So I know I've been slacking on the blog but I'm back in action. And just to be fair, yall have been put on notice, this one's a long one. After two and a half weeks here, I'm finally on track with the time change. It was pretty brutal getting adjusted though. Anyway, you all don't want to waste your time reading about my sleep deprivation so let's get right into it.
Budapest (pronounced Buddah-Pescht). Budapest fact #543, B-Pest is in Europe not India. Budapest is definitely a jewel in Europe. Beauty(if you can look past the graffiti on every single building, wall and pillar), history, culture, and best of all, cheaper than Linz! Our Budapest adventure began with a lecture in a beautiful old government building. Granted there was no A/C, but it was definitely gorgeous. After a well needed nap, lecture was over and we were off. How can I describe B-pest? Picture the concrete jungle of NY, but rather than skyscrapers, posh lounges and financial industry giants, you're navigating through 200 year old elaborately decorated buildings, catherdrals, statues and modern architecture. In one word.......captivating. We had the pleasure of staying in a Marriot in the heart of the Pest side of the river. Budapest fact #5050, Budapest is divided by the Danube river with Buda on one side and Pest on the other. On the Buda side you'll find the Imperial palace, the Victory statue, and a waterfall. Er'thang else can be found on the Pest side. PEST SIDE!(throwing up a P as if to mimic the west side chant).
So what is there to do in B-Pest? Let's start with a pub crawl. Come on, you didn't think a bunch of law students would touch down in a different country and NOT do something alcohol related did you? According to the flyer, the pub crawl included a one hour boat ride along the Danube, two beers and a shot on boat and another beer and shot in a pub. All for only 3500 Forint (about 15 USD). Sounds great huh? The crawl starts by meeting up with your pub crawl guide in the city square. From there, you are walked down to the river where you step on to a canoe with a motor(they prefer to call it a tour boat) So there we were, cruising down the Danube when the beer starts flowing. Was it Heineken? Red Stripe? Amstel? Answer: none of the above. It was Hungarian and it was warm. Sounds gross huh? You have no idea. So 4 warm beers later and a shot of home grown local Apricot liquor ,we were off to the pub. I see I'm getting über long with this story so here comes the abridged version. At the pub, we were given a shot of Unicum(Hungarian Jagermeister) NASTY! Picture Jager flavored with wood chips. The only way to cleanse my palette was chase it with a beer. For some reason, everyone decided they were going to pour their beers into my glass. Apparently, due to me being homesick for a week straight, my friends decided that they would lift my spirits by getting me drunk. So what was my beer/drink count at this point? You're guess is as good as mine. Free drinks....done. Pub crawl......over. What next? How about a roof top club. There's something about being drunk on a roof top in Budapest, while drinking two rum and cokes simultaneously, and looking out over the city of Pest that tends to leave you speechless; especially when you grew up poor and never could've imagined yourself on the other side of the world. Just when I thought the night couldn't get any better......it did. How? FOOD! For the same price it would cost to feed a child in Africa I bought a fresh Gyro from a street vendor at the entrance to the club. Actually, I bought three. You're probably saying, "Gyros Gino? Really?" Yes, really. These weren't your average gyros that you would find in an Atlanta wing shop. These were the real deal. No formed and pressed meat over here buddy. Actual cuts of meat, fresh vegetables and homemade pepper sauce. As much as I would love you tell you more about that evening, I can't. I was pretty smashed. So much so that Mark and Eric pretty much carried me home.
Now on to the non-alcoholic items on the "to-do" list. Well first, you HAVE to see the Basilica of St. Stephens. If you've been following along with my FB pics, you'll notice that there was also a St. Stephens in Passau. I guess St. Steve-0 was a good guy. The view form the wrap around veranda atop the Basilica was stunning. When I first stepped out of the stairwell and my eyes adjusted to the light, I couldn't help but stand there in utter silence. I mean, how could I not? There I was, on top of an amazing structure with a breath taking view of the city that was once the center of an empire. It's one of those feelings that words just can't capture. Not even my camera could do enough to capture the moment. After the Basilica, I made a pit-stop at the local C&A which is kinda like Old Navy to pick up some swim trunks for the next adventure.
Swim trunks.....check. City map....check. Destination........a Turkish Bath House (aka heated public swimming pool). I'm not even gonna lie though, it was pretty nice. For about 10 USD, you get a changing room where you can lock up your belongings and all day access to the heated pool, the super heated pools, the lap pool and ice baths. As you can I guess, I did not partake of the superheated pool or the ice bath. It just wouldn't be the Gino thing to do. All in all, it was awesome. Who'da known that a heated pool in the middle of a hot day would be a good idea. Thanks Turkish bathhouse creator!
I could go on and on about the level of awesomeness that Budapest possess, but I'm fairly certain I'll go over my word limit or lose the attention of you readers out there so I'm gonna cut it here. In short, Budapest is a MUST SEE. Make it happen people. Here are a few shots, but you can see more on my FB page. Thanks for reading!
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