Budapest, Hungary and Peanut M&Ms

I’m going to be honest. I’m sitting here popping peanut M&Ms and downing a mug (yes a mug) of Sprite. Not very European of me, but who cares- it’s reminds me of home. 

Most seasons of life have that period we like to call the “honeymoon phase”. Vacations have it. School has it. Mission trips have it. Study abroad programs have it. And my “honeymoon phase” here in Vienna is over. 

Don’t get me wrong. I still LOVE living here. I love waking up and going to school next to the state opera. I love learning German and using it the day that I learn it. I love our daily runs to the bakery. I love exploring a new city and becoming a temporary resident.

But there are definitely moments when living abroad looses its luster. Moments like when I Skype my family on a Sunday afternoon and they are eating subway and ice (two of my favorite things) or when I Skype my best friend and wish that hugs could translate through the computer or when I see that children from back home are growing up without me.

So in the moments that I am missing home or the people I love so dearly, I have to stop and remind myself- You are in Europe. This is a once in a lifetime experience. Enjoy it. Learn from it. If life is like a mist, then what is this three-month trip? You won’t be here forever. The Lord has you here for a reason.

Needless to say, prayers are greatly appreciated. As always. AND if you have anything that you need prayers for- Please let me know! I have a lot of free time here and I would love to be able to be a prayer warrior for anyone that needs one.

This weekend we went to Budapest, Hungary…. And I learned A LOT. So, I thought I would share with you five lessons that I learned about traveling through Europe that perhaps could come in handy one day.

We had a 4:30AM wake-up call and it’s not hard to get up when you know that a weekend of adventure awaits but we all passed out on the bus. We fell asleep in Wien (Vienna) and woke up in Budapest, Hungary. Let me tell you, it is one of the most bizarre things ever to get on a bus and three hours later be in an entirely different country with a different language, culture, and people.

There are some days that we just have to pinch ourselves and say: “Is this real life?”

For each weekend trip, we are required to have a ‘trip leader’ who makes the plans, and is the go-to person in case of emergencies. This weekend, that was me.

So I found a hotel/hostel that was only a 15 minute walk from the bus stop and I was feeling pretty good about it. Last weekend we got lost for about two hours. So I was DETERMINED not to get lost this weekend. I printed out directions, I screen-shoted directions, I had copies of directions. I was prepared.

We started walking and walking and walking and we got turned around. So I look at the mapquest directions that I printed out and lo and behold I had printed out DRIVING directions. **head smack**

So an easy 15 minute walk turned into an hour walk. It turned out great- we got to see more of the city, and justified dessert later that night.

Lesson #1: Double check and make sure you print out WALKING directions unless you want to participate in an excellent form of exercise and want to explore the city.  

So, then we think that we are headed to a hotel/hostel. NOPE. I had rented out an apartment for the weekend. When we thought we were going to be ‘checking-in’ with a front desk, we were actually checking in with the land lord who met us at the apartment. This also worked out well because we had our own space.

Lesson #2: Always read the fine print and figure out where exactly you will be staying unless you are totally in for surprises.

That night we went to the Danube river that runs between Budapest which was originally two cities- Buda and Pest that were divided by the river. We went to some open air markets (my favorite kind) and enjoyed some delicious food at an Italian restaurant.

We love finding people from the States in random cities across Europe. So, at one point this guy started talking to us in English about the US and we got super excited. He then tried selling us a class for meditation but commented on our seemingly relaxed personas (he didn’t see us the day before). When we informed him that Jesus was the reason for our peace he informed us that he was a monk. Curve-ball.

Lesson #3: Watch out for monks. They will try selling you stuff.

Then that night a friend and I had to go pick up another friend at the bus station. Since the walk was not 15 minutes as we originally anticipated, we decided that we would try Budapest’s underground system. And we succeeded!

Not gonna lie, we were feeling pretty good about ourselves. We felt like we had just won a season of ‘Amazing Race’.

The next day we hiked to some amazing views.

Then we went to a Museum called “Hospital in the Rock”. It is literally a hospital that was built into caves underneath a fortress that is in Budapest. The hospital was used during World War II for civilians but eventually they began taking in soldiers as well.

The museum was filled with over 100 wax figures. Which made it kind of creepy and interesting all at the same time. The stories they told were unreal. Like reusing bandages off of dead bodies because the hospital had no fresh water or fresh supplies coming in.  Or the action plans in place in case the city was under a nuclear attack. I love this kind of stuff. But, a friend was not aware of the fact that there were wax figures EVERYWHERE.

So, Lesson #4: If you don’t like wax figures, read all information about a museum before visiting.

The last day, we attended mass again in a BEAUTIFUL church. I swear, there are no ugly churches here in Europe. There’s something so comforting about sitting in a place where all people are praying to and speaking of one God, even if we all speak different languages. 

Then before we left, we went to mail postcards. Not as easy as it would sound. For some reason, wherever we go, locals rarely ever know where the closest mailbox is.

Lesson #5: If you are mailing a postcard in Europe, estimate that it will take at least an hour.

Enjoy all of the pictures! Unfortunately we couldn’t take pictures in the Hospital Museum.

 

The apartments where we stayed. Lots of charm!

A little taste of home. Chipotle style food. 

Buda Side!

Beautiful bridge crossing the Danube. It was overcast this day, but usually it's much prettier!

Their Parliament Building on the Pest side! (The side we stayed on)

Buda

Tomato Soup. Yummy. 

#touristproblems We payed with so many coins because they couldn't split the check and we either had really big bills or really small coins. 

View of the Pest Side. 

Remnants of a building destroyed by bombs. 

Buda Side. 

Not our favorite photo but thankful for these friends!

Figuring out where we are... as usual. 

Yummy pizza. 

The church where we went to Mass... beautiful doesn't even begin to cover it. 

Skyping my family. They even bought me a Subway cookie. How sweet. 

And they have turned my room into storage. I won't be surprised if I come back and it has become a guest room, recreation room, or TV Room. But I still miss them.  

Thursday we head to Berlin on an overnight train! I am super excited but also a little bit nervous! Love you all!

Sarah Rooker