Disclaimer: all the bar and restaurant names are based off of my shit memory and lots of Google map searching if I didn’t write it down. I didn’t write a name in any of my blog posts unless I was at least 95% confident that it was correct to try and avoid steering anyone in the wrong direction.

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Day 4: Banska Bystrica, Slovakia and Budapest, Hungary

Slovakia

We left for Budapest nice and early. We had a planned stop in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia for a few hours in the middle of the day, and I was so excited. Slovakia was one of those countries that never even crossed my radar until I signed up for the Eastern Trail tour.

Even though we left early, it’s hard to get a good sleep or stay asleep on the bus, so I was dozing in and out of sleep but also taking in the sights that we were driving by while I was awake. In those moments, I was so happy to be on a bus because you never would see half of the sights you see on the bus if you were flying from country to country. I really feel like we got to see so much of each country even if we were just stopped there for a few hours.

“NAAAAAANTS IGONYAMA BAGITHI BABAAA” blared through the bus speakers, and we had arrived in Slovakia! Banska Bystrica, is a little fairytale, old-school town, especially the area near the town square where we were directed by Rob. It was a very gray day when we were there, so it was kind of depressing at first.

We didn’t have too much time here, so we all wanted to make the most of it. And by make the most of it, I mean grab some lunch because we were all starving. We all grouped off, as we normally did, and wandering around to different parts of the city in search of some food or maybe even some booze.

My group wandered into this deli-looking place with lots of different trays, and we all thought, perfect: lots of options for everyone to choose from. Nope. We got closer to the trays and it all looked like mush and slop. PASS. Not a single one of us wanted to eat there anymore, so we awkwardly turned around and walked out of the door. Across the town square, we spotted a burger spot, Regal Burger, and the menu looked incredible. We were all sold. There were even a few other groups from our Contiki sitting in there already, so we knew it had to be decent in the least.

We were told that Slovakia was not a super modern place, and you can tell from the atmosphere and vibe that is given off when you arrive. Being that this was the case, I was pleasantly surprised to see a veggie burger on the menu at Regal Burger, since I do not eat beef. [It makes me very sick, I am not a vegetarian, but I essentially eat like one]. Oh! And the menu was in English, which made things so much easier because I’m pretty sure none of us spoke Slovak or Czech or Polish or anything that would remotely help us to understand most menus in the restaurants there.

After a delicious lunch, a few of us decided to get some ice cream/gelato. There was a cute little shop on the corner, where we ordered. I indulged in some stracciatella gelato. It came in a cute, colorful, polka-dot cup, and in true gelato fashion, had a wafer stuck to the top. This wafer was shaped like a little bear and MY GOODNESS IT WAS THE CUTEST GELATO I’D EVER EATEN.

Our time was up in Slovakia, and it was time to board the bus and finish the second leg of our journey, which was approximately 2.5 hours to Hungary.

Banska Bystrica, Slovakia notes:

Where we ate:
Lunch – Regal Burger Banska Bystrica
Gelato – Zmrzlina Pod Vežou: Ice Cream Parlor Under The Tower

Hungary

“NAAAAAANTS IGONYAMA BAGITHI BABAAA” blared through the bus speakers for the second time that day, and we were in Hungary. Before we got to Budapest, Rob explained to us how some of the streets in Budapest were too narrow for buses and cars in general. Our next hostel was on one of those roads, so we had to disembark from the bus around the corner. Since Budapest is a popular tourist/tour group destination, they had this process down to a science, and we quickly got off and gathered up our luggage to drag over to the hostel.

The walk wasn’t far, and the hostel was super easy to find, especially when you’re following a bunch of other people who are heading in that direction from your tour group! This time we were staying at the Wombats Hostel. For some reason, this is the most memorable hostel for me. There was a grand staircase leading up to the rooms. Yup staircase, so we had to drag our luggage not only from around the corner of the hostel, but now also up a bunch of steps to our floors. This hostel also offered washer machines, so we could do some laundry. I had packed with the thought that I wouldn’t have to do laundry, so this didn’t seem that important to me, personally.

