Interrail 2023 – 6. – Budapest

Salut ! Moikka! Hi! Szia!

/sorry for the delay, I didn’t get the chance to finish writing my diary on the train to Krakow and yesterday was crazy, but that is for another time…

Budapest is the kind of place where there is an undescribable vibe, something in the air on which you cannot really place your finger…

• ~1.7m/3m inhabitants
• Capital city of Hungary (whose name could soon change to FIDESZ-land /that is obviously a -very bad-tasted- joke)
• Mayor : Gergely Karácsony, Dialogue – The Greens’ party (EGP)
• It would apparently be the only place in the EU where inhabitants feel more attached to the EU than their own country or region (however I haven’t found -yet- the original database for this particular survey question which apparently comes from QoG’s 2021 EQI, but scrolling through data on my phone is not easy so I’ll keep looking when I’ll get access to my computer. Hence to be confirmed…)
• Located on the Danube, the second most important river in Europe.

But before telling you all about Budapest, I would like to go a bit backward and talk about what happened aboard the train from Bratislava to Budapest (only 10 minutes late, yeah!). Some of you already know this, but the most unexpected encounter so far on this trip happened :

Basically, I met two nice Italian girls, who happened to be exchange students in Finland whilst I was there, already something noteworthy right? Well, it became crazier and crazier: we had so many acquaintances in common, and if I had gone to an event in Helsinki I could have met them, literally! Something I’ll definitely remember! (Another girl in the compartment, German, was a fan of some Finnish band and was traveling around Europe to go to all of their concerts, if the rest wasn’t enough!)

It was on this unbelievable and positive note that I started my stay in Budapest. As I hadn’t had the most tiring day, I decided to go explore the city and see Buda Castle in the evening (The Fisherman’s Bastion is free after 9pm), so I started one of my endless walks. The city was so lively, really! I bumped into some dance and music contests! Furthermore there was a marathon, so most streets were closed to cars, which was nice.

The next day, I started my day with a visit to the Hungarian Parliament, one of the most touristic attractions of the country. (Fun fact: they built it at first with low-quality stones, which was one of the reasons for costly reparations done later).

I then met someone who will be following the same degree as me (only with a different start university), and whose hometown is Budapest, which was really nice. We had lunch together and he showed me his city. We ended by « climbing » all the way up to the Liberty Statue, from where the view is just awesome! If you’re reading these lines, thanks a lot again!

In the evening, I met with a group of Brits who gave me the opportunity to check out Budapest’s legendary nightlife. So yes, I went out:) – well, only for three hours, but that’s that 🤪.

We went to the famous ruinbar Szimpla Kert, the first of its kind, and it was just gigantic! It was more of a nightlife complex than a pub!

The next day, after understanding why there were so many Spanish people Interrailing (they had Sanchez to thank), I followed the recommendation and went to the city park, where many attractions are located (most of them were closed because it was Monday). I didn’t get to try a thermal bath however, it will be for next time;)

The funniest thing I saw was the copy of a Transylvanian castle which has been literally placed in the middle of the city!

But it was already time to leave Budapest and to take the (night)train to Krakow, but this story is for another day.

Szia;)

PS: I can definitely recommend the « Flow Spaces » hostel in Budapest.

PPS: Be really careful in Budapest North Station, many scammers are around 😅