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Hungary

June - July 2024
  • Mary Kieran Gap Year
A 7-day adventure by Mary Kieran Gap Year Read more
  • Mary Kieran Gap Year

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  • Mary Kieran Gap YearTravelerHungary
    11

    Day 172: Train to Hungary & Miskolc

    June 30, 2024 in Hungary ⋅ ☁️ 88 °F

    After finishing up Germany/Western Europe, it’s only natural that we cut through Austria again to go back to Eastern Europe. We miss concerts / music festivals and a few months ago in Bulgaria we found Balaton Sound EDM festival in Hungary with several favorite artists. So we agreed to save Hungary until July and back track a bit. The train from Munich to Budapest was 7 hours and then we train’d two more hours to Miskolc in the northeast.

    Amongst the Hungarian people, Miskolc is viewed as a dying industrial wasteland as a result of a failed planned economy by the Soviets. Originally it was a Soviet poster child economy with booming iron factories, doubling population growth, and the construction of tower apartment blocks on the city’s western side. Miskolc was hit harder than any Hungarian city after the fall of Communism and is trying to reclaim itself as a culture center than an industrial center.

    We didn’t have much energy when we arrived (10 hour train day) but we rode the tram downtown and walked around until we hit our apartment which was super spacious and cheap - $37 per night!!!

    We ended the evening at a very nice traditional restaurant where we tried wild boar soup, pork roast, goose liver, and noodles with ewe cheese (all under $40 with tip). We are back in Eastern Europe territory and our wallets love it.

    Hotel:
    Rákóczi Guesthouse Miskolc

    Restaurant:
    Rákóczi Pince Étterem

    Food:
    Tarkonyos vaddiszno raguleves csezeben - wild boar soup with tarragon
    Buga Jakab Etke - grilled pork chop, roasted goose liver, noodles with ewe cheese and leek
    Fokhagymás tarja vaslapon - Roasted, garlic pork

    Spots:
    Miskolc    Read more

  • Mary Kieran Gap YearTravelerHungary

    Day 173: Bükki National Park

    July 1, 2024 in Hungary ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F

    Bükki National Park is Hungary’s largest national park and contains caves, sink holes, ravines, and springs due to limestone rock forming the region. You can access the National Park by car, bus, and scenic train ride. We opted for the scenic route of course. The train cars were wooden and had no windows; it was possible to enjoy the old forest and climb into the mountains.

    The train stops initially at Lillafüred where there is the Hunguest Hotel Palota resort hotel inside a 1930s castle. This beautiful building is across the Hámori Lake, where it’s possible to rent row boats for a float. We opted to hike and see the various caves/spring entrances in the mountains. While we packed sunscreen, we really needed bug spray for all the gnats and mosquitos 😡 most exciting section of the hike was finding some bear sized footprints, yelling “Hey Bear, Hey Bear Tom Landis,” and reassuring ourselves there were no bears in this park. After reaching train station safety, we read online that brown bears from Slovakia have been venturing into the Bükki National Park 😖

    On the train ride back, it was sobering to take in the hundreds of Soviet style apartment complexes that littered Miskolc. So many stores, restaurants, and bars still had Soviet fonts and brutal statues. After researching the town and region, it ends up the CIA was tracking Soviet troops and antiaircraft equipment at the Hámori lake and Lillafüred!

    Check out this really old unclassified archival memo: https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP82-…

    Restaurant:
    Park Vendéglő - Lillafüred

    Food:
    Fried Lillafüred Trout
    Liver Dumpling Soup

    Spots:
    Lillafüred
    Bükki National Park
    Hámori Lake
    Lencsés-forrás
    Kisvasút állomás    Read more

  • Mary Kieran Gap YearTravelerHungary
    1
    1

    Day 174: Miskolctapolca Cave Bath

    July 2, 2024 in Hungary ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

    Because Hungary is abundant with caves and natural springs, it is also full of thermal hot springs! The most famous in the Northeast is the Miskolctapolca Cave Bath which was discovered in ancient times but was not utilized as a thermal bath until the Ottoman Empire!Jumped on a bus with morning commuters and older people visiting the caves early before it gets too crowded.

