Budapest

With the end of the year in sight, but faced by the expensive cities of Europe, we're doing our utmost to keep within our (arbitrary) budget target. This meant opting out of a €100 sleeper cabin from Transylvania to Hungary, and paying only €6 for the privilege of sleeping upright in our seats. On arrival, we straggled blearily from the train onto the early morning streets of Budapest, dropped our bags off at a mega hostel and went for a long walk to stretch out our aching joints. There are some real benefits to doing this sort of thing when you’re 21, not 31, and we are not reaping them.

We’re both still battling the head cold that seems to be afflicting all of Europe, but our dorm beds were comfortable and we are feeling cheerful. Budapest is very beautiful at this time of year, and we visited four Christmas markets over three days, as well as the usual sites: Parliament, Gellert Hill, Buda Castle, Fisherman’s Bastion, St Matthias Church, the Shoes on the Danube, the Dohány St Synagogue, the Basilica, and crucially, the Michael Jackson Memorial Tree. We spent three days in Hungary and neither of us made a 'hungry' pun, which is how you know we are bona fide, moustache-twiddling, sophisticated travellers.

We had a good night out at Szimpla Kert (the 'Ruin Bars'), eschewing the wider dance floor for a blues gig in a back bar. We dubbed the band ‘Bluedapest.’ Much to Chelsea’s amusement, every time she went to the loo, a woman in the crowd put the moves on Dan. This included circling his waist from behind, saying she just wanted a hug and asking whether he’d consider ‘abandoning your girlfriend for the night’. Sadly, he doesn’t have a girlfriend, only a fiancée, and so had to decline.

We’ve both visited Budapest before, Dan on an educational tour when he was 17 and Chelsea on a girls’ trip 7 years ago. But we're really glad we made time to come back through, because this place never stops being beautiful, and neither of us visited in December before. The city glams up for the festive season, with twinkle lights and Christmas decorations everywhere.

Budapest also has a rich Jewish history, and our visit coincided with Chanukah. It has been a poignant stop for that reason, as we're processing what happened in Sydney. But seeing the Jewish community out celebrating on the streets was a valuable antidote to the horrible news. The Jewish quarter also has the best veggie restaurants in Budapest, meaning we could get vegetarian goulash on our last night—as usual, and in a very Jewish tradition, good food solves everything.

That's all our time in Hungary, as we jet closer to home. We’re giving the Interrail passes a proper workout today by crossing three countries, abandoning the Danube for the delights of the Vltava...Meer informatie