The weather is getting nicer and the flowers are in full bloom! It’s hard not to get excited about the promise of summer, however to me it’s been more of a reminder that my time here is ticking away. It’s May 2, and I officially leave for home on May 26. It’s hard to believe I’ve already experienced so much!
This last Friday, I packed my bags and headed off for Budapest, Hungary. The train ride was an interesting start to the whole adventure. I’ve had quite a few train experiences so far, but this one took us by surprise. In the past when I’ve booked a train ticket you get an assigned seat and that’s that. This time around we didn’t get an assigned seat, it just specified 2nd class. When we boarded the train it was packed door to door with the entire isle packed with standing passengers. We found out that in order to have a seat you had to reserve it ahead of time for a higher cost, so we ended up standing for about two hours of the train ride until we finally found somewhere to sit.
In Budapest Bailee, Nick, Megan and I stayed at Wombat’s Hostel. It was one of the nicer hostels I’ve stayed at thus far and I really enjoyed it! (Aside from the fact that the shower head had the tendency to shoot out of it’s holder and spray the entire bathroom – which caused more than a few laughs.) The building was located in a super convenient location for us to walk around or get to a metro station and had plenty of restaurants (and a Starbucks!!!) nearby.
The first day we all headed out to explore what we could on foot. We started at St. Stephen’s Basilica, where we got to climb all the way to the top of the building where we could see an absolutely stunning view of the city. Throughout my time here in Europe, these are the moments in which I’ve found I enjoy the most. In Prague, Vienna, Barcelona, and now Budapest, I’ve been able to climb up somewhere with a view over everything. It’s very cool to step back and see everything from a bird’s eye view. Following the Basilica, we continued walking around which brought us to an interesting and controversial World War 2 memorial, the parliamentary building of Hungary (quite possibly one of the largest and most impressive things I’ve seen so far in Europe), and a stroll down the side of the river where we stopped to enjoy the view and get a quick rest.
That night we went out and enjoyed a wine cruise out on the river. It was fun to be able to get dressed up and go out somewhere nice. I thought all the wine was really good, which I find funny because I always had it in my head that I didn’t like wine before I got to Europe, but I’ve found that I actually really enjoy it! On the cruise we were able to go out on the deck and the view of the city at sunset was truly beautiful. It was a great end to the day!
The next day our goal was to visit on of the traditional thermal baths that Budapest is famous for. After taking the advice of the man at the front desk of our Hostel, we decided not to go to the most popular one, but to a different one. Upon arriving we found out we were getting a lot more than we bargained for. It was not only a thermal bath, but also a waterpark! This was a happy surprise and we had a good time spending the day here! They had some pretty impressive waterslides that I particularly enjoyed.
The weekend passed by quickly, and we made it back to Olomouc in time to for another week of classes. I’m so glad to have been able to explore yet another unknown place and it’s sad that my days here are numbered, soon I’ll have to return home but I know I’ll be leaving with a lifetime’s worth of memories and stories.