BOOZERpest

We were tired before we'd even left for Budapest so it was comforting to know that we'd booked a bed on the sleeper train from Ljubljana at 00:15. As the sun went down and darkness was all we could see out of our train windows from the start of our journey, the lights of Ljubljana train station woke us up a little, but the lights of the 'golden arches' woke us up a whole lot more. We had a 3.5 hour wait at Ljubljana before we could get cosy and go to sleep, so we had to kill time which obviously meant eating unnecessary amounts of McDonald's. Obviously!

The drama began as soon as we saw the yellow signs. We could see at least 3, indicating that a McDonald's was in close proximity, however after following the arrow we arrived at an empty building. The destroyed shell obviously used to sell what we were looking for but had since been entirely gutted. This is a direct representation of our feelings at that moment, having psyched ourselves up for this for the entire hour journey from Bled. Gutted. As we walked solemnly out of this depressing building, we spotted a used packet from a Big Mac so our determination didn't end there. We hunted for the second sign, leading us to a third sign which was glowing like I imagine the gates of heaven to glow. McDonald's was open. So cultured we were.

After we'd stuck it out in Maccy Ds for as long/ longer than acceptable, we slowly moved to the platform on which our sleeper was due (luckily it wasn't cold). I was feeling extra sorry for myself dragging my right foot that was still very painful from my Bled injury. To add to this 'down and out' style episode, we were desperately searching for water in every vending machine on the subway, but apparently in Slovenia they prefer aloe Vera flavoured as opposed to the standard mineral water flavoured water. We swerved that horrific option and crawled into our beds hoping for a good nights sleep and to wake in Budapest feeling refreshed...

...Little did we expect our beds to be tiny slots that neither of us thought we'd be able to clamber into and up a risky looking set of stairs. I mean, it didn't look as though you'd fit a small child in the space between the "bed" and the ceiling let alone us. Every noise made by the train woke us through the night, every corner we turned felt as though the train was tipping up and all night I was reciting the headlines in my head 'girl squashed by traveller in bunk bed conundrum' because I felt (though I've lost weight) rather too large to be held by this rickety framework and felt worried for the girl sleeping peacefully below me. That said, we survived and set off to our hostel after getting an average to poor nights sleep, already deciding from the offset that we'd get a taxi on the way back. 

We'd arrived too early to check in so headed straight out for a boat ride along the river, the free welcome drink luring us in because at 11am we felt it was perfectly OK to drink wine, especially looking as rough from our journey as we did. It would make us feel better about ourselves.

On our way to check in later on, we spied a few bars featuring a sky garden, an ice bar and happy hour galore, so we decided that this would be a perfect way to introduce ourselves to Budapest. That, and my foot was beginning to become a pain so I felt alcohol would do a sound job of numbing it. 

We headed to our average hostel where they'd created a makeshift bed for us and accepted our rubbish judgement at converting what we owed in Euros to Hungarian forints (which may I add is very confusing), freshened up and went back out to suss out the cheap drinks.

Cheap they were! Especially as we made friends who insisted that they bought us drinks all night. In fact, I felt as though I came home with more money than we set out with until I checked the balance on our account - oops. Nonetheless, we had a very fun night.

We felt like being extra touristy and hitting up the 'Budapest Eye' the following day after grabbing something fresh to get the horrific taste of wine mixed with whatever else we consumed the night before. Wandering the streets in the morning, my hungover self was almost wretching at the sight of beer and wine on everybody's tables. They don't seem to have a limit to when is socially acceptable to get on the sauce in Budapest. 

After the freshest orange juice and a bottle of water I was feeling well enough to continue. Also, my foot was getting better (surprisingly considering how often I'd rolled it in the antics of the night before) so I wasn't being a cranky bitch about that anymore. We went on the eye which was a questionable experience as we got closer to the top, the carriage began to shake and the entire model creaked worryingly, but it was enjoyable and gave a lovely highpoint view of the city. We then continued our explore along the river, past a very moving World War II memorial and to the amazing building that hosts the Hungarian Parliament. Back again for a mini siesta before 'Linner' in some gardens and a bottle of wine. A perfect way to spend our final night here.

Things I've learnt in Budapest:

-bending to a right angle position when you've got a heavy backpack on makes it feel ten times lighter

-delayed night trains are NOT fun

-bed on trains are NOT fun (stick to seats!)

-we're mistaken for Aussie's more than expected

-everyone is shocked to learn we're sisters and get along(!)

-Eastern Europe is hella cheap

-sometimes it's OK to drink wine simultaneously with your morning cuppa (if you look rough from overnight trains and it's free). Also, in Budapest they all drink from 9AM anyway.

-the Hungarian flag is NOT the same as Italy's flag

-'Linner' is the way forward when budgetting (plus it leaves more money in the beverage fund)

-changing currency is confusing as