Friday, May 23, 2014

I know, I know, I am long overdue for another blog post. With exams finished and the program slowly winding down, I’ve gotten the chance to catch up on my blogging.
Budapest, Hungary was a highly anticipated trip for me.  Just a 6 hour bus ride southeast of Olomouc, it was a trip we just couldn’t resist. We arrived late on a Friday and found our Hostel with Steph as our brilliant guide. The following morning we began our adventure with lots and lots of walking. We decided not to buy a tram pass but instead follow the map to various locations on foot. My legs were sore for days.
The Sirius Teahouse
This teahouse was recommended to us by a few friends that had traveled to Budapest just the weekend before. We found the teahouse on an plain street, but teahouse was anything but. We walked in to find a combination of the middle east meets Narnia and Alice in Wonderland. There were lofts and little rooms, carpeted in persian rugs and topped with pillows that gave it some character. I had one of my faves, a pot of caramel tea. Budapest has plenty of unique restaurants, cafes, and shops like this teahouse, which really gives the city some character.
The Hostel Dog, Ropi
I’d say in about every set of photos that I’ve posted there has been at least one dog featured. My love for dogs is expanding, and when the timing is right I just may adopt a pup too. Ropi, our Hostel dog, was sweet, forthcoming with kisses, and loved nothing more than a belly rub. She really helped our little hostel feel like a home. If I could, I would give her 5 stars on Hostel World for her services as the perfect hostess.
The Baths
The healing thermal hot springs of Budapest became our playground for one afternoon. Well it was more like an hour or so, I prune up fast. The time that we were there, I enjoyed lounging in the warm water and watching the old men play chess. It was attractive, the general architecture that is. Other things, not so much, but I’ll get to that. If you google The Baths, one very distinct photo of the biggest baths will come up, and that was were we went. It wasn’t filled with as many older men in speedos as I thought, or even a single nudie. This is Europe after all, so I was prepared to see some brave souls walking around in their birthday suit. The Baths seemed very tame as far as nudity and such. However the women’s locker room was a different story. In the United States, women are usually quite modest when it comes to changing. Not keen on revealing my own bum to the whole world I usually find ways to get in and out of my clothes as quickly as possible. This usually involves me getting into my locker and shutting myself in or putting on my clothes with my clothes on and creating a weird puzzle for me to figure out, don’t ask. Modesty was not the case here. I would find women, saggy women, lounging around drying their hair, topless. In one obscure circumstance, an older woman was showering with nothing but high heals on. According to my friends she was found looking at herself in the mirror a few hours later in the same, um outfit. Maybe she thought the locker room was the baths, and never made it to the real thing. We may never know.
The River Danube
Sigh, the Danube River at night is one of the prettiest views I’ve experienced. The parliament building, bridges, and other buildings will light up in the evening and reflect their warm light across the River. For both evenings, we walked along the river and took in the sights. Luckily the weather wasn’t horrible. It was a little chillier than normal but we would have a little bit of sun, even though it rained here and there. Someday I will come back to Budapest and photograph it during sunset with a colorful sky.

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