Budapest, Hungary

 

Funnily enough, it was my 4th time arriving in Budapest yet my first time affording the opportunity to explore the city where this journey of mine began. I arrived back at Keleti and this time, purchased a 24 hour transport card- necessity. I decided to splurge on my first private room of the trip for this last night abroad as I'd need to depart at 2 AM to make my first, of many, flights back home. Luckily, Budapest is very affordable, as was my night in a prime location at Hotel Benczur. I took public transport (and got off way too early) then walked to drop off my luggage before setting out.



My first stop was Heroes' Square, conveniently down the street.

 

Right around the corner was Vajdahunyad Castle where I stopped for some mulled wine and grounds exploration.

 Across the street was the largest medicinal European bathhouse, Szechenyi.

 

 

After exploring much for the "Pest" side (pronounced "Pescht") I walked back to my hotel and cleaned up for "Buda" across the Danube river. Budapest used to be two smaller towns before being joined as one. 

I took the tram to the riverside for beautiful views of Buda and the infamous  Shoes Along the Danube <--- Read the history here.

Then I crossed the famous river myself and arrived in the higher ground of Buda.

Matthias Church

Fisherman's Bastion was quite a site, I even splurged on a "Last Supper" 3 course meal at a pretty pricey restaurant inside with views of the Hungarian Parliament Building.

Fisherman's Bastion

Parliament

 

Dinner was inside here!

 Next, I took the tram as close as I could to Buda Castle.



Stunning views of Chain Bridge.

Didn't have time to make it to Gelert Hill, as seen here. 

I needed to rush back to meet up with a friend but then, my phone died. I was bussed out of the city where no one spoke English. I tried to use maps and finally got back close enough to find a young helpful local who directed my back to stay. *ALWAYS have a back up charger!*


My local friend picked me up and we went out for a night on the town in the Jewish Quarter. Here, former, decrepid, WWII housing ghettos were repurposed into eclectic bars, the most famous (as noted in Dan Brown's latest "Origin") being Szimpla Kert.





 

Anytime of day is worth checking this place out but boy was the night life fun. So fun, in fact, that I almost missed my flight home. I was dropped off back at my hotel in the nick of time where I had pre-arranged a Mini-Bud pick up (remember, don't take taxis) only to realize that the TIME HAD SPRUNG FORWARD! Yes, apparently, this happens weeks later in Europe than the US. Again, I was saved as my Mini-Bud (which taxied others to the airport, as well) was late. So after zero hours of sleep I began my seemingly never-ending journey back across the pond.