buda to my pest

It was suddenly weird being without Christian after being with him for a week straight, and he made sure I got to Munich safely. He was so cute and concerned about me being by myself and I had to remind him that this is what I’ve been doing – traveling solo! But yet again I was meeting up with Jules in Budapest, so not completely alone. It was, as usual, overwhelming to get into a new city and try to figure out the transit system after an overnight of traveling and not much sleep, but it wasn’t that hard either, and I made to the hostel where Jules was taking a nap. The hostel was really cute and in a nice old building. Jules wasn’t feeling too well so we took it easy that night. We got some Thai food and wandered around the city and down by the river and through super cute neighborhoods and had a drink before heading back to get some groceries and some sleep. It was nice just to chill and relax and catch up together.

The next day we intended to go on a walking tour, so after scarfing down sum breakfast that Jules prepared, we headed to the meeting point. Unfortunately, right as we approached, Jules’ flip flop broke! Our friend joked that, okay, we get it, she really did not want to go on the tour. So we went back to the hostel to get her shoes and then just walked towards the castle and the park and hung around there, there was a fest going on and we tried their chimney cake dough treat that was really good. We then tried taking a bike tour, but alas, we were not meant to take a tour that day because that did not work out either! So, we went shopping. I bought myself some jeans because I needed some anyway as my leggings were coming apart and I’ve been really good about not shopping! It felt so good to get a new outfit 🙂

We hung out around the river and watched the sun go down a bit, and then wandered back to the hostel and stopped in the cat cafe on the way. The paninis were not very good, nor were the catpuccinos, but the cats were cute. We then went back and got ready to go out on our Saturday night in the city. We went to the popular and much praised ruin bar, Szimpla, and it was packed and fun and really cool. We found another ruin bar called Instant, which had a lot of floors and super cool decor also, just not as many toys on the wall as Szimpla. They were both super fun bars but the music and the crowds weren’t much to our liking, so we headed to Morrison’s for some dancing, and there we found it. Jules found herself a Nigerian man, per her usual, and I fended one off, per my usual.

We were out late so we took it easy the next day. It was nice to be with a travel partner that was as chill as me, so neither of us felt rushed or stressed, just enjoyed the city and our time together there. Finally and successfully we took a bike tour, after wandering through a street market and being tempted by many cute things, our little Jewish guide and us two rode through the city. We were happy to be on bikes again and it was awesome to learn about all these things that we’ve been looking at but didn’t know anything about. Hungary has a very interesting and quirky history! We got some hummus afterwards and our waiter had the driest sense of humor I’ve ever seen, and it made our dining experience quite enjoyable, even though he gave us so much trouble, it was hilarious. And the food was really good. We went back to Szimpla for some hookah in a bathtub and chatted about politics and boys.

The next morning we got haircuts, since they were cheap and we both needed one. I was thankful because I probably wouldn’t have got one without Jules persistence. We then wandered over to the Buda side of Budapest, and checked out the castle and the parliament from the other side of the river. We then took a Jewish legacy walking tour that was really good and our guide was so cute, lending Jules his jacket, so we left him a sweet note in the pocket. We stopped to do some more shopping and I replaced my blanket scarf that had got stolen in Iceland, for only 8 bucks. We went back to the hostel and packed up our stuff before heading to an open mic. It was cool to meet an expat community of Budapest! They were all super friendly and loved my voice, and I met a guy I can stay with when I’m done with my week of English teaching.

We both left at the same time on Tuesday, so that worked out well. It was hard to leave each other without knowing when we would see each other again, but I’m sure we will sooner rather than later. I feel so lucky to have met and befriended Jules and have these experiences together. Altogether it was a lovely time in Budapest and I’ll be happy to return.