Budapest

I've written advice to people about different cities in Europe in Microsoft word, and realized this might be a better medium. I can post links/pics/etc.

Anyways. Advice concerning Budapest (or as literally everyone other country in the world calls it- "Budapesht".)

Budapest is my favorite city in Europe. The history, the gorgeous people, the nightlife, the day life, the Danube river. Wow. I'm actually getting chills typing that out.

Format of this post:
1. Arrival, getting around, and first night
2. Notable sights to see (off the top of my head)
3. Baths
4. Nightlife
5. One of my best nights in Europe
...notable items are in bold.

I ARRIVED IN BUDAPEST, Hungary by train, and left by airplane. It's rather easy to get around, and all things considered it is a very walkable city. If you want to take a cab to get anywhere, just ask the guy what he thinks the price will be for a ride before getting in, and you shouldn't be ripped off. If you stay in a hostel, at an Airbnb place, or Couchsurfing, your host will probably have great advice about how much a ride should be. There are also trams that run all over the city for somewhat cheap.

There are five main "party" hostels in Budapest. I don't remember what four of them were called, but I stayed in the Hi 5 Hostel my first night. Apparently they partied almost literally every night. It was run mostly by Australians who had planned to travel around the world for months, but had fallen in love with the city and stayed. I don't know how their livers are still working. Anyways, I had initially planned to sleep my first night in Budapest, because I had traveled all day from my four days in Prague. They had other plans. Hi 5 told me they were going on a three story cruise vessel up and down the Danube (90% sure it was this thing), everyone got their own bottle of champagne getting on the boat, and it was followed by admission to the iSKOLA club. All for a little less than $20. Also, the party leaders mentioned that if you pass under a Danube bridge and do not kiss someone, you receive bad sex for 7 years. Proceed at your own risk.

So anyways, that night happened. The next day I was meeting friends from Utrecht, but I spent the day wandering the whole city using my guidebook to tell me where to go. As with every other city, I recommend taking a walking tour to get acquainted. 

A FEW NOTABLE THINGS TO SEE: Buda and Pest. The city is split into two halves, separated by the Danube river. Buda is the western side with the Buda Castle up on the hill, and historically the more wealthy side. Pest is the flat eastern side, with the Hungarian Parliament (Orszaghaz) building facing the river. Both of these attractions are very worth seeing during the night (and daytime of course). The lights are incredible on them. Exhibit A:

There is a neat little road with a few shops and food between Buda Castle and Fisherman's Bastion. Enjoy.
Next to the Buda Castle lies the seven towers of Fisherman's Bastion. This place has beautiful picturesque views and neat little corners to check out. Exhibit B: 

On the Pest side there lies a few neat things to check out as well. St. Stephen's Basilica is hard to miss and is very grand to look at. This is one of the walking streets that leads to it.

In terms of holocaust history (a very important part of Hungarian history), there are a couple notable/memorable things. There are the cast-iron shoes along the banks of the Danube to remember Hungarian Holocaust victims pushed into the river during a fateful day. Along the same lines, there is the Holocaust Memorial Center: House of Horror. This building served as the home base for communist activity in Budapest. It has a different feeling than if you've been to concentration camps, and enables you to learn a lot about the history of Hungary under communist control. I recommend.

BATHS But back to the fun stuff. Right after the House of Horror, we went to the Széchenyi Thermal Bath  located in the large city park. It is the largest thermally-heated bath in Europe, and is pretty much a must-visit. Baths have been ingrained into the Budapest lifestyle for the last 600 years since Turkish rule. You just got off work? See you at the baths. You will see old men playing chess, large warm fountains, mud baths, and large saunas in the Szenchenyi establishment. This location is clothed and mixed-gender. Relax here from your days of travelling and enjoy yourself. You deserve it.

Some more on the Baths thing: I kindof wish that I had gone to a more "authentic" place for a more "traditional" experience while in Budapest. Luckily, I was finally able to get that when I was in Istanbul. If you desire to get that more traditional or intimate experience, I cannot recommend strongly enough to go seek out one of the smaller and less touristy baths. Hopefully your hostel can recommend a place, or just look them up on the internet yourself. Some places do not require swimwear or mixed gender. Whether or not you are traveling with a friend, I can guarantee the experience will almost certainly be fun, memorable, and genuinely fantastic. If you have the time and drive, I strongly encourage you to seek out such an experience.

NIGHTLIFE
So there's a part of Budapest that was heavily bombed during WWII (unsurprisingly, a majority of the poor Jewish section). The city has never really cleaned up everything since then, and has garnered a pretty awesome collection of "ruin bars". Our favorite, and many guide books favorite, is Szimpla. This place has benches made out of ruined bath tubs, scrap furniture, affordable drinks, bizarre decorations, graffiti'd walls, and sections of the bombed-out-walls covered by nothing but fabric. Check it out.

Oh yeah, and their "bar snacks" consisted of massive carrots. Surprisingly appropriate.

Another cool place is Instant, which is not a ruin bar, but has some incredible ambiance. Fantastic fairytale creatures wind up to the ceiling, colors are all over the walls, and the place starts to get packed closer to midnight. If you want a calm drink though, it is definitely still worth checking out in the daytime as well. Music and drinks will be provided all day long. I mention this because the place takes over two buildings, is three stories tall, has 23 rooms, and six bars. Budapest knows how to hang.

Fogashaz is supposed to be another cool ruin bar, but we didn't go there...
Other than that, I guess trust yourself to wander into a cool place.

NOW, FOR ONE OF MY FAVORITE NIGHTS IN EUROPE

I had mentioned before that my first night in Budapest was my only night I spent in a party hostel. Nevertheless, I was invited to go with the hostel to another one of their nightlife adventures, of which I had only heard "We're going to a water park." After the fun I had with them the first night, I really wanted my Utrecht friends to join in on that fun when they arrived. When Rachel and Danielle showed up in Budapest, I exclaimed to them that we needed to hurry because we were going to party in a water park that night. The looks they gave me were of confusion and thought I was really weird for wanting to do that in another country.

Nevertheless, we ended up at Aqua World, (I'm not sure if it was that specific party, but that's at least the place). It's basically a huge water park under a massive dome. Between the dance floors, DJs, connected indoor/outdoor pools, wave pool, 16 water slides, indoor surfing, and lazy river, it was incredible. Outside was near freezing, so the classic warm Budapest bath water would steam up heavily into the night sky. If your hostel is going, just go have fun. Get drunk, meet people, slide down slides, don't drown, and have a blast. The rest of this post is just pictures of that night...