We got to our room to settle in, relax, and get ready for a free time add on. The plans for the night were to go on a dinner cruise down the Danube River that ran through Budapest. While getting ready, I started to feel this strange pain in my stomach. I wasn’t nauseous or bloated or anything like that, it was just like a burning sensation at the top of my stomach. I tried to ignore it, but then it started to freak me out, because it was like nothing I ever felt before. I called Doug, because I always call Doug when I have a problem, and he calmed me down and told me to just breathe and get ready for dinner. That’s exactly what I did, and I’m so glad he told me to do that because I was contemplating skipping dinner.

Before dinner, our tour group was hanging out in the lobby bar at the hostel, just chatting and pregaming for dinner. I decided I would just take it easy that night with the drinking. My stomach was probably revolting from the amount of vodka I had consumed earlier that week in Krakow. Polish vodka is something else; so that’s what I was going to go with to calm down my own mind. So before dinner, I just chatted, while everyone else pregamed.

While walking towards the boat we would be boarding for our dinner cruise, we noticed a memorial along the river. There were bronze shoes all lined up along the edge of the walkway. This memorial was for Hungarian-Jewish citizens who were killed during WWII. It was heartbreaking to see. Not a fun way to start the night, but it sure was a humbling moment as we were reminded of the dark, relatively recent past of Europe.

We arrived to the dinner cruise and my plan to take it easy worked for about 2 seconds. At every table on the dinner cruise, there were bottles of white and red wine for everyone, and I was poured a glass. I sipped it very slowly, and ate lots of bread, and tried to focus on anything other than my stomach pain.

After we ate, a few of us decided to go up to the top-deck to see the city from the Danube. What a sight. The city sparkled and shined off of the river and seemed so lively, yet it was so quiet. A few minutes later, I heard more people coming up the steps. I turned around and there was Dylan with a bottle of red wine and two glasses. How could I resist such a generous offer? There went my “taking it easy”. My poor stomach.

It was worth it though. We drank the wine and laughed with a few others, and it was just a memorable, beautiful night. Budapest looked perfect. The weather was perfect. The people around me were perfect. I am SO happy I did not skip this dinner (over stomach pain that never amounted to anything serious anyway incase you were worried). 

After dinner, everyone wanted to explore the city and the nightlife. I had heard so many things about how amazing the nightlife in Budapest is, that I had to experience it for myself, even if that meant not drinking and just going along for the ride. We made our way to the famous ruin bars, and just wow. These were pretty damn near. The décor in the ruins bars was essentially “did you find a random pile of shit people threw away? Yes? COOL HANG IT ON THE WALLS AND FROM THE CEILING! Oh and add some neon lights and greenery”. SO random, but it looked mysterious and inviting at the same time.

This is where we were introduced to Unicum. This was a Hungarian favorite, or so we’re told, but I’m not convinced. Also – if you didn’t laugh at the name of this liqueur, you have no sense of humor. It’s funny, like really funny. Anyway, a bunch of shots of Unicum were passed around, and my goodness that shit is NASTYYYYY. 0/10 from me. I wasn’t in the minority with that thought either. You must have to acquire a taste for Unicum because just taking a single shot of it doesn’t make you an instant fan, I can promise you that. Doug claims it works wonders when he’s feeling sick, so at least that’s an upside.

I had had just about enough excited for the night between the stomach issue and the Unicum, so it was time to call it a night. Sophie, an amazing girl on our tour from Guernsey, and I decided to head back to the Wombats Hostel and get some sleep.

Day 5: Budapest, Hungary

We all got up bright and early for another free time add-on activity: a historical guided tour of Budapest. Most people on this tour were nursing hangovers from an exciting night at the ruin bars, but thanks to my stomach issue, I was feeling all right! On this tour, we were given a quick history of the city, saw St. Stephan’s Basilica, and even saw a statue of America’s 40th president: Ronald Regan!

After the tour we had the rest of the day scheduled as free time. We decided on a few different activities: the famous Széchenyi Thermal Baths and the House of Terror, but not before grabbing a bite to eat, because apparently all any of us think about is our stomachs! We went to a place across from the hostel called Lángos GOZSDU and ordered ourselves some lángos. Lángos is essentially just fried bread with toppings on it like garlic and cheese. Delicious and everything you could ever want in my opinion.

