We arrived in Budapest! Unlike the trip to Vienna, we were prepared to satisfy any hunger with the makings of PB&J's. A Hungarian man (ironically living in Montana) commented on our late lunch and inquired of our travels. The trip was pleasant. We mostly watched a dreadful tv show we've been following and read our second-hand books.
We've grown quite efficient users of novel public transit, so we made it to the stop near our hostel without hiccup. From there, though, we could not find the building to our hostel. Aaron had to call the hostel manager, Andrew, who graciously came down across the square to get us. Before we were lead to the hostel Aaron had to pull out 50,000 Hungarian Forint to pay for our stay. 1 Hungarian Forint is worth about 0.0036 US Dollars. To put it clearly, everything here is chheeeaaaapp.
Andrew, who Kaylea has dubbed Lord Andrew (Haha, as in landlord? Get it?! Shut up.), lead us through the entryway of a large, old building to a third floor apartment his family re-purposed into a hostel. Our room actually has air conditioning! Controllable, beautiful, crisp and clean and lovely air conditioning. Oh, we also have a phenomenal view of St. Stephen's Basilica two blocks down. Did we mention we have air conditioning and a private bathroom? Being a new, privately-owned apartment hostel, we don't have a 24-hour reception, adequate kitchen, or a laundry room, but we have A/C.
Per Andrew's recommendation, we went in search of a Hungarian restaurant a short walk away. Its was rainy and dark and the street was narrow, so we were a little uneasy, but we found it. The food was tasty! Kaylea tried veal for the third time ever and decided it wasn't so bad. Just like in Prague, the food was cheap, but of good quality. Also, there was lots of it. What would cost over $10 in the States only cost around $5.
Day 23 was just as cold and rainy was the past two, but we went out anyways. Even in the rain, the city is beautiful. It reminded us of Vienna, but less clean, and of Prague, but with wider streets and less colors and cobblestone. First we went in search of breakfast (it was noon), and instead found a cafe with delicious coffee and massive burgers. We'll probably go there for breakfast tomorrow if we find the will-power to leave the air-conditioned room. On the way,we got a closer look at the Basilica and the Hungarian State Opera.
From the Opera we hopped the metro to the high hill in Budapest that is home to the Buda Castle, Matthias Church and Fisherman's Bastion. We visited the later two, saving the castle for tomorrow. Fisherman's Bastion is basically a lookout-point overlooking the river and the sprawling city. You can see everything. Every edge of the city in nestled on a giant hillside and every grand piece of monumental architecture is view-able. Then you have the Church directly behind it. Inside, was painted and decorated with gold accents. It wasn't a dark cathedral like the Notre Dame of Paris, but a colorfully warm and welcoming monument. We decided to explore the spiral stair cases and upper floors that housed a museum. It was here we found the glass-encased, mummified 1400 year old foot of St. John the Almsgiver. Fiberous brown skin, missing toes, ankle bone sticking out, the works. We made our way back through the mud and rain to our hostel for a rest before setting out again.
We had booked another escape room since Budapest is famous for them. This one was called the Trap and we played the "Armageddon" game. Basically, the world has already been racked with meteor showers that are proceeding a giant asteroid and is in shambles. Our teams goal was to go into the bunker that had been destroyed by the meteors and launch the missile that would destroy the asteroid. We had 60 minutes before the world was destroyed. A unique objective for an escape room, but it wasn't very difficult. We solved the puzzle with only one hint and with 20 minutes to spare.
After saving the world from utter destruction, Kaylea convinced Aaron to help her search for new shoes. Not because she needed to add to her 73 pair collection or because she needed to add more weight to her 36 lb pack, but because her Christmas gifted Keds had not held up to the miles and miles of trekking. We found a popular shopping mall on the map and headed that way. During the walk, Kaylea noticed that many people (many of whom were young boys) were gazing a Aaron's beard for a bit longer that publicly acceptable. Just as we were crossing a street, we spied a young boy, probably about 11 or 12 years old, wearing the kind of fake mustache and goatee you find's a Spencer's or similar gag store. As we crossed paths, the boy intentionally made eye contact with Kaylea, smiled, and stroked his faux facial hair suggestively. What a charmer. We decided that everyone who stared at Aaron's beard were just envious of it's magnificent power.
At the mall we found a Vans store and Kaylea was able to replace her shoes with a brand new pair. Sadly, the old ones were thrown away. Kaylea had hoped to bring them home as a souvenir to the miles she had walked in them, but they were too torn and too muddy to keep. Kaylea also bought a sweater since she only brought one and she couldn't wear it every day without somewhere to do laundry soon.