    We 100% underestimated this place. Originally assumed there would be maybe a hot tub and pool with pumped natural water in fake caves, but the Miskolctapolca Bath was a true cave. We got Pamukkale Turkey vibes where calcium carbonate formed mounds and ripples; there were several rooms with varying degrees in temperature. Mary’s favorite rooms included a gloomy blue room that looked like a nuclear reactor and had ambient noises coming from speakers as well as some traditional Soviet decorated mosaic rooms which had the hottest water and most old people. At one point the cave system turned into a lazy river without tubes and we ran around it at least 6 times with parents, kids, and the elderly. This place was a 10/10 experience and highly recommend to anyone visiting Hungary. We stayed at least 3 hours and could have gone longer. Before training back to Budapest, we stopped by the Keszegsütő fish restaurant, famous for its soups and fried filets.

    We trained for two hours and purchased a 72 hour travel card to use all transportation forms in Budapest. Our hotel is perfectly situated between a major metro and bus stops :) This hotel was another Eastern European steal for $37 fucking dollars for our own room, bathroom, fridge, free coffee and AIR CONDITIONING. So not ready to leave these hotel prices :(

    (reminder that Kieran and I aren’t sponsored at all so when we recommend a spot, it’s for real and we just can’t help celebrating good business)

    Hotel: Europa Center Point

    Restaurant: Keszegsütő

    Food:
    Korhely Halászlé Babgulyás Füstölt Harcsa (amazing soup)
    Harcsafilé Sültkrumplival Kulimásszal (fried catfish and potatoes)
    Haltepertő Csemege Uborkával (fried fish chunks and pickles)

    Spots:
    Miskolctapolca Cave Bath    Read more

  • Mary Kieran Gap YearTravelerHungary

    Day 175/176: Budapest

    July 4, 2024 in Hungary ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F

    Hungary’s capital Budapest is two cities separated by the Danube River: Buda and Pest. Our plans for the next two days were to follow a self guided walking tour recommended by Offbeat Budapest. The city felt like Prague, only larger in its architecture and many conquers changing the buildings / structures.

    Our first stop was the Central Market Hall for the breakfast of champions: paprika sausage, mini pigs in a blanket, and pickles. Many vendors sold cold cuts and very cute paprika bags for souvenirs. After breakfast we zig zagged through street after street to admire building designs including a Serbian Orthodox Church, University, and Royal Residence Park. At one point we walked through an old time-y film set where workers were padding the ground down with dirt and horses were lined up for a scene.

    We stopped in pub Grinzingi Borozó for local beer and wine; the bartender insisted we try Unicum Hungarian liquor shot. We got lunch at Belvárosi Disznótoros (Anthony Bordian recommended). We tried blood and liver sausage; Kieran wasn’t a fan.

    Other cool spots included Europe’s Oldest Subway, St. Stephens Basilica, and Liberty Square which contain two very controversial monuments. The first is a WWII monument constructed by the government to recognize German invasion; however, Hungary was actually part of the Axis Powers and welcomed German troops. People feel this monument is revisionist history and are extremely upset with the Hungarian government. The second monument is a Soviet monument recognizing USSR liberating Hungary from the Germans. It’s not as controversial, but the Hungarians clearly were upset by Soviet control. After hitting Liberty Square, we walked around the beautiful Parliament Building. For dinner, we ate at Frici Papa which was a traditional ready made meals like Paprikash.

     Our second day, we rested and prepared for Balaton Sound EDM music festival. This included Kieran getting a haircut and visiting a mall for festi outfits. While Kieran got cleaned up Mary enjoyed a gin tonic while re-watching the Romania Vs Netherlands game at Beer Point. We walked along the Danube River a bit and watched the boats go by. We closed out our afternoon with a Cat Cafe; Kieran had never been before 🐱

    Restaurant:
    Belvárosi Disznótoros - Károlyi utca
    Grinzingi Borozó
    Frici Papa
    Sushi Wan
    Cat Cafe
    BeerPoint

    Food:
    Paprika sausage
    Hot Dog
    Smile Pickles
    Blood sausage
    Liver sausage
    Pork Shoulder
    Salad
    Fried Camabert
    Chicken Paprikash
    Pickles
    Döner

    Spots:
    Central Market Hall
    Saint George Serbian Orthodox Church
    Magyar u.
    Vörösmarty tér
    Örkény István Színház
    St. Stephen's Basilica
    Szabadság tér
    Hungarian Parliament Building    Read more

