Budapest

It was very hard to find the train to Budapest! Apart from being very tired and with my heavy backpack the lady in the ticket office just kind of screamed at me and the inspector or train driver guy in uniform at the platform said 'Si'! to every train i pointed to and asked 'Budapest'?...mmm confused!!! I hopped onto one train it was full of drunken men and stunk of urine really bad, some drunken guys said 'Da!!!'..means yes when i asked Budapest?? I just had a feeling this train wasnt right what to do!??!! Its not the end of the world anyway if i am on the wrong train it will be a little adventure. I got off this train to see could i find someone who speaks some english and at that moment it pulled away!oh dear!!!

I was on my own on the platform for about 20 minutes. Another train came, it had Budapest written on the side yay what good luck! And just a slight urine smell on this one....more of a sweaty smell not too bad.

So as the routine goes now im too tired when i arrive in the new city to couchsurf as i think it would be rude just to arrive on someones doorstep and go asleep so i found a nice hostel. The only problem i have with staying in hostels these days is that they are full of teenage american and australians, fair play to them travelling so far from home but its very hard for me anyway to connect with them and have a conversation more than polite chit chat. Its starting to really irritate me when people say 'i DID serbia, then i DID hungary, then i DID germany'...anyway i must not waste energy getting annoyed at that...grrrr!

The next day was the 1st day so far ive felt really alone. Maybe just from being surrounded by loads of young wans that i just felt left out of the whole hostel thing. I went to explore but was soooo not in the mood. I decided to ring my dave and moan down the phone to him for a while that im sick of looking at old buildings and parks etc etc. Wow as soon as i hung up i felt great again and remembered where i was and why i love travelling so much! With that i decided to climb up the big hill to this statue called the Citadella...cant you tell i read up on the history of budapest! It is a bit of a pity alright that i didnt know more about this thing before i saw it. I felt very good after that exercise.

(fun on thebench..yes maybe loosing it a bit today!sure why not!)

I checked into Homemade hostel...for anyone going to Budapest i really really liked this place its one of the nicest hostels ive ever stayed in and wow wow no teenage americans or australians!!! I had a really cosy bed tucked in under the stairs, there was a lovely communal area and nice kitchen.

The hostel...very nice

Tonight i was going to couchsurfer John O´Donnels housewarming party, he is from the states and is one of the few americans ive met with irish heriatge that know: 1) where Ireland is on the map, 2) Europe is not in Ireland, 3) We have electricty and 4) he knew WHERE in Ireland his dad was from! I was just having a glass of wine with a nice guy from Cyprus who was just about to board a 33 hour train to Istanbul when 2 fun looking American guys came into the kitchen with a bottle of vodka and some orange juice. They were Mat and a young Tom Hanks lookalike. They were very good fun.

John O Donnell and another man...

I have to say we were a little merry by the time we got to the party, we had a lot of fun on the way. We were let into the apartment block by a couple who were leaving then we just listened to find out where the party was! His little apartment was full! It was great fun there, his cooker fan fell off the wall but apart from that and a few broken glasses i think his flat was left ok! I met a cool girl called Victoria and we invented a new cocktail which we named Sinorita Barata (cheap lady!)...sounds good though in Spanish!
This cocktail was a big hit. I also kept telling everyone that the 2nd american guy that looked like Tom Hanks was actually Toms younger brother and not to mention it to him as he's very shy about it this caused a lot of excitment at the party... a celebrity!!We headed to a club then, i think it was turbofolk music there that a few people had mentioned to me before as the music was TERRIBLE!! Ít was time to head back to the hostel, great fun on the way home climbing the lampposts etc!!

(climbing the lamppost)

Oh dear....we were all still mighty drunk the next morning...that hungarian vodka..or maybe it was the Sinorita Barata! There was only one thing i i could do today and that was chill out in one of the Turkish baths. I went to the one that had outdoor pools. On the way to the baths there is a lake with thermal water, steam rising from it, ducks and fish swimming and guys fishing!

The baths were so cool! One pool was 30 degrees the other was 38! There were jacuzzies, whirlpools and icy cold 24 degrees water if you want to swim a few lanes, men playing chess in the pool that says maximum 20 mins recommended for this one and young guys hanging out on the steps to watch the laydees saunter in and out. There was certainly no time for modesty in the womens changing and shower place my god! Anyway i felt great after it, almost revived to my pre-hungover self! I still got the metro back to the hostel wasnt that revived!



no need to cook the fish??


I made a lovely dinner and got chatting to Richard from England a very friendly and chatty guy who had travelled the world with his job but never got to venture much outside the hotels and offices. We headed of together to a couchsurfing pancake party nearby. I met up with my Sinorita Barata cocktail friend there and we had a much calmer chat and tasty pancakes with some strange new fillings for me!

I had a great sleep that night, my god the beds in this hostel are the cosiest ive ever found! The next day im going to Vienna fingers crossed there will be some snow!