Day 4 , 23 July 2019
Budapest
Goooooooooood moooooooooorning !!!!
That’s how the bus conductor broke my sleep. It was almost 5.30 am and I was in a new country, Hungary. Fortunately, I had a good sleep. The day was going to be long, as I was to leave the next day itself. I had 30 hours in Budapest and wanted to make the most of it.
I walked to the train station nearby to take a local train to the hostel. To my surprise the ticket counter opens at 6 am, so I had to wait for someone to come. Interesting thing about Budapest, people hardly understand/talk English here. Quite a task it was to get a single day ticket. Even the instructions were not in English at the ticket vending machine but I managed to reach my hostel in the next 1.5 hr.
I had opted for a economical and mixed dorms as I didn’t intend to spend much time in the hostels. It was just to keep my stuff while I explore the city, and to have a bed to sleep at night.
Upon reaching the hostel, I freshened up and had my coffee while going through the city map to plan the day. The hostel’s notice board mentioned about free walk tour happening, around 10am. The idea was to gather at a place and then the volunteers take you around the city showing you all the important places. I thought of giving this a try.
Following the map, I reached the meeting point on time. I was amazed to see so many solo travelers from around the world gathered there. We were divided into groups of 15 and then were led by a volunteer each. Ours was a cool guide, Ana. She was funny and witty and knew English well. While touring she told us the stories about how Buda and Pest, joined by a river became one during World War. She told us how Hungarian is one of the most difficult language in the world to learn and speak. She made us say a few words and we couldn't, lol.
While we toured the famous places , Ana gave so much information about the food, people, beer, culture. Budapest is known for its night life, party culture and ruined pub scenes, I couldn’t wait for the night.
We halted at the St. Stephen's Basilica. Just like the Prague castle this place left me speechless. It was magnificent.
Once we started walking I realised this was one big landmark here with many good places in vicinity, noted for my night walk. We almost walked 5km on foot, and the tour ended at the top of the Buda Castle. The view from up there was so mesmerizing. I ate the local food Langos. Deep fried in Oil , haha. By now , I was tired and so rushed back to the hostel for a nap .
Here are some pictures from the tour walk .
Budapest is famous for its natural hot springs which is said to have medicinal values. After the exhausting sunny day and an hour’s nap, I planned to go there before experiencing the night life. It was AMAZING. I love hot bathtubs anyway, so this came as a pleasant surprise. I felt refreshed. I also made a friend there so we can click each other's pictures ,lol.
I came back to the hostel and got ready for the cruise dinner. I had it on my list, having dinner on the cruise while it takes you around the Danube river exploring the lit city. Post dinner, going for the pub crawl was my plan.So I was party ready .
Earlier before leaving for the hot spring bath, I had connected with a guy on an app but since I had only one day in Budapest, I thought I would pass meeting him because I had limited time and so much to explore.
I took a train and reached near the Chain bridge, the same which connects Buda and Pest. The city looked very different at night, there were lights everywhere. The Parliament building is the best attraction at night apparently because the way it has the lightnings on. I went to enquire about the cruise dinner but was disheartened to know that it required pre-booking. I was sad but then thought of just walking around the lit city by myself.
Co-Incidentally, I stopped outside a restaurant and got connected to the public Wifi. Guess what? The guy had left a message asking where I was? I told him the location and he asked if he could join me for the night walk around the city.I was hesitant but then two is better than one, right? I agreed to meet him at the St. Stephen's Basilica ( Remember the landmark from morning tour walk ).
So. I'm waiting there checking my phone. And at the strike of 12 , I see a tall , handsome ,out of the movie like guy in front of me. I kind of pinched myself (no kidding). He looked so much better than his pictures and of course his British accent was a cherry on the top. I’ll use a fictional name here, let’s call this 6.2 Ft. tall English gentleman from London, Peter.
We hit off really well as we walked along the Chain bridge in those city lights and then Peter offers me a beer. Again reluctant (but thinking about YOLO) ,I agreed. Peter was on a trip with his friend but his friend went for the pub crawl which he wasn’t interested in , so Peter met me instead. Peter then booked cab for us as the party places were on the other part of city. Then we go to a ruined bar, crazy scenes there. (In my head, I’m scared as hell. It was my first night alone in a different country where I didn't know anyone). But I trusted my instincts and thought of enjoying the night instead. I would rather have " Shit , I did that " over the " What ifs " .
Before we proceed, please open
https://open.spotify.com/track/4loXMor75kKVBB03ygwDlh?si=uTFyi2vSSZiAD7WrGUX89
OR
I had no idea how I’m going to reach my hostel and catch the cab for my next destination in the morning. Meanwhile, Peter gets us beer and it’s a full packed house with all kind of crazy party people. We managed to get a place and next few hours we talk and we talk about everything. Our lives, family,culture,travel experiences . and then about The Wimbeldon Final (How Federer losing to Djokovic made us sad, we both being his fans) and the most interesting the recent cricket World Cup Final in 2019.
*If you guys remember, those matches ran parallel on the 14 July ' 19 and they were both terrific *
I think the cricket match kept me and Peter talking for the longest, arguing how England got lucky and New Zealand deserved the cup. Being a cricket fan I had watched the match so keenly, I remembered every ball, specially the super over. That was such a fun conversation, he was impressed, ha-ha. According to him English girls don’t even know the team captain, so I took him by surprise. One beer down and again a bit tipsy, I realized I should head back.We started walking to my hostel, again talking about anything and everything. This was like the “Before Sunrise” night for me.
* Strongly recommending this movie to everyone. I lived it first and then watched it *
I knew I wouldn’t see this boy again in my life. I was being the rawest form of myself and was totally loving it. We walked in those dim city night lamps with a hint of drizzle. It was the perfect moment for me and I wouldn’t want it to end. But time waits for none. We reached my hostel and hugged each other the tightest goodbye, never to meet again. I felt I lived a dream that night.
And that's how it became the Cinderella night for me .
I got back, changed, got in my bed and texted him a good night.
(Well, it didn’t stop there !!! )
But the Day 4 ends here 😊
Learning from the day : Take that chance, it might just turn out to be your best memory.
It's really a nice experience, Keep posting, ❤️