Budapest

Budapest

It was Allie’s 21st Birthday weekend and a rower reunion in Budapest. Allie, Paige, and I rode a 7 hour train ride to meet up with some rowing friends, Morgan and Sarah. Also, our friend from Spain, Pedro, that studied in Murray my freshman year met up with us. The train ride through Austria was BEAUTIFUL. I could not stop looking out the window ohhh-ing and aww-ing all of the scenery. Morgan and Pedro met us as the train station in Budapest and it was a beautiful reunion! It was so good to see them and it was awesome that we normally see each other on Kentucky Lake and at practice but we were in Budapest!! Thursday night was so much fun. We met Morgan and Sarah’s friends, ate dinner and drank some wine, and went out to a dub-step club on a boat.  I got told by one of their friends that I was funnier than YouTube which was a great compliment. Allie, Paige, and I were all very tired from getting up for class and traveling all day so we went home early and went to sleep.

Here's a picture of the whole gang from Thursday night...

Friday, we got a late start to the day. We slept in a little which was so nice because I hadn’t slept in in who knows how long. It was nice to have friends to show us around because we didn’t have to plan anything. And we got to hang out with friends and relax! Once we got out and ready to start the day, Morgan and Sarah took us to the Budapest Castle and Cathedral. 

The architecture in Budapest was amazing.  The roofs were so pretty and the building looked so different from anything I had seen in Europe so far. The cathedral and Castle were very close to each other. We chose to go to the cathedral first. It was just unlike any cathedral I had ever seen. The roof was just so pretty. 

There was also a great place to see the whole city and take pictures.  We spent some time there sight seeing and taking pictures. Here’s a funny story...When it was time to go Morgan, Sarah, and Paige were all waiting for the rest of us. I was walking towards them and there was really cute yorkie looking dog. Just as I was saying “That is such a cute...” it started oinking at me. I’m not exaggerating when I say oinking. I could NOT stop laughing. It might have been a “you had to be there moment” but it was hilarious.  We walked over to the castle and walked on the grounds.  We saw the changing of the guards, just like we did in Prague. Took some pictures and headed back.

The Castle grounds

The whole gang

 Morgan and Sarah had been talking about how good the food in Budapest was so they took us to a restaurant that had delicious food and we headed back. We rested at their apartment for a while and went out for some drinks. We wanted to rest up on Friday night because Saturday was Allie’s 21st Birthday and we wanted to go out and party hardy on Saturday night! 

Saturday WAS ALLIE’S BIRTHDAY!!!! We got up kind of late again and went to have breakfast at Morgan and Sarah’s favorite place. Afterwards, we went to the thermal baths which was so cool!! They are naturally heated. It was really nice and relaxing. How many people can say “I went to a spa in Budapest for my 21st birthday”

 We got something called Langos for lunch. It was a funnel cake type dough with garlic and cheese. It might have been as good as the fried cheese we had in Prague. So good. Then we walked around the grounds of a random castle we stumbled upon. I have no idea what castle it was or what, but it was beautiful. We went back to their flat to rest up for the night ahead of us. We underestimated how much time we had and had to hurry to get ready. THEN the moment I had been waiting for this whole semester, I got to give Allie her birthday present.... a shot book. 

This was a complete surprise to Allie. I have no idea how all those people and I kept it a secret but we did! When I revealed the shot book, she cried. She loved everyones page, thank you to everyone who made one for her!! After we got the crying over with, we started our big night out! 

Me and my bestie on her 21st Birthday!

We started the night out at Morgan and Sarah’s friends apartment and made our way to a club. The club was a little like the one in Prague, it had a lot of floors and different music in each room. I had a lot of fun and I’m so glad she got to spend her 21st in Budapest! We had to get up really early the next morning to catch our train which was not fun. I had such a great weekend catching up with the rowers abroad!