Well yesterday was mostly Buda

so today I went on to Pesti. Managed to meet up with some friends today; I was actually very proud of myself for finding their hostel relying solely on my mapreading skills in a rather helter-skelter city. It was such a blast being with them, too.

Exploring the northern half of the city, we crossed the river and then hiked up the forested hill (or MOUNTAIN, as we called it, all being out of shape) to investiage the citadella perched on the top and overlooking the city. A giant statue of St. Gillert rose steadily beside us, and with each graffiti-covered stairwell, teh city grew smaller and smaller, and also more beautiful behidn us. I’m glad to say it was a clear day and we could see quite some distance either way along the river.

The citadella had a WWII bunker exhibit in it that we didn’t feel like paying for, so instead we walked aroudn the outside, peeking into the stalls of vendors. From there, we ambled back down the hil and then across to the most fairy tale castle I have ever seen in my life. Ivy crawled over the dark brick of rounded turrets with black pointed roots. Pine trees lined the cobbled pathways. I checked for Rapunzel, believe you me. It wrapped around on the hill, pressing up against some much more modern architecture where I believe the government buildings are. We found some ruins, but there was no sign telling us what they were ruins OF; Budapest is awful about not marking things.

We stretched on the lawn of the fairy tale castle to catch some sun, then stopped for lunch before coming to yet another palace-type place along the same stretch of land. This one was made entirely of white stone and mosque-like spires. The arched windows let the setting sun filter through (I say setting, but it was 2pm!), casting the unidentified statues orange in the light. The view from the platforms of whatever this building was, of the city, was breathtaking.

Wandered together up and down fashion street before settling into a quaint Italian restaurant for dinner (you can ALWAYS find good cheap Italian food in any European city; Italian food or falafel.) They played elevator-style versions of Michael Jackson, we think because they thought we would enjoy it, being American and all. Then went for drinks in a pub with a flirty waitstaff. Not long after dinner, I split since my hostel was on the far side of the city. Despite being slightly anxious about walking alone through an occasionally shady city, no one even looked at me twice.

I really enjoyed the home atmosphere of my hostel, but I think Forints are a horrible currency, even if $1=173Ft. I love the Hungarian lace and dolls and porcelain but only saw a few people dressed as traditionally as I had expected –you know, with head shawls adn skirts. Overall, though I did have a good time, it seems Budapest has succumbed to globalization and to really get a feel for old-school Hungarian culture, I’ll have to head out of the city. Another time, though!

Budapesti!

I can see that Budapest was once a very beautiful city, most likely around the turn of the 20th century when all the art nouveau buildings were new. As it stands now, though, the area around my hotel is dirty, ugly, and literally falling to pieces. Windows are knocked out and the streets are filthy. Graffiti everywhere, and it seems every other building is under construction.

After taking the WRONG bus for thirty minutes and then almost getting fined 5000Ft on the tram because I didn’t understand (okay, I kinda did understad, but I played stupid) the ticketing system, I finally made it to my hostel –I’m the only one sleeping in my room, though there are four beds. I spent the rest of the day exploring and not being too impressed with the city.

Várpalota (or Buda Castle) was a lovely compilation of several different styles of architectures because it was built and then added onto through the centuries. I paid 100Ft to enter the tiny, very very old church there which was as simple in construction as it was NOT in decoration. Even with the ornate paintings and castings and statues attached to every flat surface, though, it still maintained the small, cozy feel to it; like a family had poured everything into decorating it for show. The castle grounds were fun to explore; each turn seemed to present a brand new castle, though it was simply the different styles of architecture tricking me. There’s a museum of agriculture housed there. And out front, an ice skating rink dotted with bundled-up skaters just made the castle absolutely fairy-tale-like. On the far side of the rink, Hero’s Square is dominated by large blue statues of the mighty rulers and warriors. On teh castle grounds was a statue of George Washington, which I cannot figure out for the life of me. It wasn’t like he really had any dealings with Hungary, that I know of. After all, he was the one telling the US NOT to get involved with other countries.

After exploring the castle for a long time, I spent my afternoon partaking in a rather pricey shopping spree (H&M, Promod. I didn’t understand the currency exchange and spent about twice what I meant to. Oops!) Got lunc and dinner both in little market/convenience stores, one in front of the the beautiful St. Stephen’s Basilica. Beautiful and orante, but I just couldn’t make myself go inside. I’ve been in too many churches and they’re all blending together. Also found the Budapest opera house, which is draped with yards and yards of bright red fabric to advertise their current production of Elektra. Interacted with very few people during the day; English is certainly NOT commonly spoken here.

Eastern Europe, Here I Come!

I am ECSTATIC about finally venturing beyond Western Europe.  As much as I am loving my European city sampler, I’m ready to see some cities that are NOT European-Union, Globalized, Industrialized cities that are abandoning their culture for money.  Ouch, that’s rough.  What I mean is, I’m ready to see something that is NOT Western Europe, which is thus far what my travels abroad have been confined to.

We leave as a group tomorrow morning for Prague, Czech Republic, where we’ll be until Monday evening.

Monday night I’ll take an overnight train to Budapest, Hungary, where I’ll spend two days.  A TON of kids in the program are going to Budapest, so chances are my first day will be spent with at least a few other kids.  We’ll see how lonely I am vs. how much alone time to explore I want.

Thursday morning I’ll take a train down to Zagreb, Croatia, where I’ll spend two days.  If I wind up with extra time, there’s a day trip I would love to take out into the country, to some ancient caves and a famous neanderthal museum at the site of an actual discovery.  We’ll see, though, because I certainly don’t want to sell Zagreb short.  I’m just getting tired of only seeing the big cities, you know?  When it’s the smaller cities and towns and countryside that really give the flavor of a country.

Saturday morning I’ll make the two hour train ride to Ljubljana, Slovenia.  I’ll have all Saturday there, and then can EITHER spend all day Sunday on trains and make it back to the castle around midnight or else take a 2pm train and make it to the castle around 9am the next morning.  We’ll see what I feel like.

All that said, I know I’ll have internet access in Hungary, Croatia, and Slovenia, but I highly doubt I will in Prague.  I’ll try to at least check in every now and then, if I get the chance.

Now I’m packed.  It’s after midnight, so in less than five and a half hours the staff will be banging on the doors for us all to crawl down to the busses taking us to the airport.  For the sake of my friends, I’d best at least attempt to get some sleep.  I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and, MORE IMPORTANTLY