Budapest Bound and Boarded

So unfortunately with all the hanging out, I did not get to pack so in the morning I woke up at 7 and showered/packed. I had made plans to meet the Italian girls downstairs but unfortunately I was running 5 to 10 minutes late and so they were gone when I got to the lobby. I said goodbye to all those around (getting ig bear hugs with my backpack on) and left for the bus stop right by the dorm. As I was walking up the bus I needed was just leaving. What a bummer I thought, I would just have to catch the next one. So I waited half an hour, took the bus to the train station, a little worried I was going to miss my train. Come to find out though that my train was delay one hour! But at least at this point I had met up with the Italian girls. So we waited and finally we boarded the bus and found out the all the compartments were fill. So we stood/sat in the hallway. Fortunately about half way though some seats open up but not enough for everyone so I sat and slept in the hallway for the rest of the time. The trip was about two and a half hours. Our train approach Budapest and I confirmed with the Italians that I would meet them as we got off the bus. I was kind of in a bit of a predicament because my original plan was to crash on someone’s couch but that fell through and so I hadn’t booked a hostel. (I know I am crazy stupid but this is what happened) So my thinking was I could go with the Italians and see if their hostel had any beds and if not I was hoping that the staff might have a suggestion on where to go. So the Italians had booked at two different places so I went with the two girls in a taxi to their hostel. No one was there. They called and the guy said that they had listed a later arrival time so it would take him an hour to get there. All this made the Italians very upset and we thought we should get a café at the little dinner next doors but then we realized we had no money… since Hungary doesn’t use the Euro; they use the Florint. So I decided to be proactive and go find a nearby atm, one because we had an hour and two because I was really thirsty. I found one but then I was in a bit of a predicament because 1 euro equals about 277 florint… how much should I get out?? So I took out 1000 florint which I soon learned was nothing (my water was around 400 Florints!). The guy finally arrived and after a few minutes of confusion he understood and said he would make some calls for me. In the end he found me a place at one of the oldest and most well known hostels in town. So I got on the metro (my first time on the metro!!), went two stops, got turned around a bit and finally got to the hostel… all this time lugging two bags around. When I got here I told him who I was and we got started making the reservation. He told me 15 euros a night… which is quite high but I just want a place to sleep. I said ok and asked if I could pay with a card and he said they preferred cash and I said I don’t have enough can I pay with a card and he said no. I was a little mad because two seconds ago he said I could but didn’t prefer it. So I was now on a mission to the atm. This time I calculated how much I thought I would need for the next two days and got that. Back to the Red Bus Hostel it was, I got my room (which is a nice little room with four beds), got on the free wifi, and promptly booked a hostel for Krakow (at a much better rate than this one. (Please don’t worry so much I am using a site the Italians suggested and cross referencing the site with the actually travel book I have. Both of the hostels were good enough to be noted in the book so I am pretty satisfied.) A shower and I figured I should try and see some of the town even though it was going on 6 pm but first I needed some food! I found a place that the map suggested so I wandered over there, passing many good  looking places on the way, one especially catching my eye. I decided if I didn’t like the looks of the other place then I would circle back around. I didn’t like the looks of the other places so I came back to this nice little restaurant nestled in the corner. Here I had golash soup (fanatastic), bread, mint lemonade, and this very thin pork fillet with  homemade fries. The main dish was a little too oily for my liking but the meat was really good aside from that. After I found out that the name of the restaurant was Bob’s Restaurant! Not a Hungarian name but the food was pretty authentic… as far as I could tell! Then I walked down the main thoroughfare toward Hero’s square. The main street was beautiful and even the walk there was great. I really enjoy Budapest’s landscape because there are very old buildings all around with domes and towers creeping up behind more modern buildings. It is great. On my walk, I also noticed a few things. I thought there were a ton of bikers in Bratislava but here every third person had a bike… or a dog! And there were a good number of people just roller blading around. Also, there were a lot of random drunks with bottles of alcohol walking around or sleeping on benches. Overall, it was nice to be out, walking around and the sun was down by the time I made it to Hero’s Square but I think it was even more impressive. It was this giant open square with huge monuments that were all light up it was amazing. So I wander around here for a bit, taking pictures, and just enjoying. On my way back to the hostel, I stopped for some water: 150 Florint. See I told you I got ripped off. I made it back to find one of my roommates. A nice Chinese lady who works in a bank in London. We chatted for a while, I wrote and went to sleep. I have a lot to do tomorrow!