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LOUISE
Day 1
Welcome to Hungary. A beautiful city with a rich history of invasion (firstly the Ottoman Empire followed by the Austrian Habsburgs and the Soviet Union) and inventions (they brought us the rubix cube, soda stream and the biro). The large denominations were also a joy to play with. The Hungarian Forint is currently 200/1 with the AUD.
Hungary lost 2/3 of its land and population through WW1 & WW2. Including Transylvania, Slovakia and Croatia. Hungary became a communist country post WW2. The buildings built during the communist era stand out like sore thumbs next to the neo-gothic architecture throughout the rest of the city. Hungary now has a population of 10mil with Budapest being the home of 2mil. Hungary is joined the EU in 2004. It borders 7 countries - Austria, Croatia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Ukraine. These are just some of the facts we learnt during our Budabike tour on our first morning in Budapest. We visited all main sites and monuments in and around the Jewish Quater of Budapest including Liberty Square, Parliament House, Danube River and the Skyline of Buda, St Stephens Basilica, Heroes Square and City Park. The tour went for about 2.5hours. The City is one of the easiest city's in the world to cycle. Wide paved streets and cycle lanes and the flat surface of Pest making it a relaxing cycle through the gorgeous streets.
Post bike tour was preparation to head to Sziget Festival. A festival now in its 25th year. It is held on an island in the Danube known as 'Old Buda Island'. We are staying in a modern loft apartment. Its set up really well with a great kitchen and laundry, big tv and nice large bathroom which is a nice change from the teeny tiny ones we have had at our last few stops. The apartment building has a courtyard so its super quiet. Eva the owner is lovely. Catching public transport and following other festival goers we got to 'The Island of Freedom' about 4pm. This was the 2nd last day of the festival so it was in full swing on our arrival. After an hour or so scoping out all the different areas of the festival, having a few drinks along the way (800HF cheap for a festival!) and getting the obligatory photos with the sziget sign we headed to a small section called 'The Forrest' where Scotty let his hair loose and i recieved a tap on my shoulder i turn around and who do i see? Vince and Ethan (highschool buddies). I knew they were going to be at the festival but was unsure of days and hardly believed I'd run into them. They were with Rhys and Nathan (more friends) and some other guys who were all travelling together. A fun reunion in an unexpected place! We made our way to the main stage and all watched Glass Animals together. Other acts we saw - Jagwar Ma, Two Door Cinema Club and Major Lazer. Between acts we sourced food (huge sausages and goulash) to re-energise. Then was the task of waiting between 11pm and 1.30am for Flume. We watched some ariel circus acts, danced in different tents and explored the huge wide world of Sziget. The biggest festival i had ever been to. How people camped and managed the whole festival is beyond me. Hats off to them. Lots of people watching... people with very strange fashion sense, lack of clothing, fun costumes and even a psycho girl ripping her can purposely slicing her fingers with the sharp aluminium and sucking it. We thought smart to move away from her before she caught us watching with open mouths. Scott managed to find himself a tshirt. Big fan of the merch! Finally it was time to find a spot in the red tent to watch Flume. Energy levels were low by this point and fuses short. We quickly got pushed around and separated into pairs. By this point our feet were aching and we had all consumed enough passive smoke for a lifetime. No kidding we are all walking away with sore eyes and throats if not an early onset of cancer too. I have never see so many smokers in my life. About half way into his set Loz and Scott gave up and headed for the exit. Blake and I continued on. Toward the end of the set we left well and truly ready to get home. Only after plugging the directions into Googlemaps did we realise the 2nd train line we had to catch to get there wasn't running. Fail!! Not something you want to find at 3.30am when you just want to get home. We found a cab and forked out the fee. Well worth the $$. Our feet were screaming, ears ringing and bed calling.
Day 2
A slow 11am start to our next morning. Blake and I headed to the Blue Rose for a 3 course Hungarian meal. 1st course goulash, 2nd course fried pork chops with wedges and salad, 3rd course Delicacy of Somlo (parfait style cake) not bad for $15 each. Once our stomachs were satisfied we walked to the Central Market Hall for some souvenir shopping. Lauren and Scott faced their festival hangovers head on and went to the House of Terror Museum. The museum exhibits how the Fascist and Communist regimes detained, tortured and killed people in the very building. Pretty heavy stuff but they said it was worth the visit.
Budapest has the most thermal baths in a capital city in the world. We made our way to Szechenyi Bath the biggest in the city. It has 18 different baths. She was packed! After a bit of a bath hop and a decent stint in the 90º sauna we made our way for the exit. Pad Thai Wok restaurant take away and a GOT date were an excellent decision for the evening. Post GOT getting ready for bed i noticed Blake had a big poo on the back of his shorts. Strange. Turned out he had sat in a piece of chocolate and it had smooshed into the cream couch downstairs.. who has an airb'n'b and puts in a cream coloured couch?! Doh! Loz and I were over tired and in stitches laughing while trying to clean it up. Thankfully it mostly came out and well cant be as bad as the person who had smashed the glass splashback in the kitchen!
Day 3
Alarms went off at 4.30am this morning... sorry team! Up early for a nice walk over the Szechenyi Lanchid (Chain Bridge) up to Fishermans Bastion to watch the sunrise over Buda at 5.40am. A red and orange horizon. A truely beautiful skyline and definitely worth the sleep sacrifice.
Nor to mention there was very little people around which made a very tranquil environment to have a makeshift brekky enjoying the views. Models were up early for a wedding photoshoot. We made the most of the peace and wandered over to and around Buda Castle then over the Szabadsag Hid (Liberty Bridge). All of this prior to 7.30am. Coffee and croissant stop around 9am. Lauren and I strolled back to the apartment, stopping to enjoy the souvenir shops when the boys decided not to wait for us. Lunch of goulash and giant sausages at the Central Market. The afternoon was spent at Szimpla Kert the original ruin bar in Budapest. Lots of rooms with little bars and different themes. 34º and no airflow got a bit unbearable after a while. By 4.30 we were all pretty pooped and ready for a rest. Blake and I decided to do a bit of a workout when we got back... Scott was trying to nap so he made his way for the exit and went for a kip in the park across the road.
We found an indian restaurant for dinner. The curries tasted different to those at home, but still tasty. The power tripped while we were in the middle of dinner.
If you didnt know there was such thing as a pinball museum in the world, well there is, and it's in Budapest. The Flipper Muzeum. 130 machines all rattling, chiming and bleeping in a compact underground world of gaming. There are pinvall machines dating back to 1947 with one of the originals with flippers. Not to mention the 1920's ice hockey table. Boys and their toys. We stayed for a good 2 hours playing on all the different machines. Scotty was in his element. Lots of sweat and concentration faces all around. A fun/unexpected way to finish our time in Budapest.
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