Part 2

Yup, you guessed it, I went. Me, Jennifer Avise on a spontaneous venture to Hungary with the thousands of other backpackers in search of a true European experience…. or just some really good music. You would think that a night train would be so trendy sitting with people from all cultures on a journey to a far away land. Ha, NO. Picture at least 150 tired, dreadlocked hippies waiting to climb on an already packed train at 2:30am ready to sit for 9 hours – or in many peoples case, stand for what turned out to be an 11 hour journey. It was quite comical to listen to the people outside of the cabin where I was SITTING (total score that I even got a seat) say that they were trying to save money on a hostel and sleep on the train. Oh so many times I have tried to explain that very same situation to clients and here I was living it with backpackers just like them. The worst was as soon as you dozed off to “sleep” there were angry border guards in your face, with guns, demanding to see your passport. If I wasn’t so exhausted I might have cared. But I did care enough to get 2 new stamps!

Upon entering Budapest it was quite overwhelming, but that might have been because I was in a “I haven’t slept for almost 2 days and I just took an 11 hour train ride phase”. Regardless, we walked down what I assume to be one of the main roads in Budapest to our hostel – Astoria City Hostel. Nothing too exciting, kind of like all other communal sleeping situations but hey it was a place to shower and drop off luggage. Then, it was time to find some goulash. Mmmmm. I had been craving it since I decided to take this crazy side trip. It was found along with Hungarian sausage and local beer and made me oh so happy – although I think that you could have put a cows tongue in front of me and I would have scarfed it down willingly.

That night was a walk through as much of the Pest side as my legs would allow. Sidenote… for those of you that don’t know – like I did not, Budapest is divided into 2 parts the Buda and the Pest side. I get the feeling that most people stay and frolic on the Pest side because that is where a majority of the main sites are. Anyways we took a long walk on both sides but there is a rather large hill on the Buda side and I was able to get a wonderful view of the Danube followed by the main buildings on the Pest side. It is hard to believe that 20 years ago this city was overtaken by communism and, as I have heard, very run down. I found it to be a bit chaotic but overall quite charming.

The next day I finally awoke refreshed. After too many days of no sleep I was ready to see more of what this city had to offer. Just to let you in on one of my travel “must sees” ….I have a small obsession with markets wherever I go. Covered markets, food markets, craft markets… it really doesn’t matter to me. Budapest did not disappoint. Despite hitting the great wall of language barriers I found it thrilling to interact with locals and have the chance to get a small glimpse of what a normal day might entail. Oh yes, and the fact that I like to think of myself as a quasi foodie required me to sample some of the local cuisine that this market offered. They had a vast spread of local fruits, pastries, spices, coffees and handcrafted goods. I do have to say that next to Florence, Budapest has the best covered market.

Next stop, the baths. Hungary as a country, and Budapest in particular is known for their thermal baths so of course on my city checklist it was a must see. 3,500 HUF (about 12 euro) and you get a locker and all day access to the pools, about 6 in all. It was a refreshing experience and the baths were very nice…. However I think that I am complete spoiled brat because I have spent the past 2 months in Cinque Terre so to pay that much to go to a bath… well I quickly discovered that unless you thrown some Enya on and add some aromatherapy candles I prefer the seaside. Also, the private women’s area where the elderly flock and flop about made me NEVER want to age. Old boobs, scary.

Feeling rejuvenated and glad to be young, Scott and I made our way back to the hostel so that I could pack before the main event. Sziget! After about a 40 minute walk we finally made our way to the boat taxi, purchased our tickets and were on the Danube heading to the island where the Sziget music festival was taking place. Coincidentally this festival is the same week as Woodstock was years ago and is a 5 day, multinational event involving countless bands from all over and at least 400,000 people. Madness is the most appropriate word to sum it up. I have never in my life been to something quite like that. It was everything that I imagined it to be – thousands of happy music lovers dancing, drinking, singing and laughing to whichever band was rocking out on stage. I had the pleasure to arrive when a Spanish punk band was on and the crowd was so into it. There even came a point when people were crowd surfing in inflatable boats, now there’s a good time. After Ska-P there was a slight break before one of the main bands I came to see, Snow Patrol. It was the perfect chance to take a quick walk around and try to absorb of much of the insanity as possible. Strange booths, disco stages, dance parties, people picnicking anywhere they could find a place to sit. It was a scene. After the little jaunt we positioned ourselves on the right hand side of the stage and took in the amazing show that Snow Patrol put on. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at how good they were. Next was one of my favorites, Lily Allen. She put on a great show. So much spunk and great sound. Even the guys that thought they were too cool were dancing to her show. Way to go Lily.

After the highlight (Lily), the rest of the festival was filled with bands I would have loved to see but had no idea who they were. I ventured to a few stages but at 2 am decided it would be best to make it back in time to catch my 4 am taxi to the airport. Enter day from hell. 4 am taxi, 6 am flight from Budapest to Milan. 1 hour bus ride from the airport to the city center. Wait 3 hours for the train. Take a 4 hour train ride. Wait 1 hour at the train station to be picked up. Baby-sit a 3 year old for 6 hours. Then 2 days later suffer the consequences of my actions. I got my travel sickness out of the way. A 6 day stomach virus. Oh good times.

We just got back from Umbria, specifically Torgiano and a stay with the entire family (about 15 people). There are several stories from there but my bed is calling me. A dopo.

JIA