Missing home, Aaron was craving Thai food for dinner. He found a nice place halfway between the mall and our hostel and we were able to dine without the required reservations. We each had a sweet glass of Rosé and decided to end our night snuggled up with a move, more wine, and Oreos. You know, because we're adults.
We've grown quite efficient users of novel public transit, so we made it to the stop near our hostel without hiccup. From there, though, we could not find the building to our hostel. Aaron had to call the hostel manager, Andrew, who graciously came down across the square to get us. Before we were lead to the hostel Aaron had to pull out 50,000 Hungarian Forint to pay for our stay. 1 Hungarian Forint is worth about 0.0036 US Dollars. To put it clearly, everything here is chheeeaaaapp.
Andrew, who Kaylea has dubbed Lord Andrew (Haha, as in landlord? Get it?! Shut up.), lead us through the entryway of a large, old building to a third floor apartment his family re-purposed into a hostel. Our room actually has air conditioning! Controllable, beautiful, crisp and clean and lovely air conditioning. Oh, we also have a phenomenal view of St. Stephen's Basilica two blocks down. Did we mention we have air conditioning and a private bathroom? Being a new, privately-owned apartment hostel, we don't have a 24-hour reception, adequate kitchen, or a laundry room, but we have A/C.
Per Andrew's recommendation, we went in search of a Hungarian restaurant a short walk away. Its was rainy and dark and the street was narrow, so we were a little uneasy, but we found it. The food was tasty! Kaylea tried veal for the third time ever and decided it wasn't so bad. Just like in Prague, the food was cheap, but of good quality. Also, there was lots of it. What would cost over $10 in the States only cost around $5.
Day 23 was just as cold and rainy was the past two, but we went out anyways. Even in the rain, the city is beautiful. It reminded us of Vienna, but less clean, and of Prague, but with wider streets and less colors and cobblestone. First we went in search of breakfast (it was noon), and instead found a cafe with delicious coffee and massive burgers. We'll probably go there for breakfast tomorrow if we find the will-power to leave the air-conditioned room. On the way,we got a closer look at the Basilica and the Hungarian State Opera.
From the Opera we hopped the metro to the high hill in Budapest that is home to the Buda Castle, Matthias Church and Fisherman's Bastion. We visited the later two, saving the castle for tomorrow. Fisherman's Bastion is basically a lookout-point overlooking the river and the sprawling city. You can see everything. Every edge of the city in nestled on a giant hillside and every grand piece of monumental architecture is view-able. Then you have the Church directly behind it. Inside, was painted and decorated with gold accents. It wasn't a dark cathedral like the Notre Dame of Paris, but a colorfully warm and welcoming monument. We decided to explore the spiral stair cases and upper floors that housed a museum. It was here we found the glass-encased, mummified 1400 year old foot of St. John the Almsgiver. Fiberous brown skin, missing toes, ankle bone sticking out, the works. We made our way back through the mud and rain to our hostel for a rest before setting out again.
We had booked another escape room since Budapest is famous for them. This one was called the Trap and we played the "Armageddon" game. Basically, the world has already been racked with meteor showers that are proceeding a giant asteroid and is in shambles. Our teams goal was to go into the bunker that had been destroyed by the meteors and launch the missile that would destroy the asteroid. We had 60 minutes before the world was destroyed. A unique objective for an escape room, but it wasn't very difficult. We solved the puzzle with only one hint and with 20 minutes to spare.
After saving the world from utter destruction, Kaylea convinced Aaron to help her search for new shoes. Not because she needed to add to her 73 pair collection or because she needed to add more weight to her 36 lb pack, but because her Christmas gifted Keds had not held up to the miles and miles of trekking. We found a popular shopping mall on the map and headed that way. During the walk, Kaylea noticed that many people (many of whom were young boys) were gazing a Aaron's beard for a bit longer that publicly acceptable. Just as we were crossing a street, we spied a young boy, probably about 11 or 12 years old, wearing the kind of fake mustache and goatee you find's a Spencer's or similar gag store. As we crossed paths, the boy intentionally made eye contact with Kaylea, smiled, and stroked his faux facial hair suggestively. What a charmer. We decided that everyone who stared at Aaron's beard were just envious of it's magnificent power.
At the mall we found a Vans store and Kaylea was able to replace her shoes with a brand new pair. Sadly, the old ones were thrown away. Kaylea had hoped to bring them home as a souvenir to the miles she had walked in them, but they were too torn and too muddy to keep. Kaylea also bought a sweater since she only brought one and she couldn't wear it every day without somewhere to do laundry soon.
Missing home, Aaron was craving Thai food for dinner. He found a nice place halfway between the mall and our hostel and we were able to dine without the required reservations. We each had a sweet glass of Rosé and decided to end our night snuggled up with a move, more wine, and Oreos. You know, because we're adults.
You both are so cute in that picture !
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