(This post was composed at various points of the trip and chronicles the events of Monday 20 July 2009.)
Since I haven’t blogged in ages, I don’t know if this had been really mentioned outside the Road Trip Crew who visited me about two months ago. (Holy smokes, has it really only been two months?) My work-mate Selena had suggested to me that I join her in a tour of Eastern Europe which would cover Budapest, Krakow, Prague, and Berlin. I hadn’t really given it much thought since I’m not one to join such things with people I don’t really know. But after thinking it over and discussing it with those who visited me, I decided to take her up on her off. Phil also ended up joining the tour; the trip is organised through a company called Topdeck. Selena used it for her tour in Morocco and had been very pleased with it. Here’s hoping it lives up to its reputation as we travel on the Danube Trail.
Selena, Phil, and I split a cab this morning. I couldn’t help but laugh at the fact that i got up at the time i would have were school still in session.
When the cab driver opened the boot, I marveled at Selena’s luggage. She only has one bag; the only other person I’ve known to pull off something like that is VoW. I’m pretty impressed. I have to admit, I’m a little nervous about what I’ve brought along, but on the bright side, I think Phil’s brought more than me.
The drive to Gatwish was all of 30 min if that. Because we’re all teachers, and it’s only the first week of holidays, we did talk a bit of shop. I had to tell them about my application misfortunes after all. But then we stopped. We’ll probably drift in and out of such talk again since school is the thing that brought us together, but with any luck, we’ll meet new people on tour and be able to talk about the sights we’re seeing.
Checking-in was entertaining. We managed to be in a long-ass line, not long in terms of people so much as time waiting. I took the blame on this one, explaining to Selena that I’ve had bad luck with first experiences in England ranging from long queues to delayed public transportation. Why should my first experience at Gatwick be any different?
Once we made it through, it was pretty smooth sailing from there on out. We breezed through security, had time to exchange money (three different types!), and get a quick bit to eat. It’s the first time in a long while that I haven’t had to wait around the airport for hours on end ‘cuz no sooner had we finished our sandwiches than we were boarding the plain.
Now, maybe it’s because I’ve flown stand-by for as long as I can remember, but I had no idea that you could pick seats together check-in. I managed to wrangle the window seat; however, after take off, it occurred to me to offer the seat to Phil since the last time he’d flown was in 2001. It was a very Wedding Singer moment. It’s also been a while since I’ve flown a non-International flight. The plane was much smaller than I’m used to and full of wailing children. I can’t say it really bothered me, though, partly because one of my earliest memories of flying includes myself wailing. When the kids were calm and quiet, they were adorable There were two lovely children in front of us and behind us. You know, the ones with the bright blue eyes and the beautiful smiles.
The trip was over before we knew it. I have to say, Malev Airlines was a lovely experience. Going through the immigration (got me a stamp!) and baggage claim was pretty painless as well. We were a bit sketchy o how to get to the hotel, whether to take public transportation or take a taxi. Phil borrowed a guide book from one of our work-mates Pete and it recommended a particular taxi company so we ended up going with that.
It didn’t really cost us all that much either. I’d taken VoW’s habit of writing down expenses to keep track of things. So far, I’d spent £3 or so. Not too shabby all things considered.
Checking-in to the hostel was fairly entertaining. The reception staff seemed confused by our arrival, but it was resolved fairly easily/quickly. We all ended up in a room together. The accommodations were pretty basic; very university dorm-like. I’m glad for the towel I brought, but now I kinda wish I had a robe…and shower slippers. I think I’ll manage some how, though.
Since we arrived much earlier than the rest of the tour, we had time to do a little exploring on our own. For the most part, we picked a direction and went with it. To be fair, it wasn’t going to be that hard to navigate since we were able to get our bearing based on the Danube. And well, Phil had the guidebook if all else failed.
We wandered down along Vaci Utca, which was one of the main streets just round the corner from the hostel. It was lined with cafes and souvenir shops so it seemed like a good idea at the time. I had my fancy new camera, who remains un-named from the time being (perhaps Seven of Nine?), in my pocket of all places, so when we got to the first neat looking building, it was pretty easy for me to snap a shot. Of course, the building happened to be a Catholic church.
The interior of the Church of St. Michael was pretty cool. Selena and I went up to the alter and took a few pictures. No one else was really doing so so I only took the one of the High Alter and the Virgin Mary. I was kinda reminded of Belgium.
One thing about Budapest that appealed to me straight away was its music. There was a sign on the door to St. Michael’s advertising an upcoming concert. The program included Bach’s Toccata and Fuge (note: link does not go to traditional version, ’tis just a version I like) and Vivaldi’s Spring among other popular classical pieces. Unfortunately for me, the concert was on Thursday night, the night we would leave Budapest.
We wandered down the street a bit more then decided to cross to the Buda side of Budapest for a spell. (Apparently one side of the Danube is Buda and the other side is Pest. The things you learn…also, the Danube isn’t so much blue as it is brown.)
Whilst crossing the first bridge, we were inclined to stop for photos. I have to admit, having a much smaller camera has made snapping quick shots much easier. I took a few of the Danube and the Pest side of Budapest (all of which can be seen on facebook or flickr…as soon as I upload them). We walked along the river towards the palace (now a museum) and a few riverside monuments.
