We stumbled upon yet another gem. Albeit hot, we managed to find an Airbnb with AC that was optimally located to everything we wanted to visit. Budapest is split into two provinces, Buda to the west of the river, and Pest to the east. Buda is the older part of the city that is more residential and home to the castles and old churches, while Pest is the urban city center where the nightlife is and where our Airbnb was.
Knowing how much a good cup of coffee and flaky pastries mean to me in the morning, Sam took me to the Espresso Embassy. They make perfect cappuccinos and banging pastries which became our morning ritual for our few days in Budapest. From their croissants to their cardamom brioche buns, there wasn’t a single thing I tried that I didn’t like. The people who worked here were so sweet and friendly, and even though we were there only a few times, they remembered us and made us feel right at home.
Caffeinated and fed, we set off exploring. Buda Castle doesn’t look like much from afar, but when I got up close, I was mesmerized. It’s beautifully designed with gardens and courtyards throughout that are used today for special events and concerts. Part of why I loved it so much is that it didn’t look like all the castles we had seen so far. The Budapest Art Museum is located within the castle walls and we spent a few hours walking around the art gallery, which completely drained me of all energy. We sat down for a lunch at Bereg Bar & Cafe, a hidden garden bar, and hung out for several hours eating goulash and sausage and drinking Hungarian beers. Â My favorite was this plum beer — it was part fruit, part lager, all sour.
Since Sam still wasn’t feeling 100% from his cold, Â I decided to go up to Cathedral Hill while he stayed back. I left our place and had about a 30 minute walk across the river to get to Cathedral Hill. Ten minutes into my walk, the sky darkened and unleashed a downpour like I’ve never seen before. Darting from one building’s cover to the next, I was hoping it would pass and I could be on my way, but it only got worse. I watched as the sky lit up in flashes and listened as thunder cracked and growled. I slowly made my way home trying to dodge the rain by waiting for small breaks but it was all for not. I got home soaked down to my underwear and squishing around in my shoes.
Our final day in Budapest was spent lounging around waiting for our 6p night train to Split. After a slow breakfast of cappuccinos, croissants and doing our laundry, we were on our way to relax at Gellert Baths. As we walked through town, Sam pointed out a very swanky photo shoot at a cafe across the street — any idea who it is?
The Gellert Baths consisted of an outdoor wave pool, dry saunas, steam rooms, cold baths, indoor pools,and several thermal baths. We completed several rounds around the complex and particularly enjoyed the sauna/steam room to cold bath to thermal pool sequence which we did many times before calling it a day and getting ready for our train to Split.
Rambling Rambo 