Youda Best, Budapest (Part One)

Another weekend has come and gone - saying I'm exhausted would be the understatement of the century. I just spent the most magical weekend in Budapest, Hungary and I can't wait to share it with you. While we were there from Saturday to Tuesday morning, we did so much in such a short amount of time that I will be breaking up my trip into two posts.

Okay, so why Budapest for our first big excursion abroad? Normally most people want to travel to Paris or Barcelona or London when they think of traveling through Europe. While all of these cities are fabulous in their own unique ways, we chose Budapest because our Belgian friend, Annelien, was coming along with us. She actually spent a semester studying in the city 2 years ago, so she knew her way around extremely well - something Izzy and I were so thankful for. Plus, it's so much more fun to travel with friends! I had no plans of visiting Hungary anytime soon after college, so now was the time to go!

DAY ONE:

Our flight ended up leaving very early Saturday morning, so Annelien's boyfriend drove us to the airport in the southern part of Belgium so we could make it in time. Pain au chocolats in hand, we were off on a new adventure.

It's always so surreal stepping foot in a new country. For me, I was venturing into uncharted territory, and I couldn't have been more pumped! This was the first country I visited where the language was not Latin-based. For my English/French mind, Hungarian is an odd language. It looks and sounds so different, but it's fascinating to hear people speak and to read billboards, signs, etc. Upon stepping off the plane, we had to take a bus, to the metro, where we would then walk another 10 minutes to reach our hostel. Annelien knew exactly what she was doing, and led the way which was comforting. At this point, I was still in awe of all the sites - this is the farthest East I have ever been before.

First things first, we got to our hostel to drop off our things. This place was the cutest. It had an adorable courtyard with dangling lights and places to sit all over. It almost felt like walking through Greece or a Mediterranean villa. We hiked up to the third floor for our room to find the hallways have all of these murals, paintings, and quotes (one of my favorites is shared below).

After running by the hostel - we stopped for lunch. I finally got to eat a cheeseburger (#helloAmericancravings) and then we were off to explore the city! Annelien showed us the city center, which surrounds the Danube River. Budapest originally used to be two towns, Buda and Pest, until they merged in 1873 to create what we visit today. Boy was it a site to see. It is located on the outskirts of the Transdanubian Mountains, so much of the "Buda" side spreads through these mini peaks and summits. There are no words to describe it. After snapping some pictures, Annelien took us down to the Parliament building, where more pictures were snapped.

Before grabbing dinner, we stopped by St. Joseph's Basilica (also, another beaut). I think the pictures speak for itself, but boy, was it just absolutely stunning. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it.

We ate dinner at this cute little Italian restaurant that Annelien loves as well (unfortunately, I can't remember the name.) Pictures are below though. Their was a terrace area inside that overlooked the entire restaurant that we sat at which was so lovely. I also ate probably one of the best pizzas I've ever had . . . when in Hungary.

Cultural differences I noticed: it's polite to walk in and truly greet the host at a restaurant - instead of saying "we will have 3 people" or "table for 3", it's proper to say good evening/how are you/etc first. We had this happen on multiple occasions where the waiter would wait until we greeted them with the proper salutation before even seating us. Also - Hungarians come off as unfriendly for the most part - Annelien even said the same. They may not be unfriendly in actuality, but they definitely don't radiate the charm and pleasantness you find in the Midwest. But that's okay, and it's neat to see how society works in different parts of the world.

All in all, day one was a success. Stay tuned for Part Two of my weekend in Hungary!