We crossed back over to Pest and took pictures of the awesome Parliament building, which was apparently modeled after the British Parliament building. The suspension bridge we crossed brought us closer to St. Stephen’s Basilica, which we dutifully took pictures of.
Since we still seemed to have time to kill, and we were all a bit munchy, we stopped at California Coffee Company for coffee and a snack. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the fact I’d never heard of the coffee chain before…and the fact that it was in Budapest. It was a delightful little respite and it made me miss afternoon coffee with my parents.
We managed to kill just about the right amount of time. I even managed to slip into a souvenir shop to purchase my mom’s refrigerator magnet. When we’d first began our jaunt, we had passed an advert for a sushi place. Jokingly, I said we should go there for dinner the following night. Apparently, this idea was taken seriously, so we walked around the corner to locate the restaurant and check out prices. It seemed far more reasonable than the sushi we would get in London so provided we had traditional food at some stage of our visit, sushi was a go.
When we arrived back at the hostel, the tour group still hadn’t arrived. Selena had been keen on finding a post office, o we thought we would go ahead and try to find one. The bloke from the souvenir shop said there’d be one round the corner, but the first time we looked we hadn’t been all that successful. The girl at reception referred to the same one but said it was much closer. Perhaps we missed it the first time around?
As we walked out of the hostel, we started to see several people gather round the entrance. They looked to be about our age so we guessed that the tour group had arrived at last. (YAY!) Since we didn’t see anyone particularly leader-y at first, Selena and I ventured forth for the post office whilst Phil smoked a cigarette. Unfortunately for us, we did not find the elusive post office. To be fair, I don’t think we were trying all that hard since we both knew the tour group had arrived. Phil had gone ahead and introduced himself to the tour group leader, whose name I would learn to be Clem, and so we just waited to get everything sorted.
It was maybe another fifteen minutes or so before we got the chance to really speak with Clem. I had the opportunity to observe our fellow traveling companions. Everyone appeared to be in their twenties; they made me apprehensive all the same. Something about the demeanor of most them reminded me too much of uni and the people I generally avoided. But, as we all know, I have incurable crazy. Perhaps I was unfairly impressing upon them a personality that none of them fit. I guess that’s what the tour would be for me to find out.
Since Phil, Selena, and I had arrived together and we’d already gotten a room, we didn’t have to worry about random room assignment. We chillaxed for a spell since we had some down time before we were due to meet Clem — she wanted to take us through a few things before dinner.
By the time we were due in reception, we were pretty ready for dinner. Clem took those of us just joining the tour down into the common room, which was all kinds of disconcerting with its creepy lighting and dilapidated furnishings She ran us through some essential information and told us we’d need to fill out a few more forms. It was during this time that we met our coach driver and fellow tour guide Seb. However, the time was too near to meet up with everyone else so we did not get the chance to properly fill out our forms.
The restaurant wasn’t all that far from the hostel; it seemed to be a cozy place called Fatál. A few of us couldn’t help but chuckle at the name and hoped it wasn’t an indication of the after effects of the food. Most people gathered in their groups, so Selena, Phil and I managed a table together. One of the other new guys joined us as well. No one was really sure how the whole dinner thing worked since there were menus all set out. Usually, for a group meal, there was supposed to be a fixed menu. This was not the cast at Fatál. Clem said that Topdeck would cover any main up to HUF 3000, but drinks were on our own. I wanted to try something “traditional”, so ’twas the beef gulyás (goulash) for me, and as it turns out, the whole table.
I wish I could say that we had a scintillating conversation…but such dialogue did not transpire. There was talk of school mostly and I felt badly for Rob since he was completely out of the loop. We managed to steer the conversation towards travel, since that was something we all had in common. Not the most stimulating topics, but it seemed to work.
Now, when we first sat down, it seemed like we were in a pretty good spot. Our order was taken relatively quickly and our drinks had arrived not long after placing the drink order. We’d even seen a few others who’d ordered only a few minutes before us have their food brought out even before everyone else even finished placing their initial orders. We waited patiently at first, but then it became pretty obvious that something had gone wrong with our food when tables who’d ordered long after us started getting their food. The waiter had to come back and check what we’d ordered, but only after Clem and Seb had to say something. At least, I think they said something because thy both commented on our lack of a main course. I couldn’t be all that annoyed, though, because I’ve forgotten to put in orders before, especially when it’s been busy with large groups. By the time the food came, just about an hour had elapsed and most everyone else had finished.
On the bright side, the food was awesome and full of flavor. Selena described it as rich, but that’s usually an adjective I associate with sweet food, not savory. Regardless, it was pretty freaking good. (Dunno if I’d say worth the wait, but it was still tasty.)
It was two of the other travelers’ birthdays, so Seb and Clem bought a birthday cake for them. I wish I could say we knew whose birthdays it was but we’d only just joined and knew all of three people by name.
Not too much happened after dinner. It was still relatively early, so Selena, Phil, and I decided to take a light stroll along the Danube in dusk. I took a few snaps of the city at night, but then we retired to the hostel.
So far, not a bad start to the trip!