My Third Trip to Budapest

Well, it really wasn’t, but accommodations make all the difference.  During my final iteration of my Budapest time I was back in my hostel lifestyle.

Matthias Church, Budapest

The city is actually pronounced Budapesht, and is divided into two distinctive areas: the eastern, residential, and hilly Buda side and the western, flat, and trendy Pest (again: pronounced Pesht) side.  One of most magnificent buildings I have ever seen is the Parliament building, located on the Pest side; it is breathtaking, especially when it is lit up at night.  I wanted to revisit it before I left, as well as a few noteworthy locations and run an errand or two before I repacked my backpack for my next destination.

One of my errands included visiting the nearest post office and sending two packages home to the States, which is a cultural experience to say the least.  Although the idea behind every post office is inherently the same, there are a handful of potential quirks that make national offices unique.  I think post offices are a decent cultural gauge - the levels of organization, attitudes, and general efficiency are usually telling of the nation at large.

In Bruges, I was unable to speak with the post office attendant because I hadn’t taken an almighty ticket from the machine at the door, despite the fact that the office was completely devoid of people, save Jennifer and myself.

In Thailand they had a ticketing process, as well, and an automated board to signal your turn at one of the few desks.  They provided extensive packaging, which was sold at a different desk, no ticket necessary.  The offices were usually brimming with families, friends and relatives who were talking animatedly and usually interested in seeing what I was sending and where I was from.  The greatest part of this seemingly organized situation was that you could take 45 minutes at the desk (addressing envelopes, calling friends to determine addresses, take a nap – whatever you needed to do!) and they would never ask you to move aside.  The wait was agonizing, but no one minded.  I guess that’s why they bring their family and friends.

In Hungary, in a twisted half disgruntled government employee and half unhappy Central-Eastern European fashion, the woman at the post office did not want to deal with me.   Her grunts, sighs and eye rolling were evident from the moment I stepped up to her desk, no ticket in hand.  After an agonizing few minutes of her speaking to me in Hungarian, I finally secured the boxes from her that I would be using to send my items home.  I left her desk and sat by myself on the floor and addressed the boxes and returned to finalize the process with the same joyful woman.  She grunted again, scribbled a number on a scrap paper with the amount that I assumed I owed and then said in perfect English, “You don’t need anything else.  You can leave now”.  I left feeling quite incompetent and a little annoyed.  Too bad I can’t play the “I’m a taxpayer” card here…

Great reminder on my hostel keys

After my morning of making Hungarian friends, I headed for my favorite part of most cities: the green space and art museums.  Budapest has a particularly beautiful and well-planned green space called Városliget, or City Park, which is home to the famous Széchenyi Medicinal Bath House, Heroes Square, Vajdahunyad Castle and two beautiful museums. 

As I walked through the Vajdahunyad Castle and read historical and cultural tidbits from my hostel provided guidebook, I found myself trying to appreciate how much history surrounds Hungary.  With the shifting boundaries, changing heads of states, and intermarrying monarchs I was more grateful for our “young” nations’ rather straightforward history (think pre-WWI, not today) than ever before.  The depth and detail of history can be dizzying (another reason why you should do a Free Walking Tour – they strike the perfect balance of information and entertainment!).  

After a few hours of walking through Városliget in the blissful weather, I decided to splurge on a visit to Szépművészeti Múzeum, the Museum of Fine Arts, where a Henri Toulouse-Lautrec exhibit was being shown.  Before the exhibit, I was familiar with his works but not his life or personality.  The exhibit was educational and enjoyable, despite it being days from closing and brimming with excited tourists and locals, alike.

One of my final stops of my trip was a visit to the Central Market Hall where they have endless stalls of fruit, meats, cheeses, and alcohol.  The market area is two stories and is surrounded by small food stalls on the top floor overlooking the vendors below.   They had every sort of Hungarian specialty available and even some Middle Eastern foods.  Everything smelled heavenly! 

I strolled down the Danube while heading back to my hostel and tried to recall all of the fun, misadventures, and stories from my time in Budapest.  It had been quite a whirlwind and it is still strange to think that the three different versions of Budapest could have even occurred the same city.