After we ate, we visited the House of Terror. In my head, I was picturing some sort of horror theme museum. Our tour manager, Rob, told us to check it out, and quite honestly, I didn’t feel like checking what it was, and just agreed to go with everyone. The House of Terror was actually a museum about fascism and communism. It was a sort of military museum, and was super interesting. There was a giant tank in the center of the museum that you could see regardless of which level you were touring, There were papers you could take in each section for more information about the history, so I collected one from every room. My personal favorite spot was the basement where they showcased torture devices and torture rooms, and they also had prison rooms. It was so creepy, but I was fascinated.

After a look into Budapest’s dark history, it was time to head to the Széchenyi Thermal Baths. I was beyond excited for the baths. This was a Budapest bucket list item for me. We took the subway, since it wasn’t close to the hostel, and the subway seemed to be the cheapest option. When we arrived, we purchased our entry tickets, found some lockers to put our things, and changed into our swimsuits. We walked to the first area of the bathhouse, and I have to be honest: I was disgusted. I don’t know what I was expecting, but the pictures I had seen of Széchenyi seemed magical and pure. The baths almost looked healing in all of the pictures I had seen. Standing there, I realized it was realistically a glorified public pool that was a little warm. The only thing I could think of was “this place is a haven for germs and filth”.

Like I said, Széchenyi Thermal Baths were in fact a bucket list item for me, and when would I be in Budapest again, who knows? I ignored everything in me telling me to stay out of those germ-infested waters and went in. I was so grossed out, I got Doug to snap a few photos for me, and I quickly exited. It was crowded and it made me feel disgusting. I couldn’t wait to shower. Our friend, Angelo, got a picture in the Baths with me in the background yelling at Doug. It’s probably my favorite picture from that day, because it just sums up our relationship very well.

We all decided we were ready to leave, and quickly ran to the locker rooms to change back into our clothes. We took the subway back to the part of the city we were staying in, and hopped off at Heroes’ Square. Heroes’ Square is a general memorial for all heroes, and is quite beautiful. We snapped a few pictures only before it started pouring rain. We quickly called some cabs and raced back to the hostel. One of my new Australian buddies, Ben, and I shared a cab back. When we got there, we agreed it seemed expensive and compared the price to the other group who went the exact same distance as us. We got ripped off. Big time, but what were we going to do about it at that point? Quick tip: price out your options and know the general prices of rides when planning your trips to avoid being ripped off!

We all went back to the hostel to shower and get ready to grab dinner and do some local exploring around the hostel. I decided I should wash the filth off of my bathing suit and towel and was quickly thankful that this hostel had those washer machines that I didn’t care about only 24 hours prior.

We walked to the alleyway across from the hostel that was filled with restaurants, bars, and even an escape room! We contemplated doing the escape room and then decided against it since we could do an escape room at home. We went to a bistro Klikk Bistrobar and our waitress did not like us from the second we sat down. She seemed annoyed every single time she had to come to the table. Maybe she wasn’t a fan of Americans, since most of us at the table that night were in fact American. Maybe it was because one of us took a tumble backwards off our chairs almost immediately after arriving. She wasn’t even drunk! Her chair was just on a little step, so it was actually a dangerous spot to even be sitting. But who knows. The food was good and the drinks were good. That’s all we cared about in the moment.

After dinner, we did some exploring. We didn’t want to just go to pubs and drink every night, and frankly, I think we were all in need of a break at this point. We found a cute little park, a giant Ferris wheel, and a Hungary sign that was the perfect touristy photo! It was a fun, low-key night to end our time in Budapest with.

Budapest, Hungary notes:

Where we stayed: Wombats Hostel
Where we ate:
Dinner Night 1: Dinner Cruise
Ruin Bar: Kereskedo / Szimpla Kert
Friend Bread: Lángos GOZSDU
Dinner Night 2: Klikk Bistrobar

Free Time Add-ons:
Danube River Dinner Cruise
Budapest Past & Present Tour

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Continue reading my journey throughout my entire Contiki series!

Contiki Series
Part I: Why Contiki? Day 1 & 2: Vienna, Austria
Part II: Day 2: Auschwitz, Poland
Part III: Day 2 & 3: Krakow, Poland
Part IV: Day 4: Banska Bystrica, Slovakia and Budapest, Hungary
Part V: Day 6: Lake Bled & Ljubljana, Slovenia
Part VI: Day 7: Venice, Italy
Part VII: Day 8 & 9: Rome, Italy