August 20th and 21st: budapest, hungary

 six hour ride to budapest

The previous night was a blast. I may camp more often. I will remember to bring a sleeping bag next time. 

All seven of us jumped in the van for our next destination, Budapest. We had been travelling pretty extensively in the van the past few days. I slept the whole way there with no problems at all. We got into Budapest at 4pm. All of us previously booked an AirBnB for the two days we would be staying in the city. It turned out that the AirBnB wasn't what the photos portrayed. In the end the rooms were fine for $15USD a night.

Both nights we went out. The second night we ended up at a pub crawl that turned out to be one of the best nights I had during this trip. I met a ton of travelers doing the same thing as me. The pub crawl group went to six bars with four of them being ruin bars. This type of bar is extremely popular in Budapest. The concept behind the ruin bars is simple, the owners take old buildings and create a bar. It's that easy!  

A ruin bar via Hostelworld.com

The second day all of us took to the streets with our rented bikes to see the city. I had heard Budapest was similar to Prague in terms of architectural design. But, I had no idea how beautifully unique this city was until I saw the sunset. What a magnificent scene to witness. 

Architecture in Budapest

An apartment building amongst the clouds

A government building near the waterfront

The Shoes on the Danube is a commemorative memorial to the Hungarian Jews who were shot by the Arrow Cross militiamen between 1944 and 1945. For more information click here. 

The waterfront from my point of view looking across at the Buda Palace

An eagle holding a sword near the Buda Palace

Heading to the Folk Arts and Crafts Festival through an old tunnel via bike

The Budapest Arts and Crafts Festival

Hungarian cinnamon bread rolls

Guards watching the doors of a building connected to the Buda Palace

The Budapest skyline from Buda Palace

The sunset with the ferris wheel in the background

Overall, my stay in Budapest was fantastic. As of August 29th, Budapest is my favorite city that I've seen so far. From the ruin bars to the overall architecture of the city, Budapest has so much to offer. I can't wait to go back explore more of this alluring city.