Unlike lots of people who end up hating their Freshman year college roommate, I took mine abroad with me. Naomi and I had planned for years to study abroad together, so coming to Copenhagen was a joint decision. This past weekend, we left Denmark and took a quick trip to Budapest, Hungary.
Friday: The trip started a little rocky considering I almost missed the flight out of Copenhagen. For the first time this semester, I slept through my early alarm. If Naomi hadn’t called me to wake me up, she would have been going to Budapest without me. Despite panicked packing in the dark, I made it to the airport and through security with enough time to catch the flight.
After checking into our airbnb, we immediately grabbed lunch at a Mediterranean restaurant. To our surprise, the food in Budapest was insanely cheap, so we obviously treated ourselves to a three course meal. After lunch, we found ourselves in a pop up trendy museum that did not quite live up to our expectations. Naomi will probably disagree with me on this one but I thought it was a great use of $9.
Next stop was the Budapest ferris wheel where we were able to see the whole city from the top. That’s where we spotted our next tourist attraction– St. Stephen’s Basilica. The Basilica was beautiful both inside and out so we made sure to take lots of pictures.
Friday night was spent at one of the famous ruin bars. Each room inside the bar had a different theme and some had music. Our favorite room was probably the one with a DJ and weird but cool videos playing behind him.
Saturday: We started at Buda castle which was located on top of a massive hill on the Buda side of town. After exploring the grounds, we went inside to look around the museum. The weather was perfect so we took our time at the castle before heading to lunch.
Next up was lunch at Mazel Tov. Let’s just say I’ve been to Israel, and I think this was the best Mediterranean food I’ve ever had. This place is known for being phenomenal, and it definitely lived up to its expectations. I may or may not have bought a Mazel Tov sweatshirt on the way because how could I not.
After grabbing our bathing suits from the airbnb, we made our way to the famous Széchenyi Thermal Baths. I had heard mixed reviews about the bath because it was definitely a must-do,. Although the walk from the building to the bath was freezing cold, I had a great time hanging out with Naomi and taking some pictures. We ended up staying for a few hours, and got home just in time to shower and get ready for dinner.
Saturday night was reserved for the club Instant. The place was so big I’m pretty sure I didn’t even see half of it. Naomi and I spent most of our time in a DJ room with a flying pig chandelier which is always a good time.
Sunday: Our last day was spent in the Old Jewish Quarter. We spent a few hours at the Jewish Museum which was both breathtaking a heartbreaking. The basement level of the museum was filled with reading about the ghettos in Budapest which was definitely a heavy read, but I’m so glad I was able to learn more about the history in that area.
After grabbing a quick lunch, we headed to the airport. Our flight took a little longer than expected so we didn’t make it back to Copenhagen until around 10pm, at which point we were pretty exhausted. This trip was honestly one of my favorites so far just because Naomi and I always have so much fun together. I’ve gotta say traveling is a little easier when you’re doing it with someone who knows you down to your favorite salad toppings.
Allison Abroad 