Farewell Party

The Erasmus Student Network hosted a Farewell party for us "Spring Semester" kiddies last night. It was in the middle of the woods on the Buda side of the river. Literally the most terrifying location ever, and the reason behind our costumes. My group of friends & I dressed up under the theme of "occult". We had Irene dressed as Mistress of Doom, Sophie as a zombie housewife, Robyn as a zombie Alice in Wonderland or Alice in Sunderland and I myself went as Wednesday from the Addams family. We all slathered on the talcum powder as Budapest was strangely lacking in any form of face paint and use lipstick for blood smears. Safe to say we looked super scary. My lovely friend Audi did all my make up for me and made my eyes suitably horrifying! 

Mistress of Doom, Zombie Housewife, Alice in Sunderland & Wednesday..

Audi had also organized for us to have a grand entrance to the party! He hired a limo for us which drove us around the city, stopped occasionally for picture taking and then drove us to our party location. It was easily one of the best nights here in Budapest. Nothing like shouting "Jo Estet" to unsuspecting Magyars from the roof window of the limo! We had a blast and managed to terrify all our peers at the party. We all looked fabulous and rocked the night. 

The Final Countdown.

I only have a few more weeks left in Budapest but they're going to be my busiest here!

I begin final exams next week and that will last for 2 weeks. I have 5 exams to take and so have a LOT of revision to do! Luckily my exams are spread over 2 weeks instead of a UCL special of having all my exams on 3 days. 

Dressing up as a hipster for a party here in Budapest

After my exams are over I have a small group of friends from school coming to visit me here in Budapest and I'm very excited to see them & show them this city! Then I'll be back in England and my Year Abroad will be over for good! Scary but exciting! 

A hop across the border.

W for Wien!

Over this weekend we took a short mini-break to Austria and hopped on a coach to Vienna. It was a 3 hour drive there and the differences between the two cities was vast. The best way to describe the differences is to think of Hungary as East Germany and Austria as West Germany. In terms of the Soviet Union & that history the relationship was essentially like that. But given that there used to be the Austro-Hungarian Empire - it's easy to see who did the best out of that one! 

Jumping for joy in the capitalist & Western paradise of Vienna

We experienced a wide variety of weather conditions over the weekend. We had blaring sunshine & heat, we had overcast skies, we had torrential rain and we had just glum drizzly conditions. It was a mixture - but made the choice of clothing rather more difficult. Safe to say running through the rain in shorts & a hoodie to catch our bus home definitely gave me pneumonia. 
We had a really great weekend and did lots of fun things. The only sad thing was that I was struck down with flu and so spent most of the time sniffling and coughing. Something which has only worsened on my return to Budapest. Once again I manage to find myself struck down with severe flu - not an ideal situation given that I have 2 weeks of final exams beginning next Monday. My body certainly has great timing! 

Making daisy chains in an Austrian park at the StadtFest.

We took a bus from Budapest to Vienna which is the cheapest option and also pretty speedy. We spent Saturday afternoon wandering around the city and exploring the beautiful streets. The affluence of the city was easy to see, especially via shop windows and the smartly dressed natives. I found it especially comforting to be in a city where I could understand the language - I learnt German at school and so found it easy to get back into the swing of Deutsch. 
We found that there was a Stadt Fest Wien happening that day, a city wide Festival, with the art festival beginning in Vienna on the 11th May. There were a large number of exhibitions, mostly about sports offering opportunities to try those activities. There were freebies being handed out - including copious amounts of Austrian Apple Juice. There were festival style food trucks & benches, along with folk music & light rock bands playing. It was a really nice afternoon of relaxation and we all had bratwurst for lunch!

In one of the mazes at the Schloss!

We headed to our hostel which was on the outskirts of the city at the metro stop Hütteldorf to freshen up and drop off our bags and from there we headed back into the city to catch the end of the Stadt Fest. We managed to see the 2011 Austrian Eurovision entry giving a concert and they were wildly popular! We went to sleep very early that night as we were all exhausted!
On Sunday morning we spent the morning at the Schloss Schönbrunn which was the Imperial Summer Palace and very impressive. Luckily the sun was shining and we saw the palace & gardens in all their splendor. We walked around the gardens & woods and stopped for a little picnic of strawberries (probably illegally as I'm pretty sure we weren't allowed to sit on the grass!). After that we left for the city and headed to the MuseumQuarter for a long and slightly late lunch. We strolled around the MuseumQuarter and saw an art & craft exhibition and other interesting cultural exhibits. 

