Hungary? Try Budapest!

This weekend, about 14 of us decided to take the train to Budapest while we have a free weekend. We had to wake up at 5:30 Saturday morning in order to make it for our 7:06 train. For the record, I'm really, really not a morning person. Luckily the train ride was beautiful on the way out to Hungary, so it was pretty entertaining.

The view from the train car. 

The train itself was packed, and we all kind of had to split up in order to get a seat. I sat in front of a lady that had a dog with her. Dogs are everywhere in Europe, which I love. Usually you don't see them on trains though, so I thought it was funny. He had his own seat and everything. After awhile, we stopped at one of the stations and I watched as a girl got up. She bent down to pick something up and... it was a pet rat!! A long white rat! She just put him inside her jacket and zipped it up! Animals galore on this train!

So we finally made it into Budapest, and we all went to the ATM to get our new currency: Forints. We hopped on a tram and somehow made it to our hostel. It had started raining at some point, but Abby and I decided to go explore in the city center. With umbrellas up, we made it to the subway station and miraculously, we made it to the center perfectly. We walked through the fashion district and went and walked along the Danube River. We dove into a café for a late lunch and some Hungarian beer. We decided we'd take the dinner cruise on the Danube. We walked around for awhile and pretty soon we were freezing cold and wet. We were so wet and my poor boots were falling apart. We went into Humanic and we both bought a pair of rainboots. Those boots served me well! Dry feet is key while exploring! We went to another café for some dessert and coffee. It was finally time for the dinner cruise, but once we got there, they were sold out of tickets already! We decided to head back to the hostel for the night.

One of the statues near St. Stephen's Basilica. 

The next morning was Easter Sunday. Seven of us decided to go to mass at St. Stephen's Basilica, the huge Catholic Church in Budapest. After Church we got tickets for the Bath House, and the dinner cruise.

In front of St. Stephen's Basilica on Easter Morning. 

 The spa was pretty interesting. It was a network of different pools and hot tubs, all with different minerals and purposes. Our favorite one was a HUGE hot-tub, that was probably the size of an Olympic pool.

One of the outside pools in the bath house. This pool was warm, but not hot.

This pool was the hottest. It was crowded because it was so cold outside!

After spending the afternoon at the spas, we went back to the hostel and changed before our night on the Danube River. The cruise was amazing. We were all handed champagne when we got on the boat, and we were seated next to a huge window. Although it was raining a little bit and it was chilly outside, we were nice and toasty inside. The food was a huge buffet of Hungarian courses: goulash, dumplings, pork, chicken, beef, and an array of desserts. It was SO good. We all gorged ourselves on the delicious food and couldn't get over how beautiful the view of the city was from the river. We had a great night together.

The girls in the subway on our way to the Danube.

During the dinner. (L-R, Hayley, Abby, Evan, Jed)

The beautiful Parliament building. It's the second largest parliament building in the world. 

The group of us on the Danube River, after a full day of activities!

--Author's Note--
Budapest was a beautiful city, and there was so much to do! Luckily, my parents visited me in May, and I was able to spend a couple more days exploring the city with them! :)