Budapest. Hostel good, Pest not so good, Buda good. Budapest was once two cities, Buda and Pest, but now known as Budapest. We got in late at night because the scenery in Brataslava was jaw dropping. Getting into a foreign city at night is one of the worst things one can do.
First of all we were disoriented once we got off the bus. Second we didn't have any Hungarian Forints. Last but not least we had to urinate. We found an ATM and got out some cash. One US dollar equals about two hundred forints. The toilet cost .70 forints. So naturally asking the toilet guard to break a two thousand forint note didn't go over well. There's not much you can do when the cash machines hand out such large denominations.
Aw fuck it. We decided find our way to the hostel. After finding the tram stop we realized yet again we needed coins to get a ticket. We hopped the tram without a ticket hoping not to get controlled, and luckily we didn't. The thing is I counted the stops wrong and we got off too early and went in the opposite direction of the hostel.
Once on the right track we were all grumbling about how sweaty and hot we were and how we hadn't had dinner yet. As we were approaching the hostel I said it better be a welcoming place. On the archway leading into the hostel the letters spelled out W-E-L-C-O-M-E. Ok maybe this place will be all right.
The super cute girl working the desk checked us in and showed us our room. She then told us to come down to the bar for a few beers once we got settled. No argument there. We knew before we checked into the hostel about the 24 hour bar.
We proceeded to get somewhat buzzed that night play pool on their nonstandard pool table and comment on Adrienne, the girl working the desk. Not to be confused with Adrian the Brit. By this time we also added a fourth member to our crew, Simon also from Australia.
The next day was kind of crap. Although we did see the huge synagogue and the tree monument. The day after we went to the bath house which was quite relaxing but old men in speedos and old women in thong bikinis kind of turned my stomach.
The next few days were a drunken haze as more people showed up at the hostel - Stella and Gabby from England, Todd and Ciaran from London, and other randoms from around Budapest coming to the hostel to party cause it was some holiday.
Inbetween beer we checked out the castle on the Buda side of the river and woke up one morning and found two Australian girls - Lydia and D'oh drawing a blank - in our room. So of course we proceed to party with them at the hostel.
The first morning after the new crew got there was rough on everyone. We decided we needed a hearty greasy breakfast. Eggs and bacon with some veggies mixed in was on the menu. The slabs of bacon we got cut at the store were at least an eighth of an inch thick and took forever to cook. Breakfast was served at three in the afternoon, but the consensus was it was the best breakfast we've ever had.
Honestly we didn't do very much except drink at the hostel. Although our last day together with the group we again went to the bath house and this time discovered the outdoor area. The inside of the bath house contained three pools of varying temperatures - 32, 34, and 36 degrees celcius - as well as a steam room and a sauna. The outdoor area is amazing and has a featured photo in Lonely Planet. All around are huge columns that remind you of the roman times and two huge pools, a 32 degree and a 36 degree pools. There was a lap pool as well, but a swim cap was required to Ciaran's disappointment.
The group went out for lunch and went our separate ways after that. The trio of Iain, Adrian and myself went off to Krakow after that. The train story will be told soon.
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