The 8 Day Party Known as Budapest

I was in Budapest for 8 nights, more than any other city. Yet, it seems as though I have seen less of it than any other city. I checked in to Carpe Nochem Hostel on Monday morning only to learn that the owners weren't awake yet because they had been partying at a strip club the night before. This is when I realized Budapest was going to treat me very, very well.

After about an hour of conversing with a number of the hostel's guests, owners Suzi, Ian and Aaron reared their ugly heads. Despite being completely hungover, these 3 20-somethings sat down and gave me a 10 minute spiel explaining, circling and diagraming the Can't Miss sights of the city.

Note:

****Carpe Nochem makes every other hostel at which I've stayed look like a prison. The hostel is full of single travelers and Suzi, Ian and Aaron bendover backwards to make sure we have the best time possible. They give us great recommendations for cheap, fun places, take us to the best bars and make their hostel feel like our home. They have only been open for 7 weeks, so they are still in the process of putting the hostel together. It has been a lot of fun watching the place go up, as they have painted signs for each of the rooms, designed murals and displayed various wall images.***

I digested all the information, only to realize I still hadn't slept since I left Prague. I had them make a bed for me and climbed in to the most comfortable bed I had encountered since I left California (Anyone who has had the fortune of sleeping in my bed knows what I'm talking about. And yes, I'm taking about the mattress.) The mattresses at Carpe Nochem are all therapeautic and are form-fitting. I was asleep within seconds.

I woke up at 5 and wanted to walk around the city. But my noble curiousity soon dissipated when I learned much of the city shuts down on Mondays. And it was raining. I guess it was going to be a lazy day after all.

Carpe Nochem has a tradition of making a Hungarian roast on Monday nights. 500 florints (a little more than $3) and hours worth of Suzi's slave labor later, we were treated to a delicious meal of roast pork, sauteed potatoes and boiled carrots. The hostel has been open for 7 weeks and every Monday they put together this feast for their guests. When under Communist rule, Mondays nights were unofficially the time people spent at home. The regimen has weakened quite a bit, but the policy still holds true for much of the city's inhabitants. Many restaurants and sights are closed. As a result, the fine people at Carpe Nochem took it upon themselves to ensure all of their guests enjoyed Mondays.

After the meal, we all made our way to Morrison's for karaoke. The cover is 500 florints, and if you arrive by 11pm you get 3 free beers. I love this place. I got to know hostelmates and had a great time performing a great rendition of "Hotel California". Little did I know that the words, "You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave" would ring so very true.



The next day was spent on a 4 hour walking tour. We walked around the flat, culturally rich area of Pest before crossing the Danube to make our way to hilly Buda. The tour was, as always, a great way to get a good feel for the city. Budapest is not what I pictured in my head - it's much bigger than I imagined, and it has a much stronger big city feel to it. It is probably the least touristy city I have visited.

My favorite Budapest sight was the Citadel, which offers panoramic views of both Buda and Pest from atop a huge hill. We walked there a number of times - both during the day and at night to enjoy the city lit up. It is hard to beat the picturesque scene of the Danube or the Elizabeth Bridge at night.



Over the next week, I realized Monday's festivities were far from an oddity for what was to come. I spent the next week seeing the city by day and partying at night...every night. We went to bars, clubs, pub crawls and when we didn't go out, we stayed in and played drinking games. The fine people at Non Stop Liquor know us as the people who come into their convenient store on a nightly basis to clean them out of their beer. Before you judge me, just know that beer here is less than a dollar a can. Know this. Okay, now you can judge me.

Friday was the Thai New Year. Carpe Nochem is across the street from a Thai restaurant. Parazs Presszo decided to celebrate in fine style. For 4000 florints, we were treated to an All-You-Can-Eat extravaganza. Oh, and I did mention that it was also all you can...DRINK!?? We left when we were told we had to. Rumor has it Parazs Presszo is discontinuing their New Year tradition. I heard something about going out of business, but I'm not sure. Needless to say, we did a number on this place.