Budapest

Buda-pesht! The train ride from Munich to Budapest was eventful. For some reason we didn't have allocated seats (perhaps because the ticket was so cheap?) and 3/4 in out of the 7 hour train ride we got kicked out of our seats. The frustrating moment when the woman (who had our seats) was complaining to other passengers (who clearly understood Hungarian) and then laughed. But it didn't phase me too much and I didn't mind sitting on the door step and watching the train cross the countryside. In fact, there were a lot of people without seats which was interesting.

Gellért Hill Cave Church

Budapest was sunny for the duration of the week that I was there however it was also super cold. The average temperature was at around -5. Brr!!

And what is a visit to Budapest without visiting the famous Széchenyi Thermal Bath. Due to timing issues, we ended up going in the morning of NYE. It was an interesting experience, especially the outdoor pools. It was -7°C that morning however the water was at a comfortable 38°C. It was very cool that ice was forming on my strands of hair that were exposed to the cold air. To be frank, it was a little awkward going at that time since it was full of locals (men) and getting in and out of the baths in my bikini was a little ... uncomfortable. NYE/NYD was eventful for personal reasons however what was interesting was the amount of illegal fireworks and other things of that nature. Coming from Australia where it is quite strict, I was a little taken aback to see people just lighting fireworks on the streets. My Dutch friend was saying how that is normal and people even light bins on fire back in his hometown ....

My favourite things that I ate there were: kürtőskalács (picture above), goulash and lángos (deep fried bread) with sweetened cottage cheese. I just love how Hungarian cuisine is so carb heavy!