Krysti's Big Adventure!: Budapest & Krakow part one

Hello! Well I was correct in thinking Budapest would be more of a challenge for me. It was very different from what I had expected... basically I didn't really think about what to expect! I had certainly arrived in Eastern Europe.
It was a very very big city but not so well developed- I found out before 1989 Budapest was hidden behind the iron curtain.and was sealed off to most visitors. But since the fall of communism it started to develop and that's when people around the world started discovering what a hidden gem this city was. It certainly was very beautiful- on my last evening I did a night bus tour and it was really breathtaking.

Budapest Parliament Building

It was a very very foreign city to me though. When I arrived it took me a whole hour and a half to navigate the train and then a tram to get to my place (which wasn't even that far away). This is because in both instances I had to guess which direction to catch them in and unsurprisingly both times I got it wrong... I eventually made it and I was so hot (it was almost 40 degrees both days I was there). My accommodation was pretty central but it was down a street with dark crumbly buildings and awkward cobbled and cracked footpaths (nuisance for suitcases).
Once I had refreshed I ventured out and once again got a hop on hop off bus tour for 48 hours. This was half the price of Vienna and definitely the best (and easiest) way to see the whole city.
My favourite thing about Budapest was definitely the parliament building which is so impressive- I put it right up there after the Eiffel Tower (being #1- then maybe the Milano Duomo #3 and Westminster Abbey #4).

I enjoyed many food treats such as custard pastries, massive ice creams, both nights I had traditional Hungarian cuisine- the first was slow cooled meat and some kind of strange dough pasta. It was sooo good and tender and tasted home-cooked- something I miss so much! The second night I had Langos which is amazing deep fried bread with garlic and chives sour cream, cheese and red onion on top- and it was bigger than my head! Incredibly full afterwards...
On the first day there in the afternoon it randomly started pouring down like the monsoon season followed by massive thunder and then hail stones the size of small rocks! It was so crazy since it was so hot. It lasted for about an hour and I of course took refuge inside a bar and had a beer.
I just had two nights there but I think that was enough for me, having to pack up again and catch another crack of dawn bus however was starting to get tiresome. The joys of cheap travel! All part of the experience though.

It was a very very long bus ride through the entire country of Slovakia to my next stop- Krakow, Poland. Again I had navigational issues as the directions my new place of accommodation had given me were not quite correct and actually backwards! So again it took me nearly 2 hours to find the place (after some guy saw me dragging my suitcase up and down the street about four times past his shop and let me use his restaurant's wifi so the girl could come and get me...)
So that was pretty frustrating and another long day but the girl I'm staying with then left for the whole weekend so I have the whole apartment to myself. It's a really cool modern loft in the Jewish Quater right in the centre so great location. On Saturday I ventured out to the Old town which has the biggest medieval square in the world. It was so amazing. I instantly fell in-love- what a great city! It's so rich in history and it's incredibly cheap and the food is fantastic.

View from my place in Krakow!

That day was the hottest day on record since 1921! Hit the 40s- and I crazily decided to do a nearly 3 hour walking tour in the afternoon haha. But you know after Budapest- it was pretty much just as hot. I think I'm getting used to it! This was a Jewish walking tour and it was really good and informative. It was a lot of walking all across the city seeing all the synagogues, learning the history, going to the old ghetto from WW2 and ending up in Schindler's factory. My poor feet were so hot and sore by the end though- I walked 15 kms that day and then I had to walk all the way back! I had a well deserved massive beer and then some much anticipated Perogis (Polish dumplings).
Tomorrow I have a day trip to Auschwitz which is only an hour away so that will be a very sombre day but something that will be very educational.
I have four nights here in total and so my next post will be the second part from here and Prague! Catch ya.

Budapest: