On Friday, April 1st, our group visited the
capital of Hungary, Budapest, and stayed there through the weekends. As soon as
I left the train station I realized that this place is nothing like Czech
Republic. I fell in love with Prague from the first sight, whereas Budapest made
a very unfavorable impression on me when I first saw it. When we were walking
through the streets looking for our hostel, I saw many homeless people laying
on the ground everywhere. The sidewalks were dirty and some people I saw on the
streets looked very unpleasant. I felt like it was not a safe environment for
me, especially compared to Czech Republic, where I feel even more secure than
in United States.
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| Chain Bridge |
I was constantly thinking to myself: “Everything is
fine. We just need to get to the hostel, have a good sleep, and tomorrow will
be a better day.” But when we finally got to our hostel I was in shock. I am
not going to say anything bad about it because some people actually liked it
and enjoyed staying over there. It just had a very specific atmosphere, which
would not be a good fit for everyone. So, half of the night some of the girls
and I were looking for a different place to stay. On the next day, when we were
having breakfast at the café, one guy tried to steal money from one of the
girls from our group, fortunately enough he did not succeed. After this accident
everyone had enough of this city and was ready to go back to Olomouc.
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| Hungarian Parliament Building |
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| View from the Castle Hill |
However, we decided not to judge book by its cover and
give Budapest a chance to show its good side. We walked to the Chain Bridge,
which connects Buda with Pest district. It was built in 19th century
and is the first permanent bridge connecting Buda and Pest. It is a marvelous bridge
and the view from it is absolutely spectacular. On the Buda side we visited
Buda Castle, which is located on the Castle Hill. From this hill you can see an
amazing, breathtaking panorama of the Pest side of the city. You can also see a
great view of the Hungarian Parliament Building, which is one of Europe's oldest legislative buildings. This building is the most popular tourist destination and it has
become the symbol of Budapest. I would suggest anybody who plans on visiting
Budapest to climb this Castle Hill, but instead of taking lots of pictures you
should relax and enjoy the view with your own eyes rather than through the
camera lens.
In the evening we went on the cruise along the Danube
River. It was one of the most terrific experiences I have ever had in my life!
Budapest at night looks like a magical fairy tale. Everything brightens so
beautifully - it will take your breath away! In addition to the absolutely
incredible view, this cruise also had life music, unlimited buffet dinner and
some vine! There was everything you need to make you feel happy and satisfied.
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| View of Budapest at night from the boat |
It was a very productive day, we have seen many
sights, heard many stories and learned history of Budapest. We all felt that it
was a good time for relaxation. So, on the next day we went to the Széchenyi
Medicinal Bath, which is the largest medicinal bath in Europe. We spent there all
day! It was so much fun and we all were so relaxed that nobody wanted to get
out the warm waters. I finally distinguished the beautiful side of Budapest. And when I did I never wanted to leave this city!
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| Széchenyi
Medicinal Bath |
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