Budapest, Hungary (Day 1)

What we did:
- Woke up EARLY at 4am to grab a 5am train to Budapest. We had one change through Vienna and both trains were 2 hours long, so
we were able to get an extra four hours of sleep. We knew this would be an early morning so we booked first class seats. After discovering that business class offers semi-private cabins and seats that can recline…we forked over some cash to make our journey that much more comfortable. This was a fantastic move on our end and further validation that we might like the finer things…cue Brian’s “bougie”.
- After arriving in Budapest we took a cab to meet Sally and Doug. Accidentally gave the driver the wrong address and ended up in a weird part of town before arriving at the right location. We needed to drop our bags off at Sally and Doug’s room since ours wasn’t ready. HI SALLY AND DOUG! Our last visitors of the trip!
- Hit THE TOWN! Steph was very excited as this was where she studied abroad and had caught the travel bug…the start of many travels! Although she studied there for a semester, it appeared that she did not remember much of anything historically enlightening about the city and just ended up confidentially assuming/guessing any facts that she communicated to the rest of the group. Props to Steph for such a “studious” semester!
- Picked up some coffees and traversed the Chain Bridge to the Buda side of the city. Walked around the palace district and admired the views of the city and the Danube river from the top.
- Walked through the Jewish quarter to get to Street Food Karavan. An outdoor food truck spot selling Hungarian local dishes in addition to some international cuisine. Split some food and got some beers before heading into Budapests most renowned ruin pub - Szimple Kert. Walked around the massive pub admiring the old eclectic decor and Steph reminiscing on hazy memories from other times she’d been there. Steph bought everyone their first palinka shots (Hungarian liquor) and we got some beers to chase down the lingering taste.
- Walked to a ruin pub type restaurant in the Jewish quarter called Mazel Tov. Got some light Mediterranean spreads since we were still full from the street food. Enjoyed some drinks and then headed to the river for our night time boat ride down the Danube!
- It was a little chilly so we grabbed a spot inside near the window to start. Little did we know that we sat right next to a large family who decided to order “pizza” during this 1.5 hour cruise. They were upset that they could not see this pizza (microwave Home Run pizza maybe?) and insisted that the boat turn the inside lights on. Of course that made seeing the sights outside difficult to see so we headed upstairs to brave the cold. Not too chilly, especially 3-4 cocktails in. Enjoyed the rest of the boat ride and headed home to get some sleep!

What we ate:
- Coffees at California Coffee Co.
- Traditional langos, spicy langos, fried chicken sandwich, and beers at the Street Food Karavan
- Apricot flavored Palinka shots and beers at Szimple Kert
- Mixed Mediterranean spreads, hummus, fried cauliflower at Mazel Tov

Fun facts:
- Contrary to popular belief, having the lights on, serving microwaved frozen pizza, and blasting early 2000s club hits does not provide the most optimal setting for a twilight boat cruise down the Danube. Thanks Silverline Cruises…Although, you were very generous with your cocktail pours.
- Slight miscommunication with dropping our bags at Sally/Doug’s room while our room was being cleaned. It seemed like Doug and Sally had gone to brunch without us and were telling us to suck it up and meet them at the end of their brunch with all of our luggage. However, they were just being nice and giving us an easier location to find the hotel (a nearby brunch place) than the harder to find address of the hotel. Some funnies resulted in this miscommunicated text chain.
- We’ve been so happy and thankful to have friends and family visit during our time here! It really made our trip so much more memorable and allowed us to build in actual “vacation” time during our 3 months of traveling.
- The Hungarian language proved to be difficult for Trent, Sally, and Doug. The hardest being the word for cheers: “egészségedre”. Say it with me now EGG-EH-SHEG-EH-DRAY!!!! 🍻Read more