Yesterday started with some serious power walking. We probably looked like those weirdos in Central Park that walk so fast their butts swing out further than their arms. It's pretty much my fault; I thought it would take us half an hour (tops) to hike from our hostel to the bus station, and I was very wrong. It would've taken about four minutes on the conveniently located metro, but why spend five dollars when you can jog with a loaded backpack for almost an hour? We got to the station about three minutes before the bus left, drenched in sweat, and made the plane just fine. The flight was pretty short but we were all bummed that we didn't get a stamp in our passports when we landed in Hungary. I guess they're taking this whole "European Union" thing pretty seriously; we walked from baggage claim straight out onto the street. No customs, no security, no anything. Looks like we might hit five countries and only get one stamp. Dag-nerbitt! It took about .4 seconds to realize we were somewhere radically different. For one thing, the language is completely bizarre (from our point of view) and English is nowhere near as ubiquitous as it had been in Stockholm. We have zero chances of figuring out what directional signs say; you just pick one and hope you get lucky. The people, while not at all rude, are much more reserved than in Sweden. As usual we hit the ground running and had to figure out the busses, metro, and street maps just to get to the hostel. It really wasn't as difficult as I had feared and we got here in less than an hour. Some random backpacking girl was on our metro car and maintained a full-on expression of complete befuddlement from the moment she got on to the moment we got off. I've never seen anyone look THAT confused for THAT long. She looked like Penny's (Big Bang) younger, dumber sister. It was fun to watch in a sad, I feel sorry for her (but not really) kind of way. Anyhoo, the metro and busses have a distinctly 1970's utilitarian feel. Where Sweden was plush and modern, Hungary is stale and decrepit. I have to admit our initial impression was pretty bad, and I was a little worried Chelsea would hate it. Things didn't get all that much better when we got to the hostel. It doesn't look anywhere near as good as it did in the pictures (curse you Instagram!) and the cavernous building gives it a homey, jail-cell feel. The super old-school elevator is pretty cool though! Budapest's redemption came once we started walking. The architecture is unthinkably captivating, and you can't turn a corner without seeing a something visually striking. The weather is absolutely perfect which really ticks me off because I had banked on the cold. I've got plenty of heavy clothes and one t-shirt. Oops. After a quick Hungarian-style lunch we walked to the Parliament building. Quick note on the food: they use a LOT of paprika. It means that just about everything tastes like an enchilada. Who knew? The Parliament building is the kind of thing you need to see to appreciate. I saw a thousand pictures of it before we left but I wasn't prepared for how grand and overwhelming it would be. Unfortunately it was too late to go in yesterday so we planned to visit it early this morning (didn't happen, I'll explain later). From there we crossed the Danube river on one of several beautiful bridges. We really didn't have any destination in mind, we were just in explore-mode. This might be old news to most of you, but I never knew that "Budapest" is a combination of the names of two formerly separate cites. Buda and Pest were on opposite sides of the Danube until formally combined into one larger city, hence Budapest. That's your pointless fact of the day! For hours we meandered through the streets, stumbling from one landmark to the next, each more interesting than ever expected. My personal favorite so far is the Matthius Church. I've seen a lot of old churches but never anything quite like this. I think what really sets it apart is the multi-colored tile roof. I've just never come across that before. All around the church were conical lookout points, which I affectionately referred to as "cone-head things" to Brittany's chagrin. I think they're actually referred to as Fisherman's Bastion, and they give you an unparalleled view of the sprawling city below. Unfortunately it was late in the day so we couldn't go in and most of my pictures were taken in the shade. I'm hoping to go back during mid-day when the light will help the pictures do it justice. Hopping from lookout to lookout around that church may end up being my favorite memory of Budapest; I couldn't have been happier. On our way back to the hostel we had to cross the Chain Bridge (I need to do a little research on that because there are no chains anywhere, go figure). On the bridge, looking back towards the church and Buda Castle, the light was soft and warm. Thousands of small white flowers (similar to dandelions) were floating in the air and shone in the sun. It was a surreal and very romantic moment. I could definitely see Budapest as a honeymoon destination. Brittany was quick to point out that it would work for anniversaries too, so this might not be our last time here :) We've been in Europe for a few days and Chelsea still hasn't gotten to try a drink yet, so we bit the bullet and went into a Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. It was super touristy and outrageously overpriced, but she was guaranteed a decent cocktail; we wanted to make sure the first one didn't taste like ****. Everything was great (as long as you didn't look at the price tag) and she got a Bahama Mama. I got a cocktail I last had with Tim at a Hard Rock in Portugal, which brought back some hilarious memories. The girl isn't much into booze though; she drank half of it before being "full". Weirdo :). Brittany was happy to finish it for her. Back at the Hostel we discovered that it was worse than we initially thought. It's dark, uncomfortable, and weird. It had