Traveling to Budapest

8:14

The time I woke up.

24 minutes until departure

Though I don’t recall ever sleeping through an alarm, I did just that the morning of my trip. Panicked and confused, I jumped out of bed and scrambled to get ready enough to leave and order a taxi.

8:25

The time I darted from my apartment.

13 minutes until departure

I hopped into the taxi and somehow pieced together in Finnish that I was in a hurry and needed to get to the train station quickly.

8:35

The time I arrived at the train station.

3 minutes until departure

In the end I was able to make the train with 6 minutes to spare since it was 3 minutes late. As a person who is almost always on time and even more punctual for traveling, this was extremely anxiety-inducing! Instead of doing work as intentionally planned, I took some time to decompress and enjoyed breakfast in the restaurant car. The thought is that I overslept due to not sleeping very well during the past week and going to the sauna the night before. Those both can drain you in a unique way.

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So let’s back up. To celebrate the end of our first period (quarter), fellow friend / Fulbrighter Erica and I planned a trip to Budapest, Hungary. Since our exams were earlier in the week, we were able to use the other half of exam week for a well-deserved vacation. Erica found a cheap flight to Budapest for only €11.23. Accompanied by the return flight for €37.52, these were certainly my cheapest flights ever purchased.

But first we had to travel to Tampere, a city about 250 km west of Lappeenranta. Narrowly caught first train and two transfers later, Erica and I arrived to Tampere around noon. We met up with three other student Fulbrighters and hung out for most of the day. We ate lunch, walked around the city, hit up an observation tower as well as a sky bar, and ended with a game night at one of their apartments. At the end of my two years, I will definitely remember this amazing Fulbright community!

At 10pm, Erica and I departed for our 2.5-hour flight to Budapest. As the taxi drove us through the city and along the river to our Airbnb, I was in awe of how beautiful the city was. I couldn’t stop gasping or exclaiming my wonder. While it was in a great location and our host gave fantastic recommendations, our Airbnb wasn’t as wonderful. Though clean, the place just wasn’t that nice and the couch bed didn’t work as advertised. But we didn’t let that get in our way.

Day 1

Throughout the trip we followed restaurant suggestions for breakfast, Hungarian, and other food places provided by the Airbnb host, Hungarian friend, and tour guides. We started off the day by taking a walking tour where we learned some Hungarian history and saw important sites of the city. Then we got gelato and walked up this big hill, where I unfortunately began feeling twinges in my knees and ankles from past injuries. The trek was worth it to see the Liberty Statue, Citadel Fortress, and amazing view of the city. There we really noticed how hazy and polluted the air was, a fact that had initially confused us. Back down the other side of the hill, we walked over another one of the city’s many bridges and experienced the bustling Central Market Hall. After eating catfish paprikás and admiring the Parliament building by night, we headed back to the Airbnb, where I had to work on an assignment. I don’t usually work when traveling, but it was exam week after all!

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Day 2

The next day started off by touring the magnificent Parliament building, which looked entirely different in the daylight. After lunch we entered St. Stephen’s Basilica, and I was reminded of the amazing churches I saw while studying abroad in Spain. Finland, a nominally Evangelical Lutheran nation, doesn’t exactly have the same caliber of churches as these Catholic-dominated countries. On the flip side, we went on a Jewish quarter walking tour later in the afternoon. There we learned a more gruesome part of Hungary’s history, as a member of the Axis powers during World War II. At the end of the day in the same neighborhood, we visited one of Budapest’s many ruin bars. These bars are a unique part of the city. They were first established in the Jewish quarter after the buildings were abandoned and left to deteriorate post World War II. The bars, all different, feature an eclectic mix of decor ranging from old cars and bathtubs to sit in to any imaginable flea or dumpster object hanging up on the wall. See more here.

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Day 3

Budapest is known for its thermal baths so of course we had to visit one during our trip. After walking about 3 km along Andrássy Avenue, Budapest’s main boulevard and World Heritage Site, we reached the city’s biggest and most famous bath: Széchenyi Bath. For a little under €20, we could spend all day in the bath’s 21 pools, saunas, and more. While we tried a few of the indoor pools and saunas, our favorite was definitely the outdoor section. At 24° C or 75 °F, we marveled in the sun’s rays and relaxed in the warm pools. Living in Finland, where the cold has not even begun yet, has really made me appreciative of such weather! After four hours at the bath and a long walk back, we chilled out in the Airbnb a bit before dinner. Later we tried a “chimney cake,” a sweet dough covered with cinnamon / sugar, often sold on the streets. And finally we tasted a selection of Hungarian wine, which I learned is a big deal. Along with the sun, I will surely miss the city’s cheap prices, a rare find in Finland.

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Day 4

On our last day, Erica and I parted ways for a few hours after breakfast. I enjoyed a pedicure and massage at one of many Thai massage businesses scattered around the city. Next I met her at Szimpla Kert, the most famous ruin bar. Amidst the crowd of people, I observed some of the eccentric decor I mentioned earlier as well as a market that happened to be taking place. Then we visited the Shoes on the Danube bank, again forcing us to reflect on the atrocities committed against the Jews. Lastly we tried lángos, a fried dough topped with sour cream, cheese, and more.

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As predicted by the weather forecast, it was snowing when we arrived back to Lappeenranta. A sheet of snow, about an inch, covered the ground. Unbeknownst to the passengers, there was a small celebration planned for Lappeenranta’s first flight from Budapest (it’s a tiny airport). Two airport employees greeted us with a “Welcome to Lappeenranta” banner. Inside we were met with a cake, champagne, coffee, and tea. It was all pretty funny, considering the warm, sunny conditions we had just left. But I guess a 20°C temperature drop can be improved with cake!