Hungary for Some Buda and Pest

Wow my sleep schedule is crazy out of whack.  It is about 3 a.m. here right now and although I slept for a little while I am wide awake now. Ben on the other hand may just now be falling asleep for the first time. #nsync....not really!

So, we arrived on time in Budapest despite our best attempt at missing our flight. We flew via easyjet which is a crazy cheap regional airline in Europe. We flew them from Amsterdam to Geneva back in 2007 for like $30. This trip was a bit more ($325) due to the late booking, but that price on about 36 hours notice would never happen from Denver to Chicago so I am still impressed by the cost. The flight attendants seem to speak about every language needed, a skill and knowledge I find thoroughly impressive.

This post will be sans photos as I haven't taken any here yet. I will share some soon. We arrived at 3:10 p.m., took the train into the city and found a room before heading out for some items like shampoo and shaving cream and picking up dinner and a bottle of wine to enjoy in our room.

We are staying at the Connection Guesthouse which was an accidental find with great reviews while on our way to check out another hotel. Despite a somewhat sketchy entrance and intro via street intercom, it is very nice and comfortable. There are two bars down on the street which are full of energy until early morning, even on a Monday.

So far I love it here. The city is beautiful and I'm eager to explore tomorrow. Everyone has been so friendly and helpful and I felt almost immediately at ease in this big city as a result.

We bought a three day metro pass at the equivalent of about $27 for the both of us. We took bus 200E away from the airport, the line ended where we connected to the train to the city. All was very easy thanks to great directions from the public transport kiosk helper lady who got us off in the right direction.

Upon arriving at city center we spoke with a nice guy selling a hop on/off bus tour. When I told him we were from Iowa/Colorado his eyes lit up and he asked about South Park. At the moment I told him I had been there he seemed as excited as if I had said I'd been to the moon. I couldn't tell if I dashed his dreams when I told him the real town was not much like the show.

Strolling the narrow streets near our hotel is fun, like we already have our own little neighborhood in Budapest to call home.

Some other quick details:

• We did not have to show our passports at the airport when entering the city
• The airport is small and was easy to navigate
• So far, everyone we have encountered speaks English
• This is the first time we have ever visited a city/country that has a history of communism, more to come on this history in future posts
• Dinner of two sandwiches and dessert at the small grocery store was $2.67 paired with a $5 bottle of Hungarian wine which was selected because there was only one left, which clearly meant others liked it
• Budapest used to be two cities: Buda and Pest (pronounced pesht) which are divided by the Danube but one city today

Ben is finally sound asleep, a group of drunk guys are passing on the street below having a great time, I still am not tired. Can't wait for tomorrow!