"The Holy Right" and Caving

My friend Matt and I decided a few months ago that we would travel to Budapest together. So, we booked our flights and soon enough the day came to travel to Hungary. I flew into Italy the day before we left for Budapest and I stayed at Matt's immense apartment on the Ponte Vecchio. His roommates and friends were all really friendly and made me feel welcomed during my short stay.

Our flight to Budapest left the Pisa airport at 10:30pm. Let's just say it was a very long day for us. We took an airport bus (in which there were only 3 of us on this huge charter bus...how wasteful!) from the Florence train station to the airport. While we waited, Matt and I conversed about everything from home and missing our families, to life back in the states after our respective study abroad experiences. When we finally boarded our Wizz Air flight (they have very cheap flights, under $100 both ways most of the time, but have hefty policies in regards to carry-on baggage), we both fell asleep.

After landing, we withdrew some Forint (Hungarian currency), and took a bus to a metro in hopes of getting to our hostel. It turns out, however, that by this time (around 12:30am) the metro wasn't running anymore. Matt and I didn't want to take our chances since we had no idea where we were, so we took a cab to the hostel. It's a good thing we did, since the cab ride took at least 10 minutes.

Upon arriving at the hostel we would be staying in for a few nights, Matt and I were both confused. Could Tiger Tim's hostel really be next to the street's "69" shop? Luckily, after getting inside, everything was fine. Tim was really friendly, he handed me a map of Budapest and wrote down the wifi passcode for us to use ('Kevin' was the network name, and of course the first thing I thought of was my papa). Then, he showed us to our room, pointed out our beds and told us he would give us details about the city in the morning since he presumed we were tired after our journey.

We both crawled into bed, Matt in the top bunk and me on the bottom (reminded me of my younger days when I shared a bunk bed with my brother), and fell asleep. Of course, I had my ear plugs. Can't sleep in a hostel without them!

The next morning, we woke up and got ready for our day. We slept in a little bit, until about 10am, and talked to Tim before leaving. We told him of our interest in caving, my friend Marissa who previously stayed at Tiger Tim's hostel while she was studying abroad told me that Tim can arrange for us to explore the caves of Budapest). He simply told us to "be back at the hostel at 3pm for caving".

We headed out into the cold of Budapest, I had my beanie and gloves to keep me warm. Matt, on the otherhand, was a less prepared. I mean, he did have his hooded (never seen one of those before), fleece North Face jacket, but he lacked gloves to keep his fingers from becoming frozen. Haha, that kid.

When we stepped outside, we learned just how central Tiger Tim's hostel was. It is in such a great location, right across from the main train station. There are many places to eat and shop as well as nightlife. We walked across the street to the Tesco Express to grab some food for breakfast and snacks for later. This is when we discovered that everything in Budapest is dirt cheap. The exchange rate is about 230 HUF to $1. Together, we bought three apples, two carrots, a bag of mixed nuts/raisins, and two pastries all for less than $3. Matt and I couldn't believe it.

Side view of the train station

Square-shaped cereal boxes!!

After my revelation and happiness that things were finally cheaper than in Copenhagen, we headed to St. Stephen's Basilica.

We explored the inside of the Basilica, including the chapel where "The Holy Right" hand of St. Stephen is housed.

St. Stephen's Basilica

The Holy Right (hand) of St. Stephen, Hungary's most sacred treasure

After checking out the Basilica, we trekked it up to the cupola. After what seemed like an two sets of endless, narrow spiral staircases, Matt and I made it to the top. We made it to the top at exactly 12pm when the bells chimed. All of Budapest was visible, it was a terrific view.

Matt and I at the cupola

View of Budapest

Matthias church

Parliament building

After heading back down the way we came, we walked back to the hostel. We went past the Hungarian Parliament building to see the times for the English tours. We decided we would come back first thing the next morning to get tickets, since the first tour is at 10am.

Parliament

Sightseeing in a bike/the back end of a car

When we reached the hostel, Tiger Tim, as Matt and I called him, gave us a suggestion on where to eat for lunch. We walked to the Hummus Bar, which was only about a five minute walk. I ordered a hummus salad sandwich, it was basically pita bread stuffed with vegetables, hummus, and spices. It was pretty delicious. They even gave us a complementary warm mint tea...perfect for warming us up after being out in the cold!

My hummus salad sandwich

"Laughter is the shortest distance between two people"- Victor Borga

After lunch, Matt and I took a walk along the main street near our hostel. We had about 45 minutes before we needed to be back for caving. Matt finally bought a pair of gloves, much needed, I'd say.

We got back to Tiger Tim's Place, where Tim gave us directions on where to meet with the other people from hostels who would also cave. We met at 3:45pm and waited a while before taking two buses to get to the caves. Upon arriving, we waited in the warm bar area, signed some paperwork, and then waited a little more as the big group was divided into two. Matt and I were part of the second group that had to wait awhile.

When our guide told us it was time, we went upstairs to get our "special" caving outfits of zippered whole-body suits and helmets with lights. Everything was dusty, the room where all of us changed had a huge cloud of dust, you could taste it too. Haha.

After getting all geared up in our blue, red, and yellow suits, our group of about 14 young cavers (one guy from our hostel backed out after five minutes, he was claustrophobic and frankly I think he believed that this was just a walking tour) and one guide headed out for what turned out to be a three- hour adventure.

We walked into the cave and went down the ladder before beginning. During the entire three hours in the cave, we did lots of shimmying on our stomachs, crawling on our hands and knees, climbing up rocks, and sliding. At one point, there was a tiny hole that a few people, including myself crawled through. I'm still surprised that I fit through it.

Heading into the cave, "watch your head"...but of course I hit mine.

Was it a coincidence that I got to wear my favorite color? I like to think it was fate. Haha

Making our way down

See the face?

Follow the leader

Roots from above

hello there!

It's an elephant!

Matt and I

Our caving group after our crawling, sliding, and climbing adventure

By the time we finished caving and got on the bus back to the city center, it was nearly 10pm. Matt and I went back to the hostel afterwards to ask Tiger Tim about places for dinner. We ended up walking to an area with a bunch of restaurants and cafes. We both wanted to try some traditional Hungarian food, but at this time, we were both hungry and tired. So anything would do.

We chose a place called Cafe Vian, we sat outside since I wasn't too keen on sitting inside where smoking was permitted. Good thing there were blankets and heaters. I ordered the Hungarian Mushroom soup and Matt had Wiener Schnitzel (which isn't even Hungarian, haha) and mulled wine. I enjoyed the warmth and texture of the soup, creamy with mushroom slices.

After dinner, we headed back to the hostel and after I took a much needed shower (my hair and hands were filthy), we called it a night. Both of us were exhausted and had plans to wake up at 8:15am to get tickets to see the Parliament building.

Christmas decorations on the streets of Budapest