The palace as seen from behind the fountain.

Unluckily it started raining just as we headed to catch our coach and we were soaked running to the bus! But once we arrived back in Budapest it was 9pm & still 25º.....! It was a fabulous trip and I really like Vienna! Definitely one of my top 10 favorite cities! 

Jenson Button in Budapest?

Over the bank holiday weekend (27th-1st) there were a lot of things going on in Budapest. Vodafone was hosting a weekend of activities to mark the improvement of their network within Hungary. 
This culminated on Tuesday with a little bit of street racing in downtown Buda, featuring Hungarian drivers from various different motor sports and the special guest of Jenson Button in his McLaren F1 car!

One of the roads that was closed & barriers erected along was actually the road that my friends live on - Alkotmány Utca so that was quite handy. We did have the option of watching from their balcony but chose to stand on the street to feel part of the atmosphere & also to catch a few rays of sunshine! 
We got to see Jenson drive by in his F1 car several times and he even slowed down & did a few burnouts on Alkotmány Utca meaning that we got a good close up of his car and our eardrums were nearly blown from the noise of his car! 

After Jenson had driven by there were various runs made by Hungarian & British drivers in different cars - Rally cars, Porsches, Lotus's, Motorbikes....Off road vehicles. The Hungarians in the side lines all gave loud cheers when the recognized a famous driver! After they showed off - including doing a number of donuts in the middle of the street. 


Jenson also did a drive by in a big van with the door open so we got to see him smiling and waving at us as he drove by. Unfortunately I had to give my camera to my little brother and thus was only left with the camera on my phone which is less than efficient. Thus I tried to take a picture of Jenson driving by but only managed to capture one which included his arm. Though - an arm is better than nothing!

It was a beautifully sunny day in Buda and I was definitely sweltering - out came the shorts and the bare white British legs. Something most definitely to be proud of here in Hungary!

P.S.

Just to make you jealous, we're currently experiencing beautifully sunny and warm weather here in Budapest and this weekend it's supposed to hit at least 25º! 

Hasn't rained for months.

Home sweet Home

I made a brief visit to England over the weekend to help celebrate the 21st birthday of one of my closest friends. It was my first experience on Easy Jet - nevertheless the less said about that the better! I had a whistle stop tour of the countryside and London-town. Barely had any time to think because I was hustling and bustling. Managed to visit my Grandparents and fit in a little shopping given that I was in need of a new pair of jeans! Spent Friday & Saturday in London in the comfort of my friends from school. It was lovely to see all my Wycombe friends and have a jolly time together! I was sad to leave on Saturday, especially as I had to leave halfway through lunch in order to get to Gatwick on time! The upside to the trip was that more of my friends have been inspired to come visit me in Budapest at the end of May! Something definitely to look forward too. 

With 2 of my friends Gbemi & Navka on Friday night. "Ladies in Red"

It's unbelievable that I only have one more month left here in Budapest and then I'll finally be back in the UK. I think the time will fly by due to the fact that I have 2 more weeks of classes and then exams start! It's amazing how fast time goes by if you're busy with things! Can't believe that my Year Abroad is nearly coming to an end! 

At Krysha's party in the Millennium Gloucester Hotel, Kensington  

Hungarian Digs

I realized that I haven't gone into detail about my living situation here in Budapest. The housing situation here is amazing. There are a lot of apartments and houses which are cheap, easy and convenient to rent. I get the feeling that there is a surplus of housing here. Even across the road from me there is an empty & derelict building which probably houses at least 6 apartments. 

View from the balcony to the right of the street

I'm living in an apartment on the 3rd floor - it's a 3 floor walk up, no elevator here! Some of my friends have the luxury of an elevator, but I think it's better not to have one. Means I'm getting a nice leg workout when I trek up & down the stairs! Though it is annoying if you have to go down to collect pizza delivery!
The flat is in the 7th District, which is the Jewish district and housed the Jewish Ghetto. It's a vibrant and interesting district with lots of beautiful buildings and interesting vintage bookstores. 

The Front Entrance for our building

I live with 3 other people. A French, Belgian and Dutch. The latter being a girl and the other 2 boys. This Year Abroad is the first time that I've actually lived with boys so everyday is a new experience. Safe to say that I have been spoilt by being able to live with girls for so long! Boys really are the worst, especially if they're not house trained! My French flatmate is a particularly good cook and he's marginally more house trained than the Belgian, but they're not as bad as they could be! I definitely lucked out on that. 

