Budapest has soul

How I adore Budapest. Leaving it yesterday morning left me with a knot in my stomach...the kind of feeling that really aches when you have to say goodbye to something or someone you truly are connected to. I also attribute the sadness to the end of my travels/return to work, losing my camera, and nostalgia.

The Hungarian people are so warm. With every encounter, not only were they friendly, they were more than willing to go out of their way to be helpful.
Crossing to Great Hall Market

Ok. So we got to Budapest December 28, mid-afternoon. We left our Pest-side hostel as soon as possible, to head to the Christmas markets (Oh! Before the market, we stopped at my favourite pastry shop...mmm). How WONDERFUL they were. The vendors all had lovely items - very authentic. Scarves, pottery, jewellery, clothing, candles, soaps, woodwork...and of course food. We spent much time taking it all in. I should mention that this is when Heather fell in love with the candied almonds...which we returned for SEVERAL times. We had dinner there, and sat beside a friendly Hungarian couple. They were visiting the city, as they had moved to London, England in 1956. We headed back to our hostel to get a good night's sleep, after dealing with some changes in plans...
Christmas market!!!

We changed hostels. We thought it would be great to stay on the Pest side, with all the events and NYE related parties, etc. The hostel we had booked however, was not to our taste. We were the only ones there, it was smelly and too warm and not clean. We put up with it for one night (as we had paid a deposit when we booked it) but relocated to the Buda side, where I stayed last summer (2008), at the Backpack Guesthouse. Neither location was really central, so we opted for the place I was familiar with and KNEW would be clean and full of great people and just really awesome.

Ah, and what relief it was to return to my Buda-side haven. Andrea, who works there, greeted us with welcoming hugs. She totally remembered me! What a nice feeling that was! The family-feel and the familiar smell of the place was very comforting and reassuring indeed. We were in the Bob Markey room. We had awesome roommates from Croatia and Italy.
Snapping pictures from Pest

We had a fantastic Pest-side day after settling into our new digs - Great Hall Market, the Christmas markets again, St Stephen's Basilica, and Parliament. We also checked out three bars we were contemplating for New Year's, and stopped into one of them for a drink. It was SO cool. Very open and alternative, dark corners and comfy chairs. We chatted with some cool folks there.
Foggy day at Castle Hill - me at Fisherman's Bastion

The next day we stayed on the Buda side and went to Castle hill. We took the funicular up - it was the foggiest day I've ever seen. So unfortunately as we rode up, we could not see the Pest side. But, it was still a beautiful day...very mystical and magical looking. It appeared as though the Chain Bridge was floating into nothingness...Fisherman's Bastion looked really spooking with the bare trees around it. The lamp-posts around the city are particularly lovely too, so old-fashioned, so in the evening their light shining through the fog is especially gorgeous. We braved our way through the underground labyrinth and succeeded in finding the sun in the room of courage. It was super fun to run around in the dark! We went to the Lukacz bath house afterwards...sooooooo relaxing. It was really neat to go in one of the outdoor pools, in the evening light, on a foggy day. Returning to the tram stop, the fog was just breaking and we could see Parliament across the Danube, but just barely. I wish you could see what I saw! We cooked a pasta feast for dinner at the hostel that night, and chatted with new friends in the common room.
A hint of Parliament, from Buda
The floating Chain Bridge

New Year's eve day we went to City Park to walk around, and I visited my Grandma's apartment. We returned to the Christmas market, on a jewellery hunt, then hiked part way up Gellert Hill for a night-time city view. We had a simple bread and cheese dinner at the hostel, before heading out. We met up with Adam, a guy we met in Vienna. There was a lot of walking around the city before we finally settled on a place, near the Opera house. All we did was buy our wrist band before we headed back to the Octagon for the fireworks display at midnight. It was so cool to be in such a crowd, on a mild night, in one of my favourite cities. We split a bottle of champagne. It started raining just after midnight. Spirits were high...until my camera was pickpocketed. I'm still mad at myself, as I left it loose in my coat pocket for the first time. I always put it away or have it around my wrist...and I should know better in a crowded place. I had a good cry, over the 450 pictures I lost. It unfortunately put a big damper on my night. However, the night was still young and we made it back to our beds at an early 6:30am..! The venue we ended up at, Instant, was verrrrrrrrrrrry wicked indeed. There were three levels, and it had an underground look. There was a stage for live music, there were about 5 bars, 8 rooms, really really awesome! My feet were not the happiest, so I wasn't able to bust a move in my truest fashion.
The Elizabeth Bridge from Gellert Hill

New Year's day, I took it easy. Cathy and Heather left for Prague, but I stayed in Budapest. I hung around the common room, reading, writing, and chatting with new friends. I cannot get over my love for this hostel. Just like my last visit, I was minority as an English speaker - Croatians, Dutch, Italians...a great melange. Great chats with great people. I didn't want to leave...

My journey back to Radom was a wopping 14 hours of trains. I read lots, slept some, had a 2 hour stop over in Breclav, Slovakia. I made some more friends in Warsaw...three guys that sat in the compartment with me. We played cards, as I had a deck. They wanted me to grab a drink with them in Warsaw, as I thought I had an hour wait until my train to Radom, so that was the plan. But then there was a train I could catch just when we got in to Warsaw, so I took it as I was exhausted. They have my number though, so more people to meet up with in Warsaw! Then on the train to Radom, I met a guy from Krakow, so now we're in touch too, for meeting up. He had a friend visiting him from Geneva, so she said that if I'm ever going there to call her up too...!

So many wonderful memories...definitely an amazing holiday!! The images are in my mind...how I wish I could share them with you!

(Pictures from Heather)