Budapest Continued

Alright, time for the big update.

My second day spent in Budapest wasn't that eventful. I leisurely woke up and made some breakfast, watched the news, and drank tea until about 10:30. Sometimes you just have to decompress. I made some eggs but they turned about really bad because the pan was a piece of crap and I didn't have any butter, so these English girls were laughing at me behind my back. Too bad I spit in their coffee when they weren't looking.

I pretty much spent the day checking out Budapest on foot. Some of things I saw were the Grand Synagogue (which was right by my hostel), St. Stephen's Cathedral, the Opera House and the Chain Bridge. Budapest is actually two cities (Buda and Pest) separated by the Danube River (which is never blue). I was staying in Pest, which was the more major city area. Buda is much more hilly, and is home to some of Budapest's most famous views and buildings. The shore is met by a really steep hill that most people took a funicular to get up to the top of. But being poor, I walked to the top myself. It wasn't that bad - the path was covered in trees to shade me from the sun.

Once at the top, I had three major sights to see. The first was a big cathedral (forgive me for not knowing the same) that was mostly under construction. The scaffolding obscured the the good views, so I did my best to snap a photo of it. The second was Fisherman's Quarry, which surrounds the church. It's sort of a decorative wall that crowns the hill. It's where a lot of famous pictures are taken, so I took one myself.

The last sight I saw from up top was Buda Castle. This place was absolutely huge, and although I didn't feel like going inside (another art museum), the outside was spectacular enough. I especially liked this dramatic fountain of a hunting team.

After walking around shops for a while I went down the hill and crossed back over another bridge to get back to my hostel. The other bridge allowed me to get some good photos of Chain Bridge, which is the most famous bridge in Budapest.

On the way back I was starving, and I told myself I would go to the first kebab place I stumbled across. What a mistake. Although it was pretty cheap, it was the worst kebab I have ever had the misfortune of eating. I knew right away it was going to be bad when I saw the meat shavings laying stale on the metal plate. This is the first key to a good kebab. Before I tell you the rest, I should go over what exactly a kebab is. A kebab is a giant cylinder of compressed meet, roasted on a spit and then shaved (either by a big sword or an electric shaver) into a pita, burrito or sandwich. Inside they usually put lettuce, tomato, hot spices and some kind of sauce. The keys to a good kebab are as follows:

1) Kebab meat is freshly shaven. This way it's not laying next to the kebab getting impossible stale while the rest of the meat maintains its juicy goodness.

2) Sufficient meat is provided. A kebab on a spit is an impressive size, and I hate it when they are skimpy on the meat. It means you have to rely on the crappy vegetables and mystery sauce to fill you.

3) Not sloppy. A sloppy kebab is a sloppy effort. Either they put way too much meat in (which is usually an acceptable sloppy), or way too much sauce (unforgivable). Sometimes this is complimented by a very poor quality pita that is not meant to hold such greasy goodness or the burrito is airy, bendable and loose, depending on the variety of kebab you order.

4) Properly organized. All the ingredients should be mixed so the first bites are not all lettuce, tomato, meat, etc. It should be consistent till the very last bite.

Now I hate to say it, but this kebab failed on ALL FOUR of these requirements. When I ordered it, I shuddered as she threw a small pita into the microwave, filled the pita to the brim with sauce and vegetables before putting the meat in, shoveled stale, hard meat into it (I could hear it scrape against the metal), and then topped it off with a generous helping of mystery sauce. She even had the gall to wrap the pita in paper, as to provide me with a wall of sorts to keep the overflowing pita contained.

Now she probably thought she was doing me a favor filling it to the brim. When I got it, I'll tell you the truth - it didn't look that bad. The meat was on top (remember, bad) and it was practically spilling out of the pita. What could go wrong? Everything. Removing the paper to try and eat the meat was a disaster, and I spilled half of it on the floor and my pants. Then, after getting the pita to a manageable size, all that was left was saucy lettuce, and I felt like I was going to throw up. No joke, I didn't even finish it, and walked down the street and ordered chinese food and ate that instead back at the hostel.

I plan on writing her a nasty letter.

That night I did some laundry and watched soccer and prepared for the next day, which was going to be pretty busy.

I had four things planned for that day. The first stop was the Grand Synagogue. The inside was spectacular, and outside they had a very thoughtful memorial to the victims of the holocaust, a metal weeping willow with names engraved on the leaves. Upstairs they had an exhibition on the Jewish Ghetto in Prague (not sure why exactly since I was in Budapest), but nevertheless it informative and really sad. Some of the stories I heard from the exhibition were really intense.

The next stop was the Terror House. This, without a doubt, is the coolest museum I have ever been to. The site of the museum is the former headquarters of the Secret Police for the Arrow Cross Party and the Soviets. This is where they used to interrogate, torture, execute and imprison hundreds of people. The first three levels were dedicated to Budapest's history during WW2 and the Soviet Era, while the basement was specifically about the building itself. I wasn't allowed to take any pictures, but you can see some of the exhibition here. The downstairs had cells with pictures of the people that had been housed in them. It was very, very creepy.

My third stop was the Szechenyi Baths. Budapest is famous for its assortment of Turkish baths, I wasn't going to leave without visiting one of them. I didn't feel like worrying about taking care of my camera there, so I'll just link to other's photos. The bath operates year round, and is a collection of about twenty different medicinal baths, fed by hot springs. They range from cold to really hot, and they even had a circular bath with a current that swept you around in a circle. Inside they had more baths, as well as saunas, steam rooms and massage parlors. I spent about three hours there, and it was great.

My fourth and final stop of the day was a concert. I try to make at least one concert while I am in Europe, and I have never been disappointed. The tickets were a bit expensive, but I knew it was worth it since I was seeing Mozart's Requiem in St. Stephen's Cathedral. I paid for a crap student ticket, but once I saw the lack of security, I walked right up to the most expensive seats and watched the show from there. The inside is beautiful, and the concert was one of the coolest things I have ever heard. The sound reverberated from above, as well as to the sides. Being inside such a cathedral for a show like that is the best way to hear it.

After the concert, I headed back to the hostel, picked up some cheese and wine, and watched soccer until I went to bed. It was definitely one of the best days I have had traveling. A great mixture of sight-seeing, education, relaxation, culture, wine, music and sports. A good precursor to Vienna.

Oh yeah, and I didn't actually spit in their coffee. Who do you think I am?