Our street to the left of our entrance. The Ministry for Transportation is the building on the right!

We have 4 bedrooms of various different sizes, a large kitchen/living room and a large bathroom with a  separate toilet room. It's a nice and spacious apartment with high ceilings and we also have a balcony. There are wooden floors throughout and chandeliers in each room. Definitely makes it feel more fancy that it is! I would imagine that during the Soviet times this apartment would have been occupied by a lot more than the 4 people currently!
It's a really nice apartment and it's amazing that it's so big & spacious and yet the rent is so low. Unbelievable!

Weather

I know it seems boring and old to talk about the weather but whilst Moscow's had an unfeasibly cold March, we've enjoyed a super sunny March here in Budapest. The past 2 weeks have been glorious. Everyday it's wonderfully sunny and bright and I don't think I've seen a cloud in the sky for a while now! I regularly walk to school in only a t-shirt! I take a hoodie with me in case I have class late because it gets a little chillier in the evenings, but doesn't require anything other than a hoodie or a cardigan.

Bright blue sky as seen from my balcony!

The sun is brilliant because it's not violently strong which means I don't need to panic about wearing sun screen! Thus far I haven't got burnt and I spent all Sunday afternoon in the park with my friend. We went to work in the park because it was far too nice outside to sit cooped up indoors! Plus we wanted an ice-cream!

Enjoying an ice-cream in the park with Robyn!

St Patrick's Day in Budapest

On March 17th we celebrated St Patrick's Day here in Budapest. I know what you're thinking....celebrating an Irish day in a non Irish country, but a lot of big cities now get into the swing of St Patrick's celebrations. It's quite a lot of fun and Guinness is supposedly healthy so that's our excuse anyway. The sun's been shining in Buda for the past two weeks and it's even gone over 22º here!

The bar where all the action happened - music & dancing inside!

We went out on Saturday to the pre-organized St Patrick's Day parade. It started in the heart of the city near the Parliament and ended up at Deak Ferenc Ter where there was a party and lots of picnicking in the park. We strolled along soaking up not only the sun, but also the wonderful party atmosphere. Everyone was in a jolly mood, sipping various alcoholic beverages, yes I was enjoying a Guinness myself, and an ice-cream! There was plenty of green, with people decked out in green clothing, some even dressed up as leprechauns! There were stickers and balloons handed out, hats given free on the purchase of a pint of Guinness. All very lovely. 

We tied an empty Guinness can to some balloons and set it free!

When we arrived at Deak we met up with other Erasmus students and all settled into the park for the afternoon. We enjoyed some Irish music and Irish River Dancing inside the bar which was next to the park. Luckily I didn't get sunburnt but I was designated as the 'artist' for the day and was made to draw lucky clovers on the faces of many friends and some random Hungarians who saw me and liked my work! I failed to mention to most people that I was using permanent marker, just to see their reaction the next day! 

Robyn drawing a clover on my face!

It was a really fun day and I got plenty of stares walking home with clovers on my face clutching a bunch of orange, white and green balloons!

Enjoying the sunshine with my friends!

National Day!

Eagle of freedom on a statue at the National History Museum

Today is a national holiday here in Hungary - Nemzeti ünnep. It's in memory of the 1848 Revolution. Essentially it means that everything is shut down - even the supermarkets! Hence why we had to rush out at 8pm last night in a panic to buy food because we forgot the supermarkets would be shut today. Stressful. The public transport is working, but on a Sunday schedule which means it's slower. 

Liberty Bridge decked out in flags

The city is also decked out in flags. I think patriotism is definitely bigger on the continent than over on the island of freedom, le United Kingdom. They definitely put more effort into national holidays and decorating the city. I don't think I've ever seen this many flags or such a show of patriotism in the UK. EVER. There were a number of protests and demonstrations taking place all over the city and most especially at the Parliament. The President even gave a speech outside the parliament and there was a rock concert going on as we walked past. I couldn't imagine a rock concert being held on the steps of the Commons!! 

front entrance of parliament, decked in flags & with a casual rock concert!

