My Hungarian adventures began with a train ride from Vienna to Sopron to Szombathely where my Camino friend Timi was waiting for me. Though traveling alone is fun, it is also such a great feeling to know that someone will be waiting for you when you step off the train. Since we were in Szombathely, we figured we'd walk around there a bit and have dinner. I prepared myself for the new language by learning how to say "I don't speak Hungarian" in Hungarian. As we drove to her hometown, Sümeg, I attempted to memorize the names of her parents, 3 sisters and 3 brothers. I actually managed to learn all their names. Her family was so wonderful and welcoming. Her parents and youngest siblings don't speak any English, but we still had fun at meals with the help of Timi's translations and me trying to learn some Hungarian phrases. My pronunciation (or lack thereof) is usually good comic relief for everyone. Over the weekend, we visited the castle in Sümeg, which is the central landmark of town and absolutely gorgeous. And once you are in the castle, it's not even just a boring abandoned castle. They've got drawbridge demonstrations, chickens and ducks, games, a blacksmith, and a café. Timi's sister used to be a guide there, so we had fun letting her show us around. Their brother works at the castle and he showed me how to shoot a bow and arrow. Definitely the best castle I've been to! In the afternoon we went to a horse show (mostly put on for the tourists staying at the hotel at the base of the castle). It was so freaking awesome. Many of the riders were professionals and really impressive. They had to do crazy hard tasks like shooting a bow and arrow while riding a horse or catching rings on a sword while riding. On the first day of spring, we went hiking in the mountains filled with bear's garlic (a lovely vegetable I'd never heard of but that they eat in Austria and Hungary). We also visited lake Balaton and soaked up the lakeside sun. I wish I could've had more time in the beautiful Hungarian countryside and with Timi, but it was time I to continue my adventure.
I survived a four hour bus ride to Budapest and after a couple unwary minutes of being on the wrong road I eventually found my hostel. The next morning I walked down Margit Island, which is some huge island in the Danube that people go running and walking on. I just spent some time walking around the Pest side of the river (Buda and Pest used to be two different cities separated by the river). In the afternoon, I met up for coffee with Roland, my trip leader from a group trip to Romania. It was cool to meet up with him after 5 years. Made me realize that 5 years seem to have flown by. At the same time, so much has happened and changed in 5 years that it feels sort of far away too. Anyways... On the second day, I rode the yellow metro line, the oldest metro in Europe. The rest of the day was filled with lots of eating. I met up with another friend from the Camino for lunch and then went to a confectionary for tejberisz (rice pudding). I spent the rest of the day walking around the Buda side of the river, which is on a hillside with a beautiful view of the rest of the city. My final and most lasting impression of Budapest, may however be the flower shaped ice cream.
Life in the Castle
Livin' on the edge at Lake Balaton
Heaven in an ice cream cone
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