Budapest (pronounced Buda-pesht) was filled with ups and downs, and probably the most adventurous city we went to. Buda and pest are actually two parts of the city separated by a river. The Buda side is very hilly, expensive and has most of the historic buildings on it. The Pest side is very flat, inexpensive, and houses more locals. Unfortunately we never made it to the Pest side. Also, Hungarian is one of the hardest languages in the world to learn. Only 14 million people can speak it.

Once we stepped off the train, we immediately began looking for an ATM. After finding one, the preprogrammed withdrawal options were: 1k, 5k, 10k, 20k, 40k, and 100k. I’m proud to say that in Hungary, I am a millionaire. The exchange rate is 200HUF to 1USD. Your dollar goes far here. You can get a local beer (which is good) at a decent bar for $2USD.

So we buy our tickets and ride the metro one stop before coming up to take the tram. Once we find our bearings and locate the direction we want to go, we hop onto the tram. The tram ticket machine was broken so I assumed you could buy the ticket on the tram. We get in and there’s a guy that has an official looking ID card attached to his forearm. He asks people for their tickets and they show him. He turned to us and I tell him where we’re going and try to purchase a ticket. Nope. At the next stop the guy orders us off the tram and informs us that in Budapest, you must buy a ticket before riding the tram. There are no exceptions and we had to pay a fine. He pulled out a notepad and the number “12,000” was written in blue pen. Reluctantly, we handed over the cash. Then the guy “kindly” gave us a ticket to our destination. We found out later that the scumbag had ripped each of us off by 6,000 HUF. After learning that, a bitter taste lingered in my mouth towards Hungarian men. It’s not fair to judge Hungarians but I just have the feeling that if you’re a foreigner and you come across a Hungarian on the street, he will try to take advantage of you.

Upon arriving at an unmarked apartment building on a small street that resembled an alleyway, I didn’t know what to expect. Instead of just walking in and asking the receptionist if they had a bed for the night, we had to buzz in. I was a little nervous at getting turned down because we had been told to definitely book ahead of time due to Noctum’s tendency to fill up on weekends. The guy who answered the buzzer let us in saying that we could stay for 2 nights but maybe not a 3rd. We scaled the stairs to the top floor and were greeted by a nice fellow named Mike. We also met Suzie the co-owner of the hostel who immediately offered us tea or water. Later she tossed us what looked like Lays potato chips but turned out to be Walkers potato chips. Spotting the pile of shoes upon stepping inside gave me a better idea of this place. In my wool socks, I slid across the wooden floor pass the smoking area, to the common area where bean bag chairs were neatly stacked next to the L-shaped couch. Across from the couch was a table where two laptops were open for communal use. Taking a left, we walked passed a small, dimly lit kitchen and approached the bedrooms and bathroom. Available were two showers and two toilets for a maximum capacity of 20 guests. The homemade, plywood lockers seemed as used as a urinal at the beach, only used by some but not all.

Placing some of my belongings into the locker, I had a pretty safe feeling at this hostel. Maybe it was due to the sprawl of clothing on the floor next to someone’s bed that gave me this reassurance. We went back to the common room when Mike called us to the smoking area to go over the administrative side of the hostel. Here Mike, explained the one rule to staying in Carpe Noctem- be absolutely silent on the stairs when coming back from the bars. Everything else goes. He also did something which wasn’t done in any other hostel. He took our passports and copied the information himself. This was nice because 1. We didn’t have to do it and 2. It reduced the possibility of receiving false information. Mike proceeded to give us a great orientation of the city, pointing out sights worth seeing and those worth skipping. At the end, he took our money and made it clear that we didn’t have to pay right then and there, another thing that set Carpe apart from other hostels.


After we were officially checked in, Matt and I decided to visit Hero’s Square. We were told that this square was one of the more impressive sights in Budapest. We also had to keep in mind the time because that night’s pubs crawl was to begin at 8:30PM sharp. Another nice thing about Budapest is that the city is extremely walk-able.

Along the way, Matt had to stop for some food as we hadn’t eaten in quite some time. Subway wouldn’t have been my first choice but I think Matt was getting a hankering for familiar food. I got a ham sandwich which as I expected, tasted like it would in the States. The only differences were the types of bread as well as the honey mustard sauce being mustardier than I’m used to.

