A taste of Belgrade

Sorry for my lack of updates, I've been busy having adventures! Here's a short video of Belgrade, Serbia. I'll post another soon and write a real entry. Ciao for now,

-Alicia

Budapest market, Hungary

On the first day of the year not much happened. There is a belief in Hungary though, that if your first meal of the day is lentil soup you will have riches for the year. Naturally that is what i wanted to do. My host Robert asked his mother how to cook it and we went to the store to get the ingredients. I helped by chopping onion but the recipe was quite simple Lentil soup recipe. Not much else happened this day, it was relaxing and preparing for the next country.

The next day i decided to go to the market and get my souvenirs, Hungary is famous for a few things including paprika, embroidery and painted eggs. It was a nice day so i decided to walk across the Danube river. There is a church inside a cave so i decided to check it out and from on top it is quite a nice view. After this i went to Margaret Island and walked around before heading back to the main part of the city. By this point i was quite hungry and got some Hungarian Goulash which was quite nice. Evening fell and the city lit up once again, and i finally took the opportunity to take some photos of the Christmas lights before i left. 

My final day in Budapest was super foggy, i didn't manage much before my train to Serbia so i decided to take some photos of the chain bridge in the fog. Every time i leave a country i feel like there were things i didn't get the chance to do, but that can't be helped. I enjoyed my time in Hungary and it was the perfect beginning to this trip.

Spa party, Budapest

So if you look down to my very first post on this blog you'll see that I planned to come to Hungary to go to this Sparty (Spa-party). It was called a New Years party but in fact it was on the 30th December - but that just meant extra partying :) 

On the day i decided to walk to the Spa area because there is a famous monument (hero's square) and a large park with an ice-skating rink. Unfortunately the ice skating rink was closed :( but i walked around and took some photos of the park and had a fried pancake (Lángos) with some hot mulled wine - perfect for a cold day. 

I went back to the apartment and rested for a while, it was quite a long walk and i had a long night ahead. Later in the evening i met with another Couch Surfer from the US who was also going to the event. I tried some Hungarian alcohol that was sweetened with honey and herbs and then we had some more mulled wine before leaving.

We got there late and realized that there was a massive line! But luckily Stephanie was able to get us right in somehow, so i was very lucky. We quickly got undressed and jumped into the pool, it was freezing outside so we were keen to warm up. The water was amazing and the whole place was so beautiful with the steam from the pools and the lasers. There was a DJ and two massive baths outside, the first had a jet spa thing which was fun and the second was slightly deeper and warmer. Both were nice but i think i preferred the warmer one, it was a bit less crowded (and closer to the bar). We danced, drank and took many videos with my GoPro (sadly most photos didn't really turn out but that was to be expected). Later i will make a video and upload it, probably in a few days when i am on the train). 

Overall it was a great night, we stayed until closing (3am) and then caught the tram home. I was exhausted but it was worth it, i ended up sleeping in until 4pm the next day!

Castle Hill and Szimpla kert, Budapest, Hungary

My first morning waking in Budapest: still suffering from jet-lag so waking up super early even though i'm still exhausted. Robert and I went to the supermarket and bought some breakfast. I introduced him to vegemite which he said he liked, so i was glad. My initial plan was to get people to taste it without explaining how to eat it (thinly spread on toast with butter) and be amused by their reactions but i decided that was too mean. (If you're not familiar with it, vegemite is a salty brown paste and if you try to spread it on toast like peanut butter or eat a large amount from a spoon it tastes quite awful). After this i went for a walk, bought some gloves from a second hand store and came back. Later in the day Robert and i got coffee from a Melbourne themed cafe then walked around some shops before walking up to castle hill. To get there you cross a large bridge to the other side of the city and walk up a lot of steps. But the steep journey is worth it, the view is amazing (first photo: view of the Parliament building and the Danube river). Robert told me a story about a statue of a horse, it has giant golden testicles and students often rub them to get good luck before their exams. You have to actually climb onto the horse to be able to reach it and i wasn't too game. But apparently it works. We went back to the apartment and i had a bit of a nap before we met some other couch surfers at a famous bar called Szimpla kert. It's a really interesting place, with many crazy things on the walls from a giant ear to a light up switch board that activates different things in the room. There is also various kinds of furniture including a dentists chair and a car. The whole place has a really fun vibe and good music. Later we went to a club and went dancing. Outside there are these people dressed as clowns who's whole job is to keep the people outside lining up (or leaving) quiet. They "shhh" you if you talk too loudly. After an exhausting (but fun) day, i fell asleep quite quickly. 

Arrival in Budapest!

After about 20 hours in the air, i arrived at my first destination, Budapest, Hungary. I had arranged accommodation through couch surfing and my host met me at a Mcdonalds near his apartment. I caught a bus and subway, and found the place really easily. Robert, my host, was quite friendly. He told me tales of his couch surfing adventures and travels across the globe. Later in the evening we took a walk through the city and i got to see the Christmas markets which were very beautiful with illuminations. For dinner i was invited to his co-workers dinner party and i had the opportunity to taste some traditional Hungarian food and drinks. By the end of the night i was so exhausted i could've fell asleep at the party. But it was a fantastic first day in Hungary and another reason i love couch surfing. 

A Summer Christmas

This year I had decided to spend Christmas with my Dad, who lives in NSW (a few hours from Sydney). It was to be my last stop before leaving on my European adventure and i was excited to be close to the beach this year. On my arrival I went to go snorkeling with my brother and his girlfriend as it was an especially hot day (44c/111f). I made a short video with my GoPro of some of the local wildlife including sand rays, crabs, and some water spouting coral.

 Have a look if you're interested :)

What to buy?

If you’re from Australia and travelled overseas or have been here from somewhere else you might know that it’s a pretty expensive country. When I first went to Japan I was surprised with the cost of things, it was much cheaper than I expected! So now that I’m planning a trip to snowy Europe I have to decide what I want to buy while I’m here and what I’ll get when I arrive. I don’t want to spend a lot on thermal clothing here if it is significantly cheaper over there. I went onto the tripadvisor Budapest travel forum the advice I was given was to buy there rather than here, so that’s what I’ve decided to do.

Some things I already own like good quality hiking shoes and a knitted hat but most other things I probably won’t buy in Australia, most things I will need should be available there, I hope :p That being said, one thing I am definitely bringing with me is a big jar of vegemite. One thing I love doing is seeing people’s reactions to trying it for the first time.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegemite

For my birthday (17^th December) I received some fabulous gifts from my lovely friends, including some travel items I had originally planned to buy for myself (luggage tag, travel diary etc).  A few things I knew would probably easier to buy here like personal items but apart from that I won't get much else.

So that’s it for now, I’m getting excited and a bit nervous about my trip as it is only 2 weeks away now. So much to do, so many people to catch up with yet so little time.