  • Mary Kieran Gap YearTravelerHungary
    1

    Day 177: Balaton Sound Music Festival

    July 5, 2024 in Hungary ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F

    Balaton Music Festival is one of Europe’s largest open air music festivals and got its start in 2007. We found the festival because Mary was looking at Alison Wonderland’s tour schedule and it was listed. After researching more, we saw that Lost Frequencies, Marshmello, Alison Wonderland, Borgore, and Zomboy were all playing the same day on the same stage right after each other. Mary found her love for dubstep in college which was when Borgore and Zomboy were headliners and Marshmello was just getting started. She was a big fan of all three and of course Alison Wonderland entered the picture and our relationship; we both find her very attractive and Kieran felt a little jealous at a concert several years ago 🤷🏼‍♀️

    Our home base for the music festival is Síofolk, a cute little town one train ride north of Zamardi. We took the train down from Budapest, got ready, and jumped on train filled with festival people. Quick side note on American EDM Festival Culture VS European EDM Festival Culture: the clothing styles are radically different. In the US, EDM festivals are almost like raver Halloween and an opportunity for creativity/alternative outfits (dyed air, wild make up, chains, tights, thongs, goggles, etc). At Balaton, more people were dressed for a summer party / indie rock / folksy festival. We found a few ravers decked out, but they were scarce. The second side note is that Europeans prefer house / techno / DNB compared to American EDM / UK dupstep / bro step / trap. This information is important for later, we promise.

    Everyone exited the train and it was possible to follow the crowds without a map. Locals would play their own mixing equipment while we walked 20 minutes to the festival entrance. The festival line moved very quickly and there was barely any security which was wild. Guess you don’t need to pat down every person and open every pocket when people don’t own any guns 💁🏼‍♀️

    After entering we relaxed by the water for a bit and eventually found the Spain VS Germany Euro game. Germany tied it up the last minute! We headed towards the stage around 8:00 PM to watch Lost Frequencies which Kieran was excited to see. We also enjoyed Marshmello (for like the 6th time) and yes there were kids with their parents because of Fortnite.

    If you’ve made it this far, you should remember that Europeans hate EDM/dubstep. As soon as Marshmello ended, Mary took the lead and walked us up to the front while everyone else was moving out for drinks or to leave. As a result, we were three rows of people back for Alison Wonderland!! Kieran was sooooo happy and it’s the closest we’ve seen her. We missed her at Moonrise in 2023 because she was 9 months pregnant 👼🏻
    She killed the set as usual.

    Other highlights include Borgore playing Mary’s four favorite songs (two of which she hasn’t seen live before) and just dancing with some bass heads for Zomboy. The Europeans hate for dubstep made getting to the bathrooms and back into the stage very easy and we had a great time 3 rows back with ample dancing / head banging room.

    Spot:
    Balaton Music Festival    Read more

  • Mary Kieran Gap YearTravelerHungary

    Day 178: Síofolk & High School Reunion

    July 6, 2024 in Hungary ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    We woke up very very hungover. However, had to check out by 10AM so it is what it is. We pulled ourselves together, walked around Síofolk a bit, and suffered a two hour train north (for good reason).

    Where Mary attended high school, there was a family that hosted European students every year for an exchange program. Because Mary and her friends were close to the family, they were often the first to welcome the international students to Chesterfield, including Svenja from Germany, Mia from Norway, and Szilárd from Hungary. Szilárd joined the men’s swimming team and mixed water polo team so Mary and him became friends. After not seeing Szilárd for 12 years or speaking to him for 10, we took a chance and reached out. He responded within an hour and agreed to meet up for lunch in Budapest!! Even though we were hungover, we were excited to catch up.

    Szilárd now works in software development / AI for autonomous vehicles to avoid pedestrians and animals. He invited his girlfriend Dori to lunch as well and we enjoyed Pad Thai while sharing about travels and life since high school. It was wonderful catching up and we are so lucky that Szilárd and Dori shared their time with us today. They even walked us to our bus station 🥹

    Our last two countries for Europe are Spain and Portugal, and it would take a 24 hour train ride to reach Barcelona from Budapest. We decided to fly direct to Barcelona on Wizz Airlines, a Hungarian budget airline. After arriving to the hostel, we scarfed down 10pm convenience store tapas, took some sleeping pills, and passed out 😴

    Hostel: 360 Hostel

    Restaurant: Bakery and Tapas

    Food:
    Spiced Pork
    Marinated Octopus
    Citrus Shrimp
    Chicken Wings

    Spots:
    Siofok Water Tower
    Millennium Park
    I. világháborús emlékmű    Read more

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