Thanksgiving Weekend in Budapest!

Its finals week. So what better way to procrastinate than by updating my blog? 

Spent my Thanksgiving weekend in Budapest with Kayleen and Michelle! And guess what? Our flights cost only 99 cents! I repreat, 99 cents! So add in taxes and our roundtrip flight cost 15 euros! Talk about budget traveling! 

Our excited faces when we landed in Budapest! 

Budapest!

Besides spending Thanksgiving night sleeping at the airport, Budapest was wonderful. Its the perfect place for travelers on a budget. You can buy alcohol for as cheap as 20 cents a shot! The sole most expensive thing I spent my money on was my entrance ticket into the Budapest's renowned Thermal Baths and that alone cost less than 20 euros!

Budapest is so rich in its history. Every where you go, you can see remnants from its days under the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the impact of communism, and the growing capitalism of today. Architecturally, judgendstil architecture embellishes many of the buildings and creeping besides these buildings are the drastically compact and plain communist buildings.  Throughout the town, the colors of fall decorated the trees while Christmas ornaments could be seen all throughout the main piazzas of Budapest. I loved the Christmas markets! It was as if I was walking through a winter wonderland filled with all things Christmas, delicious foods, and amazing arts and crafts.

The thing about traveling that I love so much is the different people you get to meet. The people in our hostel were so friendly, especially the staff. If you ever happen to visit Budapest, stay at the Groove Hostel. The staff let us check in at 6am in the morning, gave us so many tips and pointers for where to get the most authentic Hungarian food, have a good night out, etc., arranged a taxi for us back to the airport so we wouldn't get gipped off, and let us chill in the hostel instead of having to spend another night at the airport (they even offered us the bed!) Its funny because many people say that Hungarians come off as unfriendly but I think they're one of the most friendliest people I've met so far! It shocked me to hear how as a post-communist nation, the people of Hungary still continue to think in very communistic ways. Maybe that's the reason for the unfriendly vibes?

Did I mention that we got to meet up with Julia?!?

Hummus! Gyahh! 

But when I booked my flight to Budapest, I was really looking forward to the baths so I was thrilled to have spent my Sunday night relaxing and enjoying the nice heated mineral waters of Budapest! LOVE LOVE LOVE The water was so warm and relaxing and then jumping in from the hot sauna to the ice cold water and back outside into the cold air...it was definitely the break from school that I needed. Not to mention that Kayleen and I met two Canadians who stroke up a conversation with us. We were both quite positive that they wanted to ask us out for drinks but since we were clear that we were leaving that night, I think they didn't bother (shucks!). It was nice to meet fellow North Americans...a little piece of home away from home. I can't wait for more adventures with Kayleen and Michelle! <3