Buda and Pest

For the past weekend, three coworkers and I went on a crazy fun weekend trip to Budapest (really Buda and Pest). We got on the train at 11 pm to arrive in BP at 5 am the next morning. Luckily, we had the forsight to reserve bunks as it would have been a miserable trip had we not slept.

After arriving groggy due to lack of sleep and at least two 3 am wake-ups to check our passport (one out of Serbia, one into Hungary), we found a nice cafe and planned the day. We had to see the famous castle (we still aren't sure if it is real) and wanted to check out the spikey Parliament Building. One of the most interesting sights was an old church that had been destroyed during WWII. When the communists came into power, they decided that the church was a great setting for a fancy (i.e. ugly) hotel on the hill. Instead of completely destroying the church, they built around it. It now has remains of the church walls and floor right in the middle of the motel. Makes for a funny sight... what were the communists thinking?

After a marathon hike around castle hill and through the streets of downtown Buda and Pest (they are cities across the river from each other), we headed for one of the world famous baths. Of course we chose a "G" rated bath as after my experiences with nude beaches, I didn't need any more old men in the buff. The baths are a very intricate system of hot and cold pools. The hot pools range from luke warm (not my favorite as it was not all that warm outside) to smoking hot. It was fun to just try the different tubs.

Perhaps my favorite tub was a medium warm tub with strong jets pushing the water in the tub in a circle. All you had to do was lift your feet and you would bob along, hitting people as you went. It was quite fun until trying to get out when you are shoved into the wall as the current is so strong.

After the refreshment of the baths. We headed back downtown for dinner and another walk (our muscles had been soothed by the hottubs). Parliment looked amazing at night and there were many live bands playing in various restaurants.

Sunday morning, we continued our explorations of downtown Pest, and tried for an art museum, but were shut down as the tram track was under construction so we couldn't make it to the right part of town. Mom, I did really try to go to a museum. It amazed me how much English is spoken in BP. There were easy to recognize tour groups all over the city. Without fail, the guide had a funny hat, balloon, or umbrella and a group of foreigners following. I had forgotten how many tourists are outside of Belgrade.

The train ride back took us through the not so pretty country side of southern Hungary and northern Serbia. It was.... Flat. Lots of corn and pheasants.

We arrived back in Belgrade just in time to go to bed. It was nice to know my way around and actually understand a few words on the streets. I hope to go back to Budapest sometime this year!