School’s out, the sun’s out – it’s summer! You finally have a few weeks to take the dream vacation to Europe. Before you go, make sure you’re prepared for what to expect from summer in Europe. 1. Air Conditioning Is Not Used As Much As in the US Europeans, in general, are much more tolerant of the heat than in the US. If you must have air conditioning, make sure to double check that your hotel offers it – and definitely check if you’re using AirBnB. For places that have AC, know that it won’t be turned down quite as much as it would in the US. I heard many…
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Spreadsheeting: How Much I Spent in Budapest
Budapest was another one that was definitely not on the original plan, so I didn’t initially budget for it. But, as I was spending extra time in Europe, it seemed like the perfect city to visit – and it was! It was pretty budget-friendly as far as Europe goes, and it was a beautiful, fun city! In all, in 3 days in Budapest, I spent $264.61. How did that work out?
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Buda Castle, Matthias Church and Fisherman’s Bastion in Budapest
When you’re walking down the Danube, besides the Hungarian Parliament, the one building you can’t help but notice is this grand castle on the top of the hill – that’s Buda Castle. It overlooks the Chain Bridge, and as soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to go up and see it! You can get there a variety of ways – there’s good old fashioned walking, a funicular railway (that I believe is in itself a UNESCO site), and the bus. It didn’t look high enough (to me) to merit the funicular, so I decided to take the bus. You can catch the bus at a square just…
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Budapest’s Amazing Parliament Building
While I was in Budapest, I became obsessed with their Parliament building. It’s absolutely amazing. First, it’s giant. It’s so hard to describe how big it is, and maybe it’s a trick of the imagination, but it seems MUCH bigger than the US Capitol building (nobody tell our current president that or we might find ourselves with an expansion project).
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Budapest Along the Danube
Budapest was my first “real” Danube experience, and it was so fun to see the river that has so many stories associated. There are six bridges over the Danube in Budapest, and each one has its own unique character. I loved just walking up and down the river and exploring. I even took to taking some morning runs out along the Danube. Seriously, there is nothing in the world quite like having your morning run on the Danube. The people who live there are so lucky! (Though it did remind me of morning runs along Bayshore – and there’s nothing quite like that either! I’ll be happy to be home.…
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Thermal Baths in Budapest!
When I got to Budapest, I knew there was one thing I absolutely had to try – the thermal baths! A holdover from Turkish influence, Budapest has many public baths. They all have multiple pools that are heated or cooled to different temperatures, and you can go from pool to pool. And if you know me well, you know there is nothing I love more than a long bath with a book! There are two bath houses that are best known – Gellert and Schenzyi. I decided to go to the Schenzyi baths because that’s what my hostel recommended. I woke up and went first thing in the morning to…
