I’m sitting here in Stuttgart with a full belly. Having had my share of cereal and salad for breakfast this morning. I feel somewhat nervous for our next journey. I think I’m going to miss the comforts of having a proper bed to sleep in. Not sleeping on the train and being woken up at every odd hour by a ticket checker. Or being caught in the early hours of the morning in a train station. Traveling can be hard, or at least the way we’re traveling. It has given us a new perspective on things and how much we take for granted being able to do laundry and shower. Or the power to wake up late on the weekends. Often times we find ourselves waking early for hostels have early checkout times or because we’ve camped out by the beach and need to beat the morning joggers to dawn.
We caught the train from Stuttgart to Munich and I suppose my trepidations, although for the wrong reason were right. Our train malfunctioned and we sat in sweltering heat for four hours. We waited and waited for a train to relieve us from this hot box of a sauna. The woman in front of us was wearing a wool sweater and within minutes of the train stopping her light grey became a little darker due to the sweat stains. In a matter of minutes she took her sweater off and was only in her white laced bra. Women, men children alike gathered at the few doors the conductors opened to catch a small breeze. There were no windows to open and if you decided to stay put in your seat within five minutes you were in a pool of your own sweat. The weather was unusually warm- Daniel and I have seemed to have pretty good luck when we travel to places in terms of sunny weather.
We arrive in Munich, finally, where there are a slew of complaints for the travelers who have spent cash on tickets and reservations and who missed their connections because of the delay. There was no way to refund them the cash. Credit card was fine, but cash wasn’t feasible. A young lady, fellow traveler spent 400 euros on multiple tickets and reservations and lost it all and missed her connections because of the delay. They were unwilling to remake any of her reservations again without charge.
I think in that moment we really appreciated the eurail.
We arrive in Budapest. Not knowing where the center is and Daniel and I being frugal in our travels decided to walk around the city with our bags.
Our first goal was to find a hostel. Again, we didn’t look any up before arriving, so in true Daniel and Maian fashion we walked around asking people. We found four hostels through travelers, hop and stop people and on accident. We decided on the Marco Polo. It wasn’t anything special but it was cheaper than the other hostels, gave us a 10% discount and accepted credit cards.
The city, during the day, was like most cities, it had it’s beautiful parts and it’s ugly ones. Upon arrival we had agreed to go to one of the baths. After very little research and going on Facebook pictures we decided on the ever popular schzencsky baths. We walked 40 minutes to get there and it was worth it. Just pools of water all at different temperatures some with jet streams some with fountains, some that were ice cold, some that had overlaying ceramic artwork. All within the center of a very yellow building. If you didn’t know what it was you would walk straight past it. Old, young everyone was there. The weather was great, the water exhilarating and the saunas relaxing. We spent hours just relaxing.
Later on that night Daniel and I were looking at pictures of some landmarks in Budapest and came across Matthais church. We decided to walk there. Budapest is two cities. The flat part is Pest, that’s where we were staying. The Buda part is the hilly area, where the church was.
OH MY GOD. If any of you have ever heard me talk about a place being magical you’ll almost always hear me bring up my hike through the Israeli dessert. Where at night you can not sleep because it is bone chilling cold but for a few seconds you forget because you stare up at the dark sky not contaminated with artificial lights and your eyes are just blanketed with stars and the moon so bright you could walk the night with it leading your way. It’s an incredible sight. But Budapest at night, is spellbinding.
I cannot find the words to describe this city at night to you. It’s like a fairy tale. We walked across the chain bridge at night and it is so romantic. There weren’t many tourists out and the lights were perfectly placed it hit every angle of every building perfectly. I think it’s safe to say that Daniel and I were breathless when we saw the city at night. We walked up so many steps to find this gorgeous church sitting at the very top decorated wonderfully with Maiolica colored tiles on the top. For a split second you forget where you are and what time frame you live in and you go back in time and imagine a time where this was a sanctuary, 700 years back. This city at night is a breath of fresh air and makes you weak in your knees. Daniel and I just sat there, taking it all in. Not distracted by cars or people because there weren’t many. And if ever you wanted to see Budapest, night is the best time.
During the day there is no magic or take your breath away moments. But still a city with a lot of history, and some pain. With a predominantly Roman Catholic and Jewish population. The Hungarians are an interesting group of people with many outside influences. And some really great plum alcohol ;).
Tid bit for the day: A two hour walk with backpacks on can feel like a 20 minute adventure when you’re with good company.
*** for all those waiting on our Germany experience! we’re still in the midst of writing it.
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