As warm as the welcoming on the first day in Hungary was, as cold stays the weather for a few more days. Cora is especially suffering, because her rain jacket just leaks and she is not a nordic type like me feeling comfortable below zero.
We are both often already exhausted in the early afternoon. So Komarom with its sulfuric thermal baths is a good next stop on our way towards Budapest. We don’t take much pictures and just cycled our way through bad weather just to get closer to the Hungarian capital.
For the last night before Budapest we have Esztergom in mind where we arrive barely escaping a huge storm behind us. We only get a little bit wet and quickly find a place to stay. Only then we realize what a beautiful city Esztergom is. A lot of old buildings with their facades crumbling away just to create an even better look. I was thinking about some new pubs in Mannheim, where they purposely try to create this worn down look. Here in Hungary they would like to see their facades fixed. Funny how perspective changes a lot.
The next day before we continue to Budapest we explore the cathedral on one of the hills around Esztergom.
TV was there probably to broadcast the Easter mass in this huge cathedral.
The last day to Budapest is cloudy but almost no rain. We slowly enter Budapest which gives me – for the first time on our journey – the feeling of being far away. We both have never before been to Budapest and the style of the city is just a little bit different from everything else so far.
We book an apartment for 4 nights just to relax after these exhausting days and to have enough time to explore the city. Budapest is great. We were in Amsterdam last year and I would say it has a similar charisma. Pubs, cafes everywhere. I also visited a Turkish bath just next to our apartment.
The ruin bars are like the facades in Esztergom. The walls are worn down, with doodles and words written all over them. There is not a single part left out. Also every corner, every empty space is filled with some sort of art or just crazy stuff. You like these bars the moment you enter them.
Let me just conclude that we enjoyed this city very much. Pictures cannot give you a real impression of it. And this blog is not supposed to be a city guide nor do I want to show you bad pictures of this beautiful city. There are better photographers out there. So here is just our good-bye picture for the photo album. Of course with one of the most famous buildings, the parliament.
We leave Budapest while it is still raining but soon the clouds are gone and it gets pretty warm. Only a week ago we couldn’t think of swimming in the Danube. Now we do but only for seconds and to wash ourselves. Southern Hungary is lovely. The Danube has natural shores lots of trees and wide fields. The local teenagers probably have a different view and leave the villages. Already one fifth of the hungarian population lives in Budapest and on lots of houses you can read „ELADO“ which apparently means „for sale“.
But for us it was a dream come true. We pitched our tent every night at another beautiful spot and made a bonfire. I think in this case pictures speak better than words. Enjoy!
And we build up castles
In the sky and in the sand
Design our own world
Ain’t nobody understand
I found myself alive
In the palm of your hand
As long as we are flyin‘
All this world ain’t got no end
All this world ain’t got no end