We followed the map and took a left upon reaching the “Octagon”, a busy eight sided intersection. We continued walking, enjoying the nice architecture and mixture of tree when we came up to a small intersection that had four statues in each corner. Hmm, is this it? We buggered around while Matt took pictures and videos of the statues which weren’t entirely impressive. “This is cool but I guess I was expecting a little more,” I expressed to Matt. “I wonder what that is,” as I pointed towards a large obelisk with an angel at the top. We continued towards it until we came across this large square with statues of kings and warriors. I pointed out the obvious, “I’m pretty sure this is it”. The statues were arranged in a half circle and in the middle was a large conglomerate of heroes on majestic horses. If I remember correctly, these 12 or 13 statues represented the leaders and rulers of Hungary throughout the ages. With an eye on the time, we turned back so we wouldn’t miss the festivities back at the hostel.

We grabbed a couple of beers along the way back without regard for dinner. Our eating pattern was really messed up, well mine was. Matt bought a frozen pizza and I understand he ate part of it cold because of a lack of patience. At the hostel we sat around getting to know the other guests as well as employees. The cool thing was that the employees hung out with the guests and treated them as friends first, and then guests.

Suzie constantly gave us a countdown until “go time” so we’d all be ready and wouldn’t have to leave anyone behind. Some of the people brought back a bucket of KFC. The KFC in Budapest served French fries which were mushy and something awful. At the strike of 8:30, we gathered our footwear and proceeded down the stairs without as much as a sigh escaping from anyone’s mouth. Once we got outside, the employees led the way to our first bar. I’m going to skip the rest of the night. Just know that Hungarians love to play foosball and that we had a good time and got back safely.

A hostel with Tempur-pedic mattress pads? It’s hard for a hostel to get any better. With said mattresses, I slept in until 11:15. Dan, one of the hostel employees who cooked and cleaned for a free bed, was making pancakes that morning for everyone. For a reason unbeknownst to me, it took “Dan cakes” several hours before breakfast was served well into the afternoon.

Our plans were to go to a teahouse and then enjoy life at nice Hungarian bathhouse. We waited a long while before everyone was ready to go. In the meantime, we watched Harry, an employee clean out the ash laden fan in the smoking area. It was filthy.
At the teahouse, there were way too many tea options which spurred a business idea: a tea house in which you tell your server what kind of mood you are in and any preferences in flavors as well as flavors to avoid. Then in the back would be a tea master who would brew and concoct personalized tea for each customer. (Based on the cocktail bar that does this with cocktails.) I got peppermint tea which I’ve never had before.

A funny incident occurred when a girl and a guy each ordered a sandwich. The girl got a cheese sandwich and the guy got a ham and cheese sandwich. When the waitress brings out the first plate, she places it between them. On the platter were two slices of bread, one side had cheese with thin slices of cucumber and small bits of tomato, while the other side had cheese and some sliced ham on top. Immediately, the guy starts picking off the cucumbers and the girl asks if she can have them. She gobbles up the veggies while he combined both pieces of bread into a sandwich. A few minutes later, the girl is left wondering why her sandwich still hasn’t arrived. As it turns out, the slice of bread with the veggies on it was hers and the damn guy ate hers!

Next the parties parted in different directions: a couple was headed to Bratislava, the guy and girl mentioned above went back to the hostel, and Matt, Mike (an Aussie), and myself went to the bathhouse. The bathhouse was really cool but not at all intuitive. It’s hard to explain but just know that the process was not self explanatory and we had to ask to do everything from changing to renting to storing our possessions in the lockers. We “hired” towels and received bed sheets instead. The lady combated our complaints and assured us that towels and sheets are interchangeable, which is ridiculous. Mike also was keen enough to observe that bed sheets were for rent as well, for what reason remains unknown.

We got ourselves outside and gingerly walked across the icy waters that soaked the ground. No joke, you could feel the ice crystals as the wet ground was starting to freeze. We dumped our sheets under the outdoor shower and hopped into the heated waters. I was hesitant to put our sheets under the shower but quickly realized that only an idiot would shower outdoors in the subfreezing temperature. I was also concerned someone would steal our sheets, causing us to lose our deposit. That didn’t happen. So after wadding around in the 37C degree water and watching Hungarian men play chess in the pool, we decided to go to the next pool to check it out.

