Budapest

My final stop on my trip was also the one I was looking forward to the most – Budapest – but because of accommodation also the one I was the most about. In my planning for this trip I had really struggled to find a hostel which looked good, and had eventually booked a newly opened place which so far had good reviews. When I eventually found the place I was an hour early for check-in but figured I could at least leave my bag, but when I buzzed to get into the building I was told to go away – my first warning sign.

After a bit of a dodgy check-in where the owner informed me that he slept in the bed next to mine and that there were no lockers to keep our things, I swiftly made my way back out to explore.

My first stop was Margaret Island, a huge island in the middle of the Danube. It was a scorching hot day and I stopped to cool my feet in a fountain (and take a rest, as I was still weak and ill) when suddenly music started blaring and the water started moving in time. It was pretty cool and all around me kids and adults were getting up to dance, then after a few songs it was all over and people just carried on with what they were doing.

I made my way slightly further around the island, but it’s huge and in the heat it was tough going – the best way to get around is definitely by bike – and then crossed over to the Buda side of the city. That evening I joined a free walking tour to get my bearings and see a bit more of the centre of the city, then headed back to my creepy hostel. There were at least other people there now which made me feel slightly more at ease, but the place still seemed a bit off.

I have to say my time in Budapest feels like a bit of a blur. Partly due to being ill but also I spent a lot of the time just wandering, exploring the city, and having some time to myself after weeks of spending every day socialising and meeting new people. As much as that is one of my favourite parts of travelling and I had met some amazing people during my time away, before I headed back I needed a few days just to myself.

On this trip I had taken a real interest in history, especially around the Second World War and Cold War, and I took a few free walking tours including one of the Jewish district and another about Communism in Budapest, both of which were super interesting. It was fascinating how each country I had been to on this trip was so tied into the same series of events, but each had their own narrative and perspective on how things were – and the lasting effects on how they still are now.

Over my five days in Budapest I hit most of the main sites – Fisherman’s Bastion, Buda Castle, Széchenyi Chain Bridge, the Hungarian Parliament building, Heroes Square, the Central Market Hall. It’s a beautiful city and I was so content just being a flâneuse, wandering the city and observing its people. My top highlights however, would easily be:

1. Szechenyi Baths – no trip to Budapest would be complete without a visit to their famous thermal baths, and spending a hot, sunny day at Szechenyi was easily my favourite day. It’s one of the biggest in Europe let alone just Budapest, with 3 outdoor pools and 15 indoor baths, all housed in the most beautiful building.

2. Szimpla Kert – ruin bars are pretty common in Budapest and Szimpla Kert is probably the biggest and most touristy, but there is a reason for its popularity. A former factory, it is now a series of bars and hosts concerts and performances. The place is like a disco maze, where every neon-lit corridor seems to come out in a different place each time you go down it. In the centre of it all is a lovely leafy courtyard, which is the perfect place to sit and enjoy a drink.

3. City Park – simply a lovely place to come and escape the city, and sit by the lake with its little fairytale castle in the middle of it.

4. Erzsébet Square – the meeting place in the centre of Pest may seem an unlikely place to make my favourite parts of the city, but I spent a lot of time around here and it quickly became my favourite place to head in the evenings. In the square is a large pool which is perfect to sit beside, dangle your feet in, have a drink, and chill out while listening to the nearby music. I spent most evenings here, easing off my tired feet (it was around 35°C most days and I was walking about 15 miles every day, in flipflops). So on my last morning when I headed to the square and found it cordoned off and surrounded by police, I wondered what was going on. Turns out the previous night an unexploded bomb from the war had been uncovered by construction work, and the area had been evacuated – and apparently this is a fairly regular occurrence in Budapest!