Now or Never

The train from Vienna to Budapest is a quick 2.5 hours and we arrived at our hostel, The Loft, in the early afternoon. The name was very fitting – you dial into an old unassuming building in the inner city, go up a few floors in a dual occupancy elevator, and then walk up a final flight of stairs along an inner courtyard balcony. The place was quirky and very cozy and it reminded us a lot of the co-ops at Berkeley.

After settling in we went out to do a little site seeing. Back in the day Buda and Pest were two different cities split by the Danube River before they came together as one in 1873. We were staying on the Pest side, where most of the city center lies, so we decided to first head across the river to check out Buda Castle which sits atop cliffs that rise above the Danube. It was pretty touristy but it offered some great panoramic views of the city. We continued walking along the river for a couple more miles before doubling back and calling it an early night because we had a lot planned for the following day.

Budapest is known for its medicinal thermal baths so first up in the AM was a short tram ride to Széchenyi Thermal Baths, the largest in all of Europe. We didn’t really know what to expect but WOW, what a pleasant surprise. Széchenyi was originally built in 1913 and is fed by a few different natural hot springs. For what amounted to about $17 each, we got full access to what felt like an old country club, with indoor / outdoor pools (temps up to 104°F), blazing hot saunas, and steam rooms. The crowds were minimal but we were there on a Wednesday and past high summer travel season – we’ve heard it can get pretty chaotic otherwise. With that in mind we highly recommend it! After three hours we felt extremely relaxed and refreshed.

In the evening we had tickets for an evening cruise on the Danube that for only $20 each came with unlimited Prosecco 🙂 so after a quick Goulash dinner (Hungary staple) we headed back to the river. The city lights up like no other at night and the Budapest Parliament building was particularly impressive. It was a truly memorable experience.

After the cruise and before heading home, we stopped by one of Budapest’s famous “ruin bars” called Szimpla Kert which is effectively a series of walk up bars built inside an old (ruined – get it?) factory. It was poppin’ with strong Berlin meets Star Wars cantina vibes. It was so cool we even braved a downpour to go back the following day!

After an amazing three days, we hopped on a bus to Zagreb, Croatia to meet up with Abby’s mom and step dad before renting a car and driving to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Onward!