For 10 days I took my first solo trip. Traveling is nothing new to me. I have traveled all over the states, Mexico and Europe. But I had never traveled alone, alone. Several people had told me it is quite an experience to travel solo. You meet lots of new people, you get to be the boss of your trip, and you ultimately learn a lot about yourself. It gives you ample to time to reflect on, well, everything. And that is exactly what I did.
First stop: Budapest, Hungary. After taking a short relaxed flight, where I managed to fall asleep before takeoff (Why do I do that on every flight and bus ride? Is there something in the air?) I arrived in Budapest, hopped on the city bus, took the metro, then the tram and finally made it to my hostel. There, I was greeted by the friendly faces of new friends.
For the next three days I ventured around Budapest, a city I had visited once before.The Danube River flows majestically through the center of the city, splitting the city into the Buda and Pest. Buda is home to some of the older landmarks in the city, including the Buda Castle, the Fisherman's Bastion, and Gellert Hill where some of the oldest thermal baths lie. While the Pest side appears to be more modern, with the market hall, opera house and the main shopping street for tourists.
I even managed to get out to somewhere new. I went to Statue Park, a relatively new sight for Budapest that houses the statues of Lenin, Marx and memorials to The Soviet Soldier and the Communist Martyrs. And much more besides. After the change of political system the statues were removed from Budapest's streets to the museum. This is the world's only such collection from the period of communist cultural politics. With a tour guide explaining the significance of each statue and giving a bit of history into communism in Hungary, it was really quite interesting. Especially when thinking about all the stories I have heard Bulgarians tell about their experiences during the communist era.
Next stop....Bratislava, Slovakia!!!
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