Incredibly sunny and friendly Budapest. Perfect for your first trip to Europe!
This trip turned out to be completely random. Nobody planned it.
On one of my crazy busy days at work, a friend wrote to me with the suggestion "Let's go to Budapest? " I didn't have time to go into too much detail, so I said "ok".
A few hours later the tickets were bought.
And now the most important thing began: I had an almost clean passport and I was not in the Schengen. A friend was in the Schengen twice, but once she was not turned back home from the border (that's another story).
In general, by hook or by crook, by some miracle, we collected the documents and went to the consular center. This was all done at the last moment, but due to the deadlines, we should have received an answer a week before departure. But we didn't get it. There was one day left before departure, and I no longer hoped for anything, as we received an answer. Positive!
So, we flew to my first European country. ) The city struck me from the very bus that came from the airport. I paid attention to everything around: it was so different from our realities, and at the same time it seemed so natural and simple. . .
We were surprised by the controllers in the metro, who barely glanced at our travel cards (BudepestCard). I was surprised by the wide sidewalks for pedestrians and knotted streets for motorists. I was amazed by the number of cyclists and the widespread infrastructure for them. Cleanliness of lawns and streets. Lack of parked cars at the crossings and other illegal places.
It was all incredible! As for architecture, the city is simply beautiful. I remembered from history that Budapest had a great time during the attack on Berlin, there were serious battles for the city. That is why in the center many buildings of the 17th-18th centuries stand side by side with the buildings of the so-called Stalin era. And the less they are in harmony all together, side by side.
We lived on one of the streets located in the very center - on Vaci ulca, so all the main attractions were within walking distance, and we wandered around the city all day, exhausted in the evening, but we were so interested and good in this city . . we admired literally everyone around! I have a pedometer that said that every day we walked at least 20 km. We almost didn't go to museums, but just looked at the city and tried to understand it. We rode the old, old funicular - one of the first in Europe, visited the old metro line. The stations on it are all in the same manner, which is not surprising, because they opened almost all together. This branch is the very first metro line in Europe. And their trams are the longest in length, tk. it is the most popular transport in the city. Tram lines even have line-to-line transfer points, just like in a regular metro.
About the kitchen. We tried to eat at different places every day. We had a very short trip, just a couple of days, so we did not have time to visit many establishments. My friend is a coffee expert, a real connoisseur, so we visited several coffee shops. I do not share this passion, and I even like cappuccino from McDonald's, but nevertheless we found a couple of coffee shops where my friend highly appreciated their barista. I forgot the names of coffee houses, if anyone is interested, I can clarify and write to you.
From the national cuisine, I wanted to try goulash and lecho. In the restaurant where we ordered it, it turned out to be incredibly tasty, especially freshly prepared lecho. We also found a street food place, as we usually call it. Delicious burgers and great atmosphere around.
Another of the main advantages of Budapest is the guys. Around - literally at every step - you see a handsome, handsome guy with a smart face. I don’t know if they were tourists or locals, but there were a lot of them and something for every taste: strong and broad-shouldered, thin, bearded, tall, short... In general, it was a holiday! The girls, by the way, are also pretty there, but we, of course, were more enthusiastic about men and guys. ))))
This was my first trip to the Schengen area and to Europe, and I hope it opened up a series of trips to other countries and cities as well. If you have never been to Budapest, or moreover, you have never been to Europe - start with Budapest! This is a beautiful, sunny and friendly city for such "discoverers" - those who discover the world for the first time.
