At
midnight we got on an overnight train in Prague towards Budapest. We stayed in
the sleeping car. In each compartment of the car there was a bunk bed with 3
bunks, a sink, and a tiny closet. It was pretty cramped. On this train we met a
guy from Chicago, who had relatives in Wisconsin. He spent the first hour or
two of the train ride giving us advice on college and afterwards in the real
world. He wasn’t preachy at all; he was actually really informative and
interesting. Sleeping on the train was hard because the tracks were really
loud.
We
got off the train and went to breakfast with the guy from Chicago and
afterwards we walked to the Jewish Quarter. We saw the “Great Synagogue” with
the Chicago guy. He was Jewish so he answered all the questions we had about
the synagogue and the Jewish religion in general. Afterwards we found our
hostel and relaxed.
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| Great Synagogue |
The
next day we went on a free Budapest walking tour. The tour started in a square
that was filled with booths. They were selling all sorts of handmade items and
food in the booths. We then went and saw St. Stephen’s church. Afterwards we
headed towards the Danube River. The river separates the Buda side from the
Pest side of Budapest. Our hostel was in Pest. We also saw the Parliament Building.
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| Parliament Building at night |
We
crossed the river to the Buda side and climbed this big hill. We had an awesome
view of the river and all the bridges from up there. We then saw the Royal
Palace. Katy Perry’s “Firework” video was filmed here. We also saw the
President’s Palace. It was a lot more formal and less flashy than the Royal
Palace. We ended the tour by seeing the Matthias Church. This church is baroque
style so it looks very interesting. The roof is made out of tile.
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| Royal Palace |
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| Matthias Church |
Since
this was the end of our trip we did a lot of relaxing. We spent a lot of time
reading books by the river or in coffee shops. One night we got really lost in
the city but we found our way.
On
our last day there we spent most of the day trying to figure out how to pack
all of the stuff we accumulated throughout the spring break trip. There was no
way we would be able to fit everything into our carry on backpacks. Our
solution was to stuff two backpacks full to the seams and check them. Then we
would use two brown paper bags as carry-ons. We looked a bit comical. The last
things we wanted to do were see Margaret Island and climb the Gellert Hill to
see the Lady with the Palm branch statue.
When
we finally made it to the Island it was getting late. Margaret Island is in the
Danube River between Buda and Pest. It is a pretty island with flowers and
trees and a bike trail that goes around the outside. Afterwards we tried to
book it to Gellert Hill but it was all the way on the other side of town, plus
it was getting late. We decided to go anyways. By the time we got to the bottom
of the hill it was getting pretty dark. We climbed the hill anyways. It wasn’t
the smartest decision. The hike up the huge hill went through a wooded path.
All the trees were cool to see but the path was a little steep. Then it started
to sprinkle. We were cold from the rain, walking through the darkness, and
tired from the steep climb but we finally made it to the top. This is the
highest point in Budapest and from it you could see the whole city lit up. It
was so worth it. We were also able to see close up the giant statue of the Lady
with the Palm Branch, which at one point represented communism. It was a great
way to end the trip.
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| Lady with Palm Branch |
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| The view from the hill |
Overall,
our Spring Break Trip went really well. We were able to live out of a backpack
for two weeks. We were a pretty great travel group that only got on each
other’s nerves every so often. But honestly, it was great traveling with these
people. We were able to see and learn so much in such a short period of time.
And most importantly, we all got home in one piece.
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