Budapest
In a panic, we hurried to the train station to catch our train to Prague and start our ten day adventure. We had just gotten married that morning in a brief ceremony, and spent the day packing and preparing for our trip. It really hadn't hit me yet that we were actually married.
We had both begun to worry about this trip that I had largely planned. Would we make it to all the destinations, or would we be too exhausted from all of the travel and nights in trains? Would we still be able to stand each other at the end of it all?
In Prague we switched to a night train. It was quite different from the one we took to Zurich last Spring: it was pretty uncomfortable and also had four other beds, which meant that strange people might be sleeping with us. This particular sleeping car did not have me very excited about the prospects of many more nights on a train.
Luckily, the train was not crowded and nobody came in. I slept fitfully on the hard beds as the train rocked and made several stops. Mike slept like a baby because he loves riding in trains.
When we arrived in Budapest we started walking to the hostel I had booked. I hoped it wouldn't turn out to be a dump, but with hostels it's quite a gamble and I guess for 11 euros per night, per person, I shouldn't complain.
The hostel turned out fine, they were friendly and they had free internet and goulash for dinner so we were satisified. But I was a little wary of sleeping in the dorm room with other people.
We put our valuables in a locker and headed out for a meal and to see some of Pest, which is the side of the river that we were on. Mike made me promise not to tell anyone how many times we ate at McDonald's during our trip so I will omit that information (I've never been adventurous with food and in a foreign place seeing something familiar and predictable is very comforting!).
To get to the subways you had to take these long escalators down, and they were the longest and steepest I have ever seen in my life! It actually scared me a little because it felt like falling and you could feel the rush of wind when the subways went through.
We then took an hour long boat tour on the Danube. Unfortunately it was terribly cold on the river, but we got to take some pictures.
When we came back to our hostel for a nap because I had not slept very well on the train, the girl informed us that she had overbooked the hostel. But instead of it being bad news for us, it was actually pretty good because she moved us to a private apartment two minutes away.
I want to note that in Budapest nearly everyone spoke English, so it was very easy to get around.
The next day we went to the Buda side of the river and saw the Buda Castle. It was quite a climb up the hill, but there were beautiful views of the city and we had great weather.
There was a construction site where they were restoring some of the surroundings of the castle and hiding in the rubble we saw five little kittens.
Lately my heart melts whenever I see cats, I have become such a sap. Luckily I didn't have to feel sad about these kitties because they looked well fed and happy. I was also dealing with the guilt of leaving my kitty at home alone for the trip!
I actually really liked Budapest. I am starting to like these eastern European cities because I think they are interesting and beautiful. It's really fascinating, the juxtaposition of the old and new, the ugly and the beautiful. I'd like to go back to Budapest and I would highly recommend it for other travelers.
Next on our trip we took a night train to Belgrade, Serbia...