I checked my e-mail in the morning, hoping for some good news on my keys. So far, I had nothing. I sent out the e-mails again and tried to relax with a hot cup of coffee.
I was pretty excited for the day. We were meeting a free walking tour at 10 so we didn't have to worry about discovering the city on our own.
The tour group met nearby the river in the center of the old town. We picked up a pretty decent breakfast on the way for under 3 American dollars.
The tour group was pretty large and it was composed of mostly young people. I found it surprising that less than half of the group was American. I guess Americans aren't the only ones who love to travel. There were people from Spain, Italy, and other parts of Europe.
Our tour guide was a short, perky Hungarian girl who was very knowledgeable about her city. With her was a guy whom I would normally avoid if I saw him walking down the streets. But, he turned out to be very friendly.
The tour crawled through the old town, down to the Danube River. There was a statue of what appeared to be a little boy but was actually a little girl. It's called the Kiskiralylany Szobor and if you can pronounce it, congratulations. It was finished just after the end of the Soviet occupation and it has since become a symbol of the Hungarian independence. If you rub both of the knees your wishes will come true!
The Budapest statues are everywhere. They really add charm to the city. Each is unique in its symbolism or superstition.
We walked along the river and over to a park. It was a beautiful day so we sat down and received a little history lesson.
Hungary has an awfully depressing history. They have been occupied by foreign powers through the majority of it: First by the Turks, then the Austrians, then the Nazis and lastly the Soviets. Each of these occupations stamped some foreign element into the Hungarian culture. The Hungarians had no choice but to adopt and adapt in order to survive. Although the means are terrible, the outcome is actually a very rich and interesting culture. This is to the credit of the Hungarians who have tried their best to incorporate their past into their own contemporary identity.
We moved through the park. To lighten the mood, our tour guide showed us the place where lovers lock their locks. I have seen this tradition in just about every European city I've been to, and each city claims to have started it.
The idea is that you and your loved one lock a lock to an immovable object with your initials or some cute quip on it. Then, you and your loved one take the key and throw it into a river or something similar; thus symbolizing a leap of faith into your eternal, unbreakable love.
If you are not so confident about your love, you can always put a combination lock on.
We went by yet another weird statue. If you rubbed this old, fat police officer's tummy, you would be certain to have a good meal. I tried taking his sword.
The tour went by a university where the tour guides had the chance to brag. Apparently, the ball point pen was invented here, along with other very useful things. I found it interesting that the Hungarian language is called the Jedi's language. They call it this for two reasons: because the language is ridiculously hard and because Yoda speaks in directly translated Hungarian!
The tour continued across the chain bridge spanning the Danube. It was a beautiful piece of engineering.
As I was climbing up the hill, I started talking to a married couple on the tour. Their son went to Madison and he was studying abroad in Prague. They had come to visit him and then go on their own little vacation. I was told to keep an eye out for him since he was going to Italy over his spring break. I don't think I saw him...
The top of the hill offered some breathtaking views of Pest.
We toured around the ancient castle and came across yet another statue. It was of Andras Hadik, some guy who did something or another for Hungary, on a horse. The superstition around this statue was that if you rubbed the over-sized testicles of the horse you would have a good sex life! Unfortunately, it is now illegal to touch the statue since, I can only imagine, too many people were touching it.
Finally, we ended up in the Fisherman's Bastion. This was a neatly preserved castle terrace enclosing the Matthias Church. It was all in neo-Gothic style, very quaint and very beautiful. We didn't go inside the church since it was going through some heavy restoration.
Supposedly, the Matthias Church was the first cathedral to start using colorful roof tiles for mosaic designs.
This concluded the tour. The guides were nice enough to show us a great place to eat nearby. They described the menu to us and even sat with u. Needless to say, they received a nice tip for their generous work.
We walked back to the Danube, crossed the Chain Bridge to Pest, and started walking towards the parliament building. It was a masterpiece and truly rivaled the Rathaus of Vienna for my favorite building of Spring break.
(Credit: en.wikipedia.org)
The architect of it tragically went blind before it was completed.
Just outside the parliament building was another interesting statue, of sorts. It is simply called the Shoes on the Danube Promenade and it honors the Jews who were ordered to take off their shoes before being killed and thrown into the Danube during WWII.
We walked around parliament and discovered another memorial. This one was for those who lost their lives fighting for independence against the soviets in 1956.
Then, we saw yet another statue. At this point, I was just trying to have some fun.
Then there was a random statue of Ronald Reagan. I guess he was a little taller than me.
We were heading back from the parliament building towards a cathedral that we had seen earlier.
The interior of this church was insanely detailed. Every piece was done so precisely. It was also brilliantly designed, letting the evening sun in perfectly over the altar. I was impressed.
I felt like I had gone too long without a drink. I remembered seeing a really neat place with a table in the front window where you would normally see a shop's display. This was perfect for people watching.
This night was the only night of the trip where I actually went out and partied. The Dreher you see here was the beginning of what would turn out to be a very long yet not very expensive night.
The Budapest nightlife is the most exciting that I've seen in Europe. Maybe, I shouldn't say exciting. I should say in accordance with my style: relaxed, fun, and interesting.
After dinner, we went to a bar. Everyone there was sitting down, smoking, drinking and talking. The music wasn't too loud and everyone was very nice. There was a little dog which kept running around and flirting with the customers.
We left this and went to a club. I danced a little but I spent most of my time watching the Hungarians play Foosball. It appeared to be the main attraction of the club.
Then we went back to the bar from last night. There was a DJ there playing some pretty good music. We just sat in the back and watched everyone go crazy. I really liked something about the people here. They didn't seem to care what anyone was doing or wearing. They were just concerned about enjoying themselves. I got the feeling that there was very little social pressures. I was surprisingly comfortable here. More comfortable than I had ever been in Italy. I didn't feel unanimously hated for being American and looking American. Instead, I felt unanimously invited to just relax and be myself. No pressures. It was see, be and do. Nothing more. I liked it.
Then again, I was pretty drunk.
I got back to Big Fish Hostel, took my shoes off at the door, hit my bed and fell asleep fast.