some of the best reviews of any hostel in Budapest though, so we decided we're staying at the "cream of the ****"! Chelsea will get a good story out of it... We had planned to get a really early start this morning so we could be at the Parliament building right when it opened, but instead elected to sleep until noon. This is a vacation, right? When we finally rolled out of bed I gathered up everyone's dirty socks and washed them in the sink. I have to admit I was a little frightened by the black water running off them, but after three rounds of washing they're almost (using that word generously) white again. Our water heater is busted and won't be fixed until tomorrow, but we think we can milk it for a couple of free breakfasts. The guy that manages the hostel is earnest and helpful, but i get the feeling that he thinks he speaks English a lot better than he really does. Just about everyone is like that here. We have heard some strange and funny expressions like "I hope it tastes!" (never followed by the word 'good') or "Are there any pleases?" (questions). They speak English a whole lot better than we speak Hungarian though so it's pretty hard to complain! At lunch we asked the waiter to tell us how to say thank you in Hungarian and within three minutes nones of us could remember what it was. I think it's more difficult to remember when you have no basis for knowing what letters make which sounds. I think I'll be a little more forgiving the next time my Mom tries to say something in French! From lunch we walked down the street to St. Stephen's Basilica. As usual, it was completely decked out in gold and ornate decorations from top to bottom. We climbed 302 stairs and then got in an elevator to take in the incredible view from the top of the dome. You get a complete panoramic view of the city, and we took our time soaking it all in. From there we could see just how much ground we've covered over the past two days. We've seen a LOT of this city, these blisters were earned! You're supposed to make a donation to get into the technically free-to-visit church (there is a small caped man by the entrance to stare you down and guilt you into donating) so we went in through the exit and saved some dough. It was unusually dark inside, but one relic could be particularly well-lit for the low, low fee of 240 forint: the right hand of St. Stephen! How creepy is that? Right there in a weird display case made of gold and glass is the nearly 1,000 year old mummified hand of a dead guy. Apparently they even march it around the city on holidays. Gross. Our curiosity satisfied, we left the church and boarded the funicular. It's a type of cable car built in the 1800's that carried us up to Buda Castle. Again, we were too late to go in but could at least walk the grounds and take in more staggering views. It houses the National Gallery but nothing there seems all that interesting to me. No VanGogh? Eh. We caught the surprisingly boring changing of the guard outside the palace, and then spent some much more exciting time trying to hit targets with a bow and arrow. Chelsea and I both did it (Brittany isn't a fan of humiliating fun) and it wasn't as hard as I expected. I asked the guy how to aim and he flatly replied, "you don't". Oh, I guess there isn't much to it then... We both did pretty well but nobody's going to mistake us for Robin Hood anytime soon. Next on Brittany's list was the Hospital in the Rock. I had never heard of it before and was REALLY perturbed by the $32 entry fee, but it was worth it. It's a system of caves that the government connected and built out into a state-of-the-art hospital for people injured in air raids during the war. That on its own is pretty interesting, but it got even better once the Russians took over and turned it into a nuclear bomb shelter after World War II. We went deep into the cave system and saw the supplies and equipment they actually used. There were huge boxes full of bandages that expired in 1961, all sorts of medical equipment, gas masks, full-body radiation suits, and Geiger counters. I still can't figure out why but we weren't allowed to take any pictures, which was a bit of a bummer, especially when we got into the electrical room. They are still using the original panels and wiring to power the place! That's probably more interesting when you're an electrician... Our last stop before dinner was back at the Fisherman's Bastion. I can't get enough of that spot and I wanted to see the Parliament building and the bridges lit up at night. The problem is that it doesn't start getting dark until around 9pm. We got a couple of ice cream cones, ordered some coffee, and planned out the rest of our stay while waiting for the sun to go down. It was worth the wait, and the city slowly came to life with warm, burning light. I love experiencing a city at night; it often feels like someplace totally new. After taking about four hundred pictures of the Parliament building (I think I could make a flip-book of the sun setting on it) we headed towards the brilliantly illuminated chain bridge. On the way we stopped for dinner at the first reasonably priced restaurant we could find. We hit the jackpot there (I would write the name but it's something long and Hungarian, there's no way I'll figure it out) and I enjoyed my roast goose with a glass of 70 cent wine. Apparently Hungarian wine is really taking off in quality but prices are still rock-bottom. I hope we remember where that restaurant is; I'd like to go back. At the end of the day we tallied up what Chelsea had eaten and discovered she'd had only the following: a crepe that tasted like an enchilada, an ice cream cone, coke, and sour cream donuts. Well, sounds like all the food groups were well represented, wouldn't you say? Ah, to be 17. We are AGAIN planning a very early start for tomorrow to tour the Parliament building. We'll see if Brittany responds to my morning nudges as she did today: "go back to sleep, we're on vacation!"