Budapest is the Best

Sadly I missed my night train from Prague to Budapest. With my track record of struggling so much with punctuality this is kind of surprising to me that this is my first train missed. Brenna sat up and waited with me until I left the hostel at midnight. My train was at 12:40 and I didn't want to just sit in a big empty cold train station for very long so I thought if I headed there at midnight it should be about right on with timing. I hoofed it to the metro station that would take me to the train station and just as I was walking down the stairs I heard over the loud speaker that the last train had departed and to exit the station. Who would have thought the metro doesn't run past midnight in a city that parties until the sun comes up. It had not even occured to me. So I ran up to the street and asked a taxi how long it would take to get to the train station. He just kept pointing at the metro. We had a communication barrier and there were no other taxies around. So I decided to head back to my hostel. It was a weekend so there was a chance that they were full but I didn't know any other hostels right off. So I walk and walk and walk and see a big church that I have never seen before. So now I have missed my train, have no where to sleep, carrying all my heavy belongings and on top of that lost in the middle of the night. This is not that surprising because I could not figure this city out. I got lost everytime I was by myself. And caused the group to become lost at one point as well. My hostelmates wanted to but me in a box and mail me home because they could not believe I was wandering the continent by myself. I tried to tell them that this was the first city that I struggled so much with but they wouldn't believe me. However beautiful the streets of Prague are, they all look the same! So at this point I figure I can do 1 of 3 things. Sit down and cry which didn't seem very productive. I could start wandering up and down every street looking for something familiar or I could follow the tram tracks back to the metro station and start over. I follow the tracks like breadcrumbs and found the metro station and realized I exited a different door and that is how I headed in the wrong direction. I just kept telling myself I would laugh about this later. Much later. So I get back to the hostel and they luckily have one bed left. I don't unpack and just sleep in my clothes for 4 hours and then got up and hoofed it back to the train station and actually get on a train headed for Budapest.
Ah Budapest. It was like a warm blanket fresh out of the dryer. It was better weather, so cheap and the perfect city to feel right at home. I really love that city. It's not too big, not too small. It is the perfect blend of culture. It is super beautiful. And it hasn't yet been tainted by Western Europe influences. There aren't annoying people in costumes baggering you for cheap concert tickets. There aren't gift shops every three doors blaring terrible American music. I was there 4 nights and was so sad to leave.
Everything I read said it was a really difficult city to navigate even for the most seasoned traveler because everything is so spread out. I have somewhat avoided public transportation. It really intimidates me. I will fly half way across the world but I won't get on a bus. In Paris I had Emile to map out all of my routes and tell me which lines to take and he showed me the stations. In Amsterdam I told myself I was enjoying the city and hoofed it 40 mintues each way to the Van Gogh Museum. Everywhere else has been small enough that I could get by reasonably without it. So I knew I was just going to have to jump in head first. I got a trusty map and my 3 day pass and told myself I was going to make this work. And everything worked out perfectly!!! By the last day I must have looked like such a local that a woman was asking me questions about the stops. I couldn't understand one word she was saying but I am certain that if I spoke Hungarian I would have been able to help her. I wanted to get to Statue Park where all the old statues from the communist era are displayed. If you paid $10 you could ride a bus that goes straight there. It is about 6 miles out of town. I had bought my city transit pass already and $10 is so much money in Budapest so I decided this would be the ultimate test of my skills. 1 metro ride, transfer to a tram, transfer to a different tram, find the bus station, 20 bus stops later.....I arrived! All by myself. It only took me 2 hours due to poor directions. Of course nothing to do with my navigation abilities. I was purdy proud of myself. And I was able to see the outskirts of the big city that you would normally not get to see. I also noticed this amazing ice cream shop while waiting for the bus. I think she charged me more then anyone else because I only spoke English but I don't even care. I paid $2 for 2 huge scoops of the creamiest ice cream.
I was going to head straight to Slovenia but the night before I left I was talking a girl at my hostel who has traveled quite a bit. She said Vienna was worth atleast a little bit of my time. So I gave her 19 hours and she is a wonderul Princess of a city. So prim and proper. I didn't go to the royalty quarters and see all of their lavish furnishings or the treasury to see the biggest collection of jewels and jems in all of Europe. I just don't really get tickeled about stuff like that. Seeing how ridiculous their lives were while the common people starved and slaved away just makes me feel bad, it doesn't impress me or awe me. So I mostly just walked around and read my book about everything that I was seeing and maybe spent $20 on desserts in 3 hours. The Pioneer children sang as they walked and walked and walked. I however like to eat chocolate as I walk and walk. I seriously can't stop. I have tried to cut myself off and there is no stopping me. It's just so good. Even the packaged bars from the store are delicious. I try to eat just half but then it sits in my pocket and I can't stop thinking of it so I just have to eat it all so I will stop thinking about it. I know, I have a problem.
I had to use the ATM in Budapest at a really big and busy intersection called the Oktogon which is kind of like a mini Times Square. Its a big room with glass windows on all sides. You have to swipe your card to get in and then the sliding glass doors opens. So I couldn't get my card to read so I just waited until another girl went in and I followed her in. I didn't watch her leave so when I was finished and tried to leave the door wouldn't open. I stepped back and tried to walk up to it again and it wouldn't open. So I am stuck in this glass box with all these people watching. I try to play it cool by looking like I was getting something out of my bag while my eyes darted around looking for some kind of button. The only thing on the wall looked like fire button. I didn't have much dignity left at this point so I pushed it and nothing happened. So I'm kind of laughing at this point at the fact that I'm stuck in the glass ATM booth. I finally see this little button with a bell on it. I just pushed it not even caring at this point what could happen. Luckily the door opened and I escaped. This happened 4 days ago and I am still laughing at the stupid American girl who got stuck in the ATM booth.
Soooooo, no pictures again. Sometimes the free computers in the hostels aren't of superior quality so this one doesn't allow you to hook anything up to it. Hopefully next stop. Right now I'm in Ljubljana, Slovenia. I haven't been here very long but so far I'm loving it despite my scare earlier today. I got off the train and had to set some stuff down while I called a hostel to get a room. I got off the phone and started heading down the road. 45 mintues later I realize I forgot to pick up my plastic bag that had my train ticket, ipod and most importantly my Vienese Chocolate!!!! I was so sad. But I was a big girl and just said to myself sometimes things get lost and atleast it wasnt my passport or debit card. I ended up being really lost, no surprise, its my middle name the last few days, and I headed back to the train station to start over. It had been an hour and a half since I left and didn't even think it was a possibility that my bag was still there but as I turned the corner there it was sitting right where I left it. Oh I feel like such a lucky ducky.
Caio!