My first experience traveling abroad was to France in 2006 (when I officially got the travel bug). Since then, I’ve wanted to go back and see more of Europe. However, with the euro and dollar exchange rate at $1.60 this summer, I decided to stick to the outer edges of the EU that don’t use the euro yet. By starting in Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, I didn’t have to cringe every time I made a purchase, but still had the convenience of being in the EU. Turkey was my next stop, and while not quite Europe, it was an amazing Read more…

This morning, after a quick trip over to the Jewish Synagogue, we walked to the Budapest train station. After a short train ride, we arrived in Eger, Hungary. It’s the third most visited city in Hungary, with a lot of history. The downtown area has been revamped quite a bit and is a cute “village town” style, but quite touristy and sterile. The downtown area seems too cleaned up, with syrupy-charm, instead of Old World charm. After visting the castle (where they defended from the Turks in the 16th century), we walked to the Valley of the Beautiful Women for Read more…

What do you call a party at spa? A Sparty!  It sounds like a joke, but Budapest frequently has sparties.  There was one at the Szechenyi  Baths yesterday, which I missed. So today, I decided to check out the Gellert Baths across the bridge on the Buda side of town. Glorious! It is indeed like swimming in a cathedral.  I swam in the indoor area (very cold!), before wandering around by the wave pool outside and laying out for a bit.  Then, I checked out the Turkish baths area, (which were almost boiling), among others who were all different shapes, Read more…

I tried finding the outdoor market today, but I ended up walking to the wrong bridge, so instead I walked back to the Deak Square area and took the metro to the House of Terror. What a chilling place. Budapest has such an amazing history. It was such an advanced and prestigious city before the wars and communism.  I rode the metro back out to Hero’s Square and City Park. The metro line that goes out to the park is the oldest metro line in Europe (according to the Hungarians). At City Park I took a picture of the Anonymous Read more…

I arrived in Budapest yesterday afternoon and crashed at my hostel. Although I usually try to get out and do something to fight the jet lag, I just wasn’t up for it. The hostel, Budapest Bubble, I’m staying at is really small and personable. After grabbing some coffee at the hostel, I headed up to the Deak Square for a city bike tour. I had a little extra time so I grabbed a yogurt, banana, and water at the supermarket. Budapest is slightly cheaper than I thought it would be. :)  The bike tour ended up being a lot of Read more…