One after another with hard nipples, we scurried to the next pool in which once I placed my foot in I exclaimed, “It’s cold!! It’s cold!!” and we hurried over to the adjacent pool about 40 yards away. Oh, it felt so good to be in warm water again. The previous pool had swimming lanes which explains the frigidness of the water. The pool we had made our way into had a whirlpool which was really fun to go around in circles and occasionally bump into strangers.

Inside there were many varieties of baths as well as a steam room and sauna. We tried as many as we could before getting kicked out for closing. Once we changed and were back in the lobby, we noticed people were still in the outdoor bath. It was quite the sight to see the baths emitting clouds of steam into the dark blue sky. Looking back, they probably just closed the section of indoor baths we were in. And we learned that wet sheets are not a good substitute for towels. They certainly absorb some of the water on your body but they are so cold!

We walked back towards the hostel and tried out the Thai/Hungarian restaurant across from where we stayed. We knew the service would be slow as Mike advised us not to go there “if you’re really hungry”. It seems like we missed out on the goulash because everyone (but us) was ordering it. I tried the Hungarian crusine of mushrooms stuffed with cheese which wasn’t stellar.

Once we got back to the hostel, everyone had already gone out to for the “shit pub, pub crawl”. The explanation for the name is that on Sunday most of the nice bars are closed and only the crappy local ones are open. Matt and I needed to find a way to get to Prague before we could go out. Matt was really intent on finding either a train or a bus to Prague as early into the morning as possible so we wouldn’t miss out on daylight. I don’t blame him for not wanting to miss a whole chunk of day to travel but what we went through in the next several hours was painful. We had to go to the train station which was on the other side of town to buy tickets for the 5:30AM train. It was about 11 PM before we headed over there. Taking the tram to the subway was a breeze but when we got off the metro, we noticed a couple women in lay clothing checking ticket stubs. Oh shit. We hadn’t bought tickets this time. We each had old tickets we used earlier in the day and prayed that we’d be able to get by.
We didn’t. Slapped with another fine, this time it was the correct amount of 6,000 HUF. UGGGGH. The ladies escorted us to the ATM in the train station and waited for us to pay them.

Then I did something I really shouldn’t have because I left Matt by himself. I tried to talk to one of the ladies to try to get some sympathy from her. I told Matt to go get the tickets while I was going to go back down to the metro to see if the lady had a beating heart. After learning that she didn’t, I went back up to meet with Matt. He came back and it turns out he had gotten spooked by some guy who was following him. The creeper was repeatedly asking Matt for change and finally stopped in front of Matt and stared him down. Matt then pulled out 200 HUF ($1 USD) to give to the guy before he left him alone. As Matt tells me, he panicked and went to the ticket agent, purchased the tickets right away, and came back looking for me. It turns out he paid $100 USD per ticket which was more than double if not triple the price we had seen online. I was upset with him for several hours because he had “spent” my money without my consent.

So bad news usually comes in waves and the next wave was that the trains had stopped running by the time we had our tickets. So we had to walk pretty far around midnight back to the hostel. We took another chance and rode the tram again to the hostel without a ticket. It wasn’t possible to buy a ticket at this time as no machines worked and no one was selling them this late at night. A few hours later, we were very happy to leave Budapest and on the train to Prague.

Note: Hostel Carpe Noctem was so much better than any other hostel we stayed at, we could no longer compare it to other hostels because it wouldn't be fair.

1/23/2010 Vienna

Our stay in Vienna was short and eventful. Hostel Ruthensteiner was a really cool hostel with probably the best common room of all the places we stayed. The main attraction was a bar stocked with local beer as well as hot wine. Across from the bar laid comfy couches and coffee tables, perfect for surfing the internet if you had a laptop. Beyond the bar were standard chairs and tables, a good layout for board games or cards. Musical instruments lined the walls and the lighting set the mood for a relaxed night in.

During the life of my two “big beers” at the bar, I feel like I got to know the bartender, James. James is English and has been living in Vienna for a short time. He spends his time taking 15 hours of German class a week, working at the hostel bar 3 nights a week, and teaching English on the side to make ends meet. He lives a simple life and I can only assume he doesn’t have many possessions (based on the fact that he lives in the hostel). He likes his jobs and he doesn’t work all that much. With James being just two years older than me, there’s something about his situation that lights me up and gives me a glimmer of hope. Maybe it’s the idea that if you pack your bags and completely relocate, you can make it. Something tells me James hadn’t planned on living in a hostel before he came to Vienna. It seems that he followed his heart to Vienna and decided to stay. James is an example that I’ve been looking for to show me that you don’t have to live in your parent’s home until you find a job. Things will work out in the end.

