Unlike students on the main campus at St. John’s, study abroad students get a fall break. This fall break is longer than our typical spring breaks, thanks to the no-Friday classes also awarded to abroad students. During this break, it was my mission to visit four new countries, starting with Hungary.Â
Surprisingly enough, even though I visited 4 countries, I started my break later than most. Most people flew out the Wednesday or Thursday that break started after classes, whereas I started mine that Saturday. This was because the purpose of visiting this country was to visit my dad. Not that he lives there, but he wanted to take a European trip himself and he’s already visited Italy, so instead of seeing me where I already was, we decided to both hit a new country. And since he’s actually employed, we had to work around his timing, which was totally fine because starting my break later gave me more time to pack and prepare for the long trip ahead of me.
To start off this trip, I arrived about 5 hours before my dad because for me Budapest was 2 hours away where it was 10 hours away for my dad. So once I landed, I was bound to find an empty bench in the airport to sleep on. Crazy concept, I know, but this isn’t my first rodeo with long waits or layovers and this did the trick for me previously when I had a 6-hour layover in Turkey. The issue with this nap is I was deep in it. When I woke up, I saw that it was an hour past when my dad was expected to land. Not only that, but I woke up to over 20 missed calls from my family that were scared out of their minds, not knowing where I was or why I wasn’t answering the phone. I was so deep in my sleep that I didn’t hear any of my alarms or calls, despite my phone being next to my ear. So the first ten minutes of waking up were full of stress and answering questions but once I finally got up and found my dad, it was all fine.
Over the course of studying abroad, I often talk to my peers about liking the experience but especially whether or not we miss home. For me, the answer is typically always no. I miss New York, but home doesn’t have that strong appeal anymore. However, I was starting to miss my family, more than I would admit. It was so crazy seeing my dad for the first time since I left. Like I knew that was him, and I knew why he was there, but it felt so foreign to have him here in this part of my life after living it alone for the past 2+ months. In New York, I’m only a train ride away; my parents can call me, we’re in the same time zone. However, here, I’m 6 hours ahead, so when I’m up, they’re asleep or vice versa, and it’s even worse with my dad, who works the night shift and is awake at odd hours. Plus the spotty or weak wifi, I can never call or reach them at the right times, so communication has been sparse, which is what I think has made this leave a bit more of an adjustment. So, seeing my father here, in the same place as I, in the same time zone and just here was crazy but God, it was great.
Onto the trip itself, though, we wanted to make a lot happen in a short amount of time. We only had a day and a half basically. First off, because of me sleeping through my calls and alarms, we lost two hours of time to do stuff while I was sleeping away in the airport. Once we finally left, we found our room, which was in a very beautiful plaza with a cathedral. There was no street in front of it, so plenty of space to walk and everything was nearby. That’s one thing I liked about Budapest is everything seemed so nearby and easily accessible and nearby.
For example, a nice shopping plaza with clothing stores, restaurants and a ferris wheel were all within a 10-minute walk of our place and was so relaxing, spaced out, and beautifully put together. My dad isn’t a big public transit guy, so we were taking taxis around, but the rides were never far and we were able to hit both Buda and Pest, see amazing skyline views from the top of their infamous GellĂ©rt Hill, visit the Buda Castle, and try amazing food around the city. One thing about the food in Budapest is that they are known for both Goulash (which was amazing, by the way) and Chimney Cake. Walking by chimney cake stores, they’re so enticing. They smell delicious and look so sweet and good but I did not like it. It had a weird, bitter taste in my opinion and was hard to chew. If I didn’t get mine with ice cream, I don’t think I would have liked it at all. Another part of Budapest I really liked were the Ruin Bars. Abandoned buildings turned into fun bars; it was fun to take pictures, see the different messages on the wall and just chill there with my dad. My last recommendation, which was actually the first thing we did, is taking a boat tour at night. Budapest lights up their city so nicely with warm, yellow lighting that makes every building an amazing sight– especially the Parliament.Â
Overall, I felt very safe and relaxed in Budapest. I thought every street I walked on was a nice sight and had plenty of space. I felt like the food was delicious and there were a variety of things to try. Seeing my dad and having the time to spend with him after being so far from home was really refreshing and needed. It made the short amount of time there feel like a million years and every moment so memorable. I honestly would recommend Budapest to travelers. I was recently asked if it would be good for a day trip, and you’re able to see so much in a little time in a fulfilling way. It was definitely a trip well done; I would definitely go again and I walked away with such a memorable experience. I would rate my trip a solid 9.5/10.