36 hours in Budapest!

Italy is famous for its cuisine, Spain for the nightlife, Switzerland for the scenic view, but I didn’t know what was Hungary famous for. The only thing I was looking forward to doing in Budapest was to take a thermal bath. It is so relieving to know that you are going to a location to relax and do not have a time-crunched itinerary. 

When we got to Budapest, we didn’t have any Hungarian Forints. I used Apple Pay for the most part and cash in euros for some purchases. It is also on the affordable side than other countries. We got a nice hostel with a private room called Wombat’s City Hostel. The location was perfect, we were on a busy street with restaurants in every direction. We checked in with a delicious Boba that I had been craving, and had Langos that looked similar to pizza for lunch! I’d highly recommend booking a Prosecco cruise that takes you along the Danube River in the evening. That was definitely my highlight of the trip especially when I saw the Parliament light up from the cruise. 

While I was trying to stay calm as we decided to walk back to our hostel from the cruise stop, I just had to use the washroom. After multiple rejections, I was successful in my attempt at McDonald’s. MCD is always for the win. After having some wine and chips we decided to walk a shorter walk again to this place called Szimpla Kert which was popping on a monday. There were a of different pubs and you could try a local beer or two too. 

From all the pictures I have seen on social media, I knew I had to go to Széchenyi Thermal Bath when I was in Budapest. We took a metro that had two officers that we took tickets from, instead of like a ticket booth or even a place to scan a ticket pass. The metros seemed tinier to me but it was the cutest thing ever! I was in love with the metros there. We reached the thermal bath and paid like 35-40 euros for a whole day. There are quite a few people, and the water is really warm as expected. So we spent about three hours there, with a short relaxation span among my friends.  

We roamed around and shopped for a little bit after a tiring thermal bath. I kid you not, warm water makes you dead. Laying down on my bed that day was the best feeling ever. We ended the night by getting drinks at this fancy place called Rumpus Tiki Bar. I would highly recommend checking it out! There was a game arcade nearby that we ended up at after drinks, and the inner child in me was so happy after that. Also, ended up the night with some pizza kebab which is a must-eat in every European city we visit! 

PS. There was a flea market when I got to Budapest right across from my hostel, and I got a film camera for almost half the price after bargaining. If you like cameras or jewelry, look into flea markets in Budapest because buying fridge magnets and even stickers from there was really fun since the people were friendly to talk to.