Beginning with Budapest

Budapest: the capital of Hungary derived its name from the places on either side of the Danube river ‘’buda’’ & ‘’pest’’. The city stands up to its nick name ‘’ Paris of East’’. The airport was very basic and I came out without much trouble. I had a confirmed stay with one Japanese guy who is studying in Budapest whom I got introduced through Couchsurfing. Exchanged €5 from the airport to get Hungarian Forint (HUF) and bought the tickets to go to my host's place from the airport counter, initially by bus followed by metro. It is quite easy to navigate any location in google maps, it shows all possible options to reach any destination with exact time of buses, trains, metros and trams.

Budapest Eye

It was a memorable moment in my life, I felt as if I achieved something big, something which was a dream for quite some time. It was the overwhelming happiness which brought a smile on my face, the moment I was congratulating myself. The careless look, long hair and the beard have turned quite a number of heads; made me feel that I have mentally as well as physically transformed to a backpacker. For the next 24 days I am gonna live as a human being, unleashing myself, away from the boundaries of cast, creed, color, race, religion, language & nationality.

I hardly got chance to go out with my host. I resorted myself to the ‘hangout’ facility in Couchsurfing wherein one can join small groups or individuals, chat with them, plan your activities and if comfortable you can go out and explore the city or pubs or events with them. Ideally Budapest requires 3 days to cover most parts of the city. Even though tram is a good option to move around I walked to almost all the places.

With Couchsurfing Friends

I was staying at the Pest side, the market and a couple of pubs made my first evening in the city. The second day I strolled through the market and sides of Danube and later walked towards the Buda side. As I crossed the Chain Bridge the structures on top of the hill grew bigger. I had to put some effort to reach to the Buda castle and adjacent structures. The view of the Houses of Parliament, the Chain Bridge and the City of Pest on the other side of Danube River gave me an everlasting image of Budapest. I stayed on the top until the sunset, appreciating the beauty of the city from the Fisherman’s Bastion (a terrace) and the marvelous Matthias church with its neo-gothic architecture and the colorful roof tiles. The thermal bath is something which should be tried in Budapest; unfortunately I couldn’t make it in this trip.

I dedicated the third day to walk around the Pest side of the city. The streets with archaic buildings on every corner took me to a few centuries back. One of the architectural marvelous on the Pest side is the St.Stephen’s Basilica and I did capture some beautiful moments from the streets around this monument. By evening Jaimy joined me to explore the streets and to get lost in the crowds of different pubs. Jaimy is a German guy whom I met through the hangout option in Couchsurfing.com (CS).

We got introduced to a larger group in one of the ruined courtyard pubs. We all walked to the party on the side of the lighted up chain bridge and spent there till late night guzzling some of the best wines and beers. This city has something to offer to everyone from the history, culture and architecture enthusiast to the booze and party freaks.

Goulash & Duck Meat

The weather was favorable and mostly sunny. On my last day in Budapest the walk to the Gellert Hill while it was drizzling added a flavor to my whole trip. Timely refreshments from the local pubs, late night parties, the meaty choices from the local supermarkets, the hospitality of my host and going out with couchsurfing friends are some of the highlights which are worth mentioning. There were plenty of nightlife options; the ambience of Fogashaz pub was good. Tamas a Hungarian from CS took me to a local restaurant to have the goulash and duck meat, it was a must try thing and I don’t regret spending money on those even though it overshot my budget.

With Tamas

(Check for Bratislava....)
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