Spelunking Budapest!

Besides thermal pools Budapest also has a ton of cave systems running underneath the city. The staff at our hostel was able to recommend a caving tour that goes everyday. We all meet up at a metro station and took 2 buses over to the cave entrance. There, we are all given a hard hat with LED light and overalls.



The heat is intense, but as soon as we enter the cave the hot temperatures are not a problem. Our eyes adjust to the darkness and no visibility and the cool damp temperatures become cooler as we descend. Our guide explains each cavern that we enter shows us how certain formations resemble certain objects.



There is a tight squeeze that we are allowed to try. In order to fit through you must take off your hardhat. Basically there is hole on the bottom then it curves upwards and out. There is barely enough room to squeeze your shoulders through. I got stuck coming out where my entire body was out but my shins and down. My boots got stuck and all my weight was on my arms as I hung on to a ledge. Then all my weight shifted onto my shins and edge of the opening. I was finally able to get out when someone helped untangle my bulky boots that I was wearing.





While crawling, climbing, and stumbling through the cave passages we all get clay all over ourselves. Good thing that they provided us with overalls. There were roots hanging from the ceilings and sometimes water trickling down, making the rocky surfaces extremely slick. Overall it was a great experience.

Museum Night, Therma Spa, Night Photography, Oh My!

Last night was Museum Night in Budapest. This means that at night you can buy a single ticket to one museum and use that same ticket to visit all the museums of Budapest as well as you the public bus system with that ticket. We ended up checking it out briefly before heading out to a club. The main museum street were packed and tons of people lined up to see the various exhibits. We all ended up staying up really late, or should I say early so today we are taking it easy by visiting the photography museum exhibit and then going to the spa. Mark decided to stay in so it was me Nang, Gab, Marie, and Melissa.



The Szepmuveszeti Muzeum of Budapest is currently displaying a photography exhibit called Body&Soul. Gab, Marie, and Melissa leave first for the exhibit while I wait for Nang to meet up. We end up running into them at the Body & Soul exhibit. There were numerous photographs that were inspiring. The first section was all photographer's self-portraits, which really made me want to get a remote shutter for my camera. I wish I could have taken some pictures of the ones I liked as I have already forgotten most of them, but it was an extra charge to be able to use your camera in there.

I do remember one of them since Melissa actually wrote down the information for it. Violon d’Ingreswork by Man Ray, pictured below.


Budapest sits right on top of a fault line and due to this geographic fact, there are numerous geothermal spas throughout Budapest. Today we decide to visit the main one that we saw during the bike tour. Melissa stayed to check out the museum more. Gab and Marie went there first while Nang and I went on a hunt for some lunch. We finally make it to the spa and meet up with Marie. It seems that Gab forgot her swimwear and had to back and get it.





The spa charges in 3 or 4 hours intervals. You pay for the entire amount and depending on when you leave you may get a little bit of your money back. The spa is setup into three different pools. The one on the left is medium in temperature, I would name it luke warm. The on in the middle is cool and is ambient temperatures. The pool on the right is hottub hot. There is even a sign that suggests you do not stay there for an extended amount of time. There is also a circular hottub looking structure that people wade around in and if enough people are there it creates a current around that looks pretty fun.



That night Nang and I head out and take some sunset pictures of the Budapest. We arrived a little bit late and were unable to get an actual sunset. Nonetheless it was productive day. We walked around from bridge to bridge and up several different hills to get these shots. At the end of the night we were exhausted.

My good friends Buda and Pest

The only thing I know about Budapest is that it was originally two cities, Buda and Pest. That was as far as I got in my Lonely Planet research that I did back in the states. So when looking at a map of Europe and selecting another location that would bring me closer to my ultimate destination of Croatia, I naturally remembered this city. From the hearsay of fellow travelers no one has complained about a bad time in Budapest, so I assume it to be safe bet for my next destination.

Since the city came into existence because of the merge of two previous cities, I got to thinking: why does Buda get to come first in the new name of Budapest? Why not call it Pestbuda? Isn't that a cooler name? I am not sure, but it sure is mysterious. I was able to formulate my own theories as to why this city's name came to be. Budapest is split down the middle by the Danube river. The town of Buda lies on the west bank and the Pest lies on the east bank. So naturally from a reading left to right perspective Buda comes first. Just think if we all read right to left, I would have visited Pestabuda.

Tired from our train ride and my ponderings of why a city is named a certain way, I decide to take a power nap in the afternoon. It wasn't long before my dreams of pristine beaches of Croatia were rudely interrupted by the loud ramblings of three French girls who pronounce croissant without the t at the end and say deja vu with the vu ever so slightly differently that they claim that I say it wrong.

As it turns out Gab, Marie, and Melissa (the Frenchies) are actually French Canadians. They have just arrived at Budapest as well. We are all tired from our travels so we decide to take it easy for the night and just grab a quick beer. The staff at the 11th hour hostel recommended a pub nearby that was suppose to be really good. I tag along with the girls and Mark decides to stay in for the night. The entrance to the pub looks like a bicycle shop as there are several bikes hanging in a room. In the front room there are red bull girls handing out free red bull vodkas with the typical European patented exactly measured shot dispensers. After grabbing our drinks we head into the bar and realize that this pub is huge. There are several floors a big patio area with a car in the middle. We head to the top floor and attempt to 'chill' there in the muggy hot weather.





The next day we all decided that we would get up and take a bike tour of Prague. When we got to the meeting spot, we discovered we were the only people in the tour. We walk over bike garage and pick out our bicycles. The entire time the sun is beating down on us. I believe it was in the upper 30's C which equates to the upper 90's F, with enough humidity float a boat. Our guide was cool and brought water for all of us during the stops. During the middle of the bike tour I ran into Nang, from Berlin, and we were able to chat real quick and arrange a meet up later.



I brought my DSLR trying to imitate [daily dose of imagery]'s style of shooting while riding a bike. Apparently it takes a lot more practice and skill than what I have.






We cross the Széchenyi Chain Bridge and coincidentally it is Budapest's bridge festival. Basically this weekend there are tons of shops and venders on the bridge. Besides an overcrowded bridge and some performances on either side of the bridge I really don't know what the whole festival is about.






Another highlight of the tour is the castle. We bike up pebble switchbacks all the up to the Buda castle at the top. The view from the top of the castle is amazing and worth definitely worth the uphill peddle. Below is a picture of all us with our guide. The guy that took this was part of a Chinese tour group. He took about 5minutes to get the shot right.



By far the funnest part of the tour was going down hill from the castle at full speed on a winding road. At one point I felt like I should be putting a knee down during the turns. Then I remembered how bald my tires looked when I first got my bike.