that they had room for us to stay an additional two nights. The loft sort of has a co-op feel in that there are murals on the walls and a big shared living room with a tv and two computers. There are a total of 14 beds so it is significantly smaller than the 150+ person hostels we have been staying in previously. A smaller size allows for a more intimate setting and more personalized help. For example, when we came off our loud and abrasive train trip from Bratislava to Budapest (learned the lesson that one should always reserve a seat as to avoid sitting in the hallway of the train for a half hour) we managed to go too far on the bus ride to the hostel and had to lug our heavy bags that much further. When we finally arrived to the loft we were offered a drink and were promptly made welcome, invited to have burgers with them that night and told we could pay them later. A great way to start our trip to what has turned out to be a very great city.

After we checked in yesterday we walked around the Pest side of the city ("Buda" and "Pest" are divided by the Danube- Pest being the more cosmopolitan, newer area and Buda being the side with the old castle and older buildings). We automatically fell in love with the city- it has everything we loved about a big city like Vienna with tons of impressive monuments and buildings to see while still holding the character of a small city like Bratislava with its tree-lined streets and cafe adorned plazas. I wish I had an architecture expert with me so they could tell me a bit more about the building styles because at present I can only tell that I love the blend of European and eastern influences. In the three hours that we walked around for we managed to see a lot of the city. We returned to our hostel exhausted and ready for dinner. Now anyone who knows Elisa and I will understand that the question of dinner is never an easy one. One of the many reasons we make great traveling companions is because we are willing to go the extra mile to get to the perfect place. It would be impossible to count the amount of times we have walked into a cafe or shop or restaurant and poked around only to decide to leave and find something else. So, we consulted Lonely Planet for recommendations and got excited about this Mediterranean place that sounded the light but still substantial. After a 45 minute walk, realizing that the map was all wrong and then finding where the restaurant USED to be, we had to opt for a plan B. We went to another of their recommendations (even though we were cursing Lonely Planet the whole way there) and finally sat down to dinner at 9, a whole two hours later than planned. We tried the Hungarian specialty of cold cherry soup (refreshing but rather dessert like) and indulged in a cold duck salad and an entree of Hungarian style fried bread stuffed with chicken. It was okay. A mediocre meal considering it was expensive by Hungarian standards (a whopping 13 dollars). We were too full for dessert, too tired to go out and so when we returned to our hostel and found out that everyone had already gone out, we decided to call it a quiet night. Sadly, another weekend night squandered to fatigue.