After falling asleep quickly, the whole dorm was rudely awakened by some drunkard snoring his face off. Mind you I take out my hearing aids to go to bed and this guy’s snoring kept me up. I couldn’t handle it and showered before 7AM. Breakfast cost me 2.5 E and I got a bowl of muesli and some bread with nutella.

Once Matt was ready, we hit the streets and headed in the general direction of the Schloss Shonbrunn, a massive yellow palace owned by the Habsburg royal family. We walked around the “backyard” which reminded me of Central park more than anything. It was humungous with fountains and statues and gardens and even a zoo. We climbed a hill which overlooked the city, magnificent.

Inside, we toured the palace’s grand and ornate rooms. The palace was the essence of luxury. Rooms were dedicated to the most unremarkable things such as the Breakfast room. Most of the rooms served little practicality. They seemed to be there just to be beautiful and take up space in an impossibly large home. An interesting thing was the lack of hallways in such a place. The rooms just went from one to another. Also the heating system was well designed with large porcelain heaters built into the walls to prevent soot from getting everywhere. Charcoal could be added to the heaters through passage ways in the walls.

After exhausting the palace, we headed for the Naschmarkt for lunch. We rode the U (which you don’t really have to pay for) just a couple stops. The funny thing about this market was the lack of variety. Stall after stall would be selling the exact same kebab doners, olives, cheese stuffed peppers, falafel, and candied nuts. Full from falafel and hummus and Matt from a kebab doner, we continued to walk the streets of Vienna.

Underground, we came across the “Opera Bathroom”, a bathroom which attracted passersby’s by playing, you guessed it, opera music. Matt couldn’t resist his curiosity, nor his body functions and paid to go inside. He recorded his experience but was disappointed to find music wasn’t actually being played inside, only outside. This is when we discovered the most tragic event of the trip. Matt’s water bottle emptied itself inside his backpack and soaked nearly everything. Books were damp and his video camera screen got damaged. Miraculously, a few days later the water spots disappeared.

The opera bathroom reminded me of the travel guide I had read on the train (thank you Matt Morris). The book said there were frequent opera performances in the city and standing room only tickets could be purchased for just a few Euros. I asked Matt if he was interested and he was. Luckily, we were just outside of the Opera house and after several minutes of bumbling around, we found our way to the extremely long line. We clearly weren’t the only cheapos looking to watch Don Giovanni that night. We had to wait in line a couple hours before the performance began. Then the torture ensued. I was practically crying in the back of the place and it wasn’t because the show was tugging at my heart strings. Don Giovanni is at least one and a half times longer than any live performance I have ever seen, sitting or standing. The pain in my legs was unbearable and surrounding spectators were suffering as well. Throughout the show, people trickled out, leaving only the iron legged viewers. I’d be boastful if I told you I was one of iron legged viewers. We finished the opera but by the end I was trying to squat in the very limited space we were allotted. I couldn’t fully squat so I’d squat on one leg at a time, just to relieve the opposite leg. The experience was truly awful but the opera was great.

The next morning we caught the train to Budapest. I wish it had been that simple but after getting thoroughly lost; we made it to the station 5 minutes after the train was scheduled to leave. Karma was on our side that day as the train was running late as well.

1/21/2010 – Hostel Ruthensteiner - Vienna, Austria

Flight to Zurich

Boston to Zurich via Swiss Air. Decent airline. Falling asleep early during a plane ride = one of the best possible scenarios on a flight second to falling asleep before the plane takes off. Awoken by flight attendants carting dinner carts down the narrow aisle. Not hungry. Not hungry at all. Knowing how much they charge for in-flight meals, I had to be polite. Chicken or veggie tortellini? Choose the lesser of two evils. Best part of the meal? The not-so fresh, warm bread. Butter? No, sometimes in life you have to make sacrifices.

