When in Budapest

This post is rightfully called 'When in Budapest' because Budapest - is a place for partying. Every night of the week there are pub crawls, and they are always full. The WomBAR is generally happening (except when they close early because all the people have left for the pub crawl). There is an abundance of people around (something Croatia was lacking) and being situated right in the middle of the Jewish District, there's a lot of famous Ruin Bars, and places to hang out. There are always people scampering about...a  lot of travelers, and hence I've sort of been thrown into a cycle of constant socialising. One day, kid from Sydney, Elliot and I went for a walk to get some lunch, and I sort of haphazardly suggested I bring the map but he said not to bother. So off we set, for a walking tour of the city..getting lost in the narrow streets, and finding different nooks and crannies to explore. We were lost, literally for ages, but we just kept walking and chatting, and it was marvelous. Because we weren't getting preoccupied with always glancing at the map, and trying to figure out street names, we could enjoy our surroundings a little more, and not worry about which way we were going. He amazed me, with his careless attitude, and we had quite a nice time.

Signature Parliament building

Then there was Charlie, who promised to blatantly ignore his cat allergy and come to the cat cafe with me. We shared many a stories in our room, and he became quite a travel companion, we spent a lot of time together. Nights out we met other groups of people, pub crawled together, and saw Budapest together. It's funny how quickly you can get to know someone, feel at ease in their company and how easy it is to settle into a pattern. There were a group of English folks, of whom which I chatted about The Inbetweeners for ages with, and more Australians who tried to out-drink some Russians. There was also Brazilian and Hungarian company thrown into the mix. All in all, it was all a good laugh.

Trickster

Wombats - never disappoints. When I check in, they sort of hand me the key and  ask me if I've operated the lockers that they use here before, and I sort of flip my hair and just look at them. 'Darling please, it's not my first time'. Seriously a Wombats lover. I even have a singlet top at home from last time I was in Europe. If I had a Wombats passport - they'd be stamping over stamps right about now. Reluctantly, if there's a group of us sitting downstairs at the bar, and someone suggests that we chip off somewhere else, I'll be the first to stop mid conversation, and look at them with a killer stare;

"Why would you want to go anywhere else?"
"....Well, I dunno, a different atmosphere.."
"What's wrong with the atmosphere at the WomBAR?"
"Nothing..it's just...maybe somewhere we could dance, that's all..."
"You can dance at the WomBAR."
"Yeah, but, like a dance club..."
"The WomBAR can be a dance club."
"Well, we could try a different bar, meet some new people, try different drinks..."
"There are drinks here. The WomBAR also has the best cocktail list I've ever seen."
"Well, yeah, but..."
"And there are people here. You'll only meet the best people at the WomBAR."
"Yeah, ok, it was just a suggestion..."
"Yes well it's an unnecessary one. Now please stop wasting my time with useless suggestions and let me get back to enjoying the WomBAR."

Not even kidding.

Hungarians are nice people. I can usually get away with English, but often I give German a whirl and that seems to go down better. They sort of have this big scary image in my head, you know they're HUNGARIAN, people that have thick accents, wear furry hats, have the menacing nature of a post-communist country and slaughter a lot of farm animals for their food. Like these guys;

But they are terribly friendly. And quite smart. Did you know that they invented the Rubik's cube? Soap? The ballpoint pen? Introuduced underwear to the rest of Europe? Colour TV? Did I mention the Rubik's cube? And they brought the world goulash. Nuff said. The people are geniuses. 

Looking out to to 'Pest' side

This is the 'Buda' side of the city

So the Hungarians invented the ball point pen.

The Americans then spent years and invested a lot of money into attempting to create a ballpoint pen that could be used in space. 

And the Russians just used a pencil. 

Catch ya l8r Budapest