Budapest

We finally arrived at around 830 in the morning on Monday. The night train wasn’t too bad; we had a whole cabin to ourselves so I was able to sprawl out on 3 chairs. When we got in it was pretty overcast and of course, it started to rain so we had limited options. We decided a bus tour would be the best. We hopped on the bus and saw all of Budapest’s main sites like: St. Stephens Basilica, The Royal Palace and Castle, Fisherman’s Bastion, the Danube bridge, Heroes Square, and the Parliament. Heroes Square was really cool; it was a gigantic square commemorating all of the people who have helped get Hungary to where they are today. The Royal Palace and Castle was also incredible. We were able to get views of all of BudaPest. It definitely would have been more enjoyable in the sun, but we were still able to see and enjoy much of Budapest. Something interesting to note is that Budapest consists of two different cities, Buda and Pest. The Danube River divides the two cities. Buda is on the West and Pest is on the East. Combined it’s pronounced Budapesht, as we learned on our tour.

After our tour it was pouring rain and we decided we needed to find something to do. We looked online and asked the front desk. We decided that going to one of the famous Roman Baths would be a good idea. Baths are one of the main reason tourists apparently go to Budapest. All baths are built around hot springs, and their central part is one or several thermal pools. They are usually complemented with several steam baths and saunas. We went to the Gellert Bathing Spa and it was pretty cool. Of course I didn’t like the fact that they are massive Jacuzzis with a bunch of people, especially old people, hanging out in them. But I toughed it out and swam anyways. It was also pretty funny because they made everyone wear shower caps, so Dave and I were walking around in shower caps for a couple hours. Overall, it was really cool and I enjoyed it. I had never seen anything like this. The architecture surrounding the walls and the fountains that would pour into the tubs were so awesome.

Right now, we are on our way to Bratislava for a day on the town. Tomorrow morning (Wednesday) we will leave to Vienna for the day.