Nice! Sweet entertainment system with one screen and remote per passenger. Extensive options including audiobooks, music channels, music CDs, games, recently released movies, and flight info. Who Wants to Be A Millionaire. Don’t know any British pop culture. Next. Kings of Leon and The Killers—nice. Ohh! Zombieland! Movie is hilarious! This is awesome! What the hell?! Pilot rudely shuts off entertainment system as the plane descends. (40 minutes before we actually touched down. grr)

Layover in Zurich

Not as cold as I had anticipated. Deceived by snow laden ground. Then again, I didn’t go outside. The number one question that went through my mind as I watched men with handbags and skinny jeans: “European or gay?” Alcohol is surprisingly expensive in the airport store.

Flight to Munich

Jet is extremely small like the Honolulu to Hilo flight. Leather seats! We leave the earth’s crust 10-15 minutes late. The pilot pays no reguard for speed limits and we arrive in Munich on time. What is a jet’s top speed? Oh, another chocolate just for riding Swiss Air? Sweet.

Van to Salzburg

Hauled my suitcase off the serpent conveyor belt. My lock is gone. Oh well. Follow signs that resemble vans. Eye contact with a pretty blonde in uniform. What is she pointing to? Damn it. Bags are getting searched. (NOTE: Don’t look airport security in the eyes.) Security asks how much cash I have. “200 USD…Oh, by the way, do you know where the ATM is?” No reply…Ok, keep your mouth shut and empty your pockets.

Get through security alright. No ATM in sight. Headed towards doors leading outside. *slight panic* Need Euros! I concede. Exchange one Big Ben for 60 Euros. Rip off. *Takes two steps* Damn, ATM is hiding behind the currency exchange booth. Take out cash.

Find van booth, tell him “Salzburg”. Unfold and show him confirmation sheet. Driver is on his way.

Long haired dude in burnt orange, down vest arrives. “Schloss Leopoldskron?” he asks. Is that the one?I think so “uhh yeah”. Orange vest kindly takes my luggage and aggressively zips away. I follow. Damn this guy is moving fast. Dude is speed walking away with my luggage. (NOTE: Learn name of the palace.)

Half a dozen people waiting around, bored. Sorry for holding everyone up. Step into van. Driver drives like a maniac on speed. Surprised by the number of GPS units I see on the road. Don’t fall asleep, mustn’t spoil tonight’s sleep. Sky is overcast, looks gloomy, looks like smog. Reminds me of China…bleh.

Wake up in Salzburg. Damn. Granola bar Yum, almonds. How fast is this guy going?! Surprised by the narrowness of the streets and Dude’s adroitness and avoidance of vehicles.

Arrive at palace. Gates open like Angela described. The palace is pink? Lug my luggage inside. Warmly greeted by Cheryl and Karen, receptionist. Cheryl leads me to her office. *Talk*

Climb stairs to room. Caught off guard by the simplicity of the room. Unpack. Repack. Notice how low the bed is to the floor. It’s good for you.

Go downstairs to email family.

Ask reception to call a taxi. Out the door, into taxi. A Mercedes, what a nice car! “Train station”. Concerned that Cheryl mentioned there was a lot of work for me when I get back. Keep eyes on fare meter to make sure I’m not getting ripped off.

12 Euros later, arrive at train station. 6:05. Hurry!! Power walking to catch 6:05 train to Vienna. Leap onto train. Search several cars for an open seat.

Don’t fall asleep this time! Read about Vienna in travel book. Purchase VORTEILS card + Train ticket = A lot of Euros (51E). Woman next to me gets off. Pull her salami and cheese sandwich wrapper from the trash to read ingredients. No English. Damn. Won’t be able to read ingredients or anything else in Europe.

Ew, it’s snowing out.

Arrive in Vienna

Relocate wallet to front pocket. Watch for pickpockets. Where the hell am I going? Pull out guide book. Attempt to decipher map. What the hell…? Ask kebab man for directions.

Arrive at Hostel Ruthensteiner (after a wrong turn)

“Hi, we have reservations for tonight…Matt White…He isn’t here yet?” Crap.

Exhausted. Sleep or Drink and wait for Matt? Drink.

Meet friendly English bartender. Beer. Delicious. Beat him in chess. Hope Matt gets here tonight. Talk to Brazilian girl. Beer. Bathroom. Relief.

Matt!!! Thank God! We made it!