Pest

Saturday, August 21

Another train and another country.  This time Budapest!  Besides Vienna, this was the city I most wanted to see on my trip.  Christina, Sheena, and I embarked on this adventure and left Vienna around eleven for the three hour train ride to the capital of Hungary.  Getting off at the Keleti station in Pest, I was enamored with the beauty of its architecture.  The ceiling is partially made of glass and allows the daylight to stream into the station.  It was built between 1881 and 1884 and is a jewel of late 19th century architecture.  I immediately thought that this is what a train station should look like.  

After admiring the station, we headed out to find our hostel and meet up with Martha and Zac.  We checked in and found a note that said to meet at six so we headed out to the city.  We walked toward the river, which separates Pest from Buda and began to explore the pedestrian district of downtown.  Pest was a mixture of beautifully restored architecture, predominately from the 19th century and dilapidated structures that speak of the difficult economic times it suffered under dominance by the USSR.  We headed back to the hostel to meet up with Martha and Zac, and headed again to the river in search of dinner.  After dinner, we walked along the river and discovered a music festival next to the beautiful 19th century Chain Bridge.  The festival was featuring folk music and dances and was an unexpected treat to find.  We spent the rest of the night, alternating between sitting along the bank of the Danube and watching the festival.  It an amazing experience and a great end to the first of our two days in Budapest.