The atmosphere seemed really jolly throughout the whole city, my friend and I just strolled from mine to the river, then up to the parliament and just soaked up the day. The sun was shining and it was pretty warm. Apparently tomorrow it's supposed to make it up to 20º but we'll wait and see on that one! I didn't bring any sunscreen with me so that could be interesting. There were lots of people strolling about wearing little flags on their person, carrying flags or placards. There was also a large police presence and a number of streets had been shut down, probably just so that the police could control the traffic and people more easily. Logical I guess. I didn't see any violence, which had been expected, but I guess I could have missed it or it might happen later today. Who knows! 

even the trams had little flags on them! cute!

Parents in Budapest

I was visited last weekend by my parents here in Budapest. They stayed on the historical side of the Duna river in Buda - I live in Pest. It's where all the cool kids live!

We had a 4 day whirlwind tour of Budapest and luckily the sun stayed for the entire time! The weather wasn't warm enough for shirts & shorts, but it was enjoyable, sunny and bright. It means I'm able to wear my tweed jacket now instead of wrapping up in my winter coat. 
My parents stayed in the fabulous Hotel Gellért which was ironically right opposite (with a river in the way) my university! A short 2 minute walk over the bridge and I was at their hotel. Their hotel was dwarfed by a hill, called Gellért hill and it's named after Gellért because he was some guy who was thrown off the hill to his death. I think it was politically motivated. I'm not sure of the specifics. Google will provide the interested with answers. 

The outside of the hotel Gellért

Their hotel also boasted the best and fanciest baths in all Budapest! We ventured down there on Sunday afternoon - which was family day and thus the baths were not separated into sexes, otherwise Daddy would have had to be on his own! We climbed to the top of the Gellért hill and visited the citadel, including the WWII bunker museum. We visited the House of Terror museum, a Hungarian museum set up to honor the victims of the Nazi & Soviet tragedies here in Hungary. It is quite horrific to realize that the poor Hungarian nation was taken over and dictated for over 50 years. These people have suffered horrendously and I would urge anyone interested to look into the suffering here. Budapest seems overlooked in the scale of things, but seeing as I live in the Jewish quarter now, it is scary to think that this would have been part of the Jewish ghetto. It was a truly humbling experience visiting this museum, but it was also fantastically well put together and made a big impact. 

Candles lit to honor the memory of those murdered between 1940-1991

We also toured the Castle district and the palace. Visited the St Stephen's Cathedral, the Parliament. All the big sights in Budapest we saw. We also tasted a lot of fantastic Hungarian wine and attempted to eat as much Hungarian food as possible. Though seeing as I live here now, I hungered for big steaks and non-Hungarian food!! We went for lunch/tea at Gerbeaud which is a famous cake maker here in Budapest. They had a wide selection of cakes, macaroons, lunch sandwiches, drinks and puddings. It was so hard to decide what to eat! I ended up having deliciously rich chocolate cake for dessert which was divine! The decor in the tearoom was spectacular and very plush. It was a great experience. We were positively gobsmacked by the choice of desserts that they had on offer. I think I'll be making return visits there! 

Cakes galore. 

I had a great weekend and it was a joy to treat my parents to the delights that Budapest has to offer. We did a lot of walking and sightseeing - my parents even mastered the public transport system! The glee on my mother's face when she was taking the tram was unmistakable! 

Once I said goodbye to my parents on Monday I came straight home and fell fast asleep at 5pm for at least 2 hours! I was absolutely exhausted from my weekend of sightseeing. Two weekends on the trot, whilst recovering from illness, doing extensive sightseeing have definitely worn me down! Safe to say I'm spending this weekend working, relaxing and recuperating! 

Excuse my lack of posts

I think it's been about 10 days since my last post and I apologize greatly for that. I got struck down with bronchitis and a horrific cold - all in the run up to my 21st birthday. I spent about 2 weeks in bed most of the time, coughing, and feeling very sorry for myself! Luckily I perked up just in time for my birthday and enjoyed celebrating with all my new friends in Budapest. 

view of Buda from the palace

I was visited by my friend Marta from London for my birthday and she stayed 3 days with me here in Budapest. We had a sight-seeing overload during those days and I gave her a whirlwind tour of Budapest. The weather was reasonably ok, cold but sunny and bright. Just meant we walked a little more to keep warm, my bangs were ruined and our faces were flushed pink. Oh being an English Rose!

view from the Citidel of Parliament

I'm looking forward to welcoming my parents to Budapest this Thursday and hopefully they're ready for my "guide to Budapest". It involves a lot of walking!