Quick! Where am I? Nope, not in a small Michigan town near Ann Arbor...but I suspect now that the name Ypsilanti originates in Hungary. (This picture-and all the others in this blog post-were taken during my roughly 24 hours in Budapest.) Who knew?!?
I have been meaning to write a really inspiring, witty, and mind-blowing blog post about more of my travels, specifically about my experience in Budapest. I finally have the time to do that now! I also owe it to our great tour guide, Zoltan Nagy, that we met in Budapest. He asked a while back for pictures. Here they are now, Zoltan!
It feels like forever ago that I was in Europe but it was only this past January. You might remember I spent some time visiting my friend, Bob, who lives in Vienna. We also took some short trips to Prague and Budapest.
...In the dead of winter. If you think the pictures look a bit cold, IT WAS.
When we arrived at Budapest's impressive main train station, I bought a Cappuccino in a plastic cup because I think it usually sounds the same in most languages and I just don't feel confidant asking for beverages in Hungarian. Four years of high school Latin and all I could ask for at Budapest's train station concession stand was a cappuccino while pointing at a bread-y thing. I'm totally a world traveller.
Look at the balmy Danube River! I don't know how I forgot to pack my swimsuit!
I learned that Hungary is the only country whose current currency, florints, were in use while it was a Socialist state. I believe there is a push to bring the Euro to Hungary. During the day in Budapest, we did things like stumble upon a church inside a mountain and climb icy stairs to even colder lookouts. Did I mention it was cold? The main highlight of the trip was the Budapest Backpacker Free Walking Tour where we met our very excellent tour guide: Zoltan Nagy. His name translates as 'the great sultan.' We even became facebook friends later.
You should, too.He is a professor of History and gave a great tour to me, Bob, and an Australian couple.
I'd like to think the high point of the trip, both geographically and spiritually was when Zoltan offered us a drink from his knapsack to warm us up. What was the name of that drink again, Zoly? I remember accepting a second shot of the clear fruity spirits and thinking soon thereafter that Budapest was a very fine place to visit.
There was a part of the tour where we were invited to touch a part of this statue for good luck. I don't remember what the statue represented but I do know that there was a particular part of the underside of this anatomically correct horse that was shiny and I was the only one on the tour who contributed to its gloss. Thanks for the boost, Zoly.
Below is a picture of indoor heating at a bar. It was cold everywhere!
I learned that 
many bars in Budapest spring up in abandoned buildings. We sat, er, squatted, in what looked like someone's living room from another era, sipping beer, and surrounded by faded wallpaper, questionable couch cushions, and what looked like drug-inspired decor. I mean, I've never thought of a violin case as an eyebrow until now. We were guided to this off-the-beaten-path bar by our host, Jimmy, at the hostel we were staying at. We would have never found our way through little maze-like walkways and side streets on our own to get to some of these bars without our hostel host.
I do remember that Jimmy, -pictured at right-apparently had a direct line to Obama at the hostel.
At the end of our brief jaunt through Budapest, I remember us missing our train by minutes. I definitely could have used some Hungarian spirits from someone's knapsack at that point. The train station is open air and also cold. We figured out what the next train back to Vienna was and scraped together our last forints for McDonald's cappuccinos. I can't wait to return to Budapest in the summer months some day!!!
