The Hipster City of Budapest
Trip Start
Jan 03, 2012
1
9
21
Trip End
May 19, 2012
Where I stayed
Lavender Circus Hostel
What I did
Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
Friday, February 24, 2012
Despite the city's history with Nazi occupation, the Holocaust and Communist violence, it is a very liberal city with tons of character, and beautiful architecture. Our first day there we saw the Parliament, St. Stephen's Basilica, the Chain Bridge, Buda Castle, and Fisherman's Bastion. It was a lot of walking, but totally worth it! The style is totally different than Barcelona and I really enjoyed it! We also saw the Central Synagogue which is the largest in all of Europe!
When you walk through the city you see remnants of its communist history which was really interesting. There are tons of Communist statues throughout the Pest side of Budapest. We also saw the "Shoes along the Danube" Holocaust memorial, where the sculpted shoes represent the Jewish people who were thrown into the Danube River during WWII. It is a really moving piece of art.
The hostel where we stayed was a work of art in itself as well. It had tons of different scuptures and paintings, all done by the owner of Lavender Circus. I really really really recommend this hostel to anyone staying in Budapest. It was amazing. They all helped us so much with anything that we needed, and we felt incredibly secure and comfortable. In addition they cooked us dinner the first night we were there! It is definitely the best hostel experience I've had so far! Seriously better than a hotel!
It was also awesome that we came at this particular weekend because there was a food, wine and coffee festival going on near our hostel! We got to try some local food and some delicious coffee throughout our visit.
On our second (and sadly last) day of our trip, we headed to the city park to see Heroes' Square, and the famous thermal baths. We chose to go to Szechenyi bath because it is the biggest and the most famous. It was really beautiful and actually quite affordable to get in! We spent most of our time in the outdoor hot spring, but there were about 15 other pools we could have gone in if we had more time! We also went to the House of Terror, which is a museum documenting the recent history of Hungary from the rise of Nazi power to the fall of Communism. It was extremely crowded, but worth it as we learned so much of Hungary's history.
Finally it was time for some shopping! Because of the low value of the Hungarian forint to the euro, everything was relatively cheap there and we had a blast! There are tons of cute boutiques and little thrift stores that are must-sees. I got a few vintage items as well as a pair of hand-made leather sandals from a local shoemaker! Only in Budapest! Finally, to finish off our trip with a bang, we went up to Buda Castle to the Budapest Hilton, and through this incredible wine cellar to partake in a Hungarian wine tasting at Faust Wine Cellar. It was reasonably priced and so much fun! We really loved it!
