Halloween this year was to be spent in Dracula’s castle, not exactly Halloween in Hungary, but the alliteration sounds better than Halloween in Romania!
Our plans, as life would know it, didn’t quite turn out as expected but we still had a blast!
The 5:30 a.m. alarm on my clock radio always comes too soon, but when you’re going on an adventure to another country, two countries, it’s easier to get out of bed. I wanted to make sure I had enough time to get to the bus stop by 7:00 a.m. and to the train station by 7:30. I met my counterparts at the bus stop and off we went. Off to Budapest, the capital of Hungary at 8:00 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008. After a six hour train journey, during which we consumed too many calories worth of snacks and beer, we arrived in Budapest about 3 p.m., exchanged our currency, and headed toward the hostel.
My first hostel experience was quite nice. The 11 of us shared a dorm in the hostel, each with our own bed, two toilets and two showers to share. It was clean, well equipped and I couldn’t complain. After a quick clean-up from the traveling it was out on the town. We landed ourselves in an Irish pub. Half of our immediate group is Irish and since we we were meeting up with 9 more Irish lads later, I guess it seemed natural to go to an Irish pub. After a few drinks Beth, Andy and I were feeling restless so we wandered down to the Danube River. The scene was so beautiful in the night. The lights on the buildings reflected in the water as we stood on the bridge and took it all in. I got that reoccurring feeling, “I can’t believe I’m here.” I can’t believe I actually get to visit the beautiful places I learned about in textbooks, newspapers and TV.
The next morning we packed 20 people into two vans and started on the what was thought to be a 6 hour drive to Brasov, Romania, where Dracula’s Castle is situated. The six hour journey turned out to be a 12 hour drive instead and we arrived at our hostel about 1:00 a.m. Scrapping the idea of a Halloween party at Dracula’s Castle we put our happy faces on and our costumes, and headed out in the night in this Romanian town. We brought the party with us and turned Halloween into an all night karaoke jam at the local tavern. We sang Guns and Roses’ Sweet Child of Mine and That’s Amore, all cheesy karaoke songs included, until the sun rose over the Romanian mountains. After a couple hours of sleep the mission was to actually make it to the castle; but a prolonged breakfast prevented us from arriving at the entrance it before closing time and we tiredly gazed at it’s exterior behind the iron fence.
Twelve hours back to Budapest. Twenty pairs of tired eyes in two vans. Sacks of food, iPods, cameras, luggage. Might as well make the uncomfortable journey worth it… We told riddles, we laughed, and Steph slept in the trunk of the van. All in all the drive wasn’t so bad. I was in good company with my European friends. We’ve all found ourselves here together and the intensity of our collision in Salzburg has bonded us for the length of our stay here, maybe the length of our lives. At one point in the night I stuck my iPod headphones in my ears and listened to a favorite from my last semester at ESU, Mates of State. I hadn’t listened to their melodies for months and it immediately time warped me back to my last days in Emporia. For a moment I felt sad, a bit homesick, but still comforted. The songs forced me to remember my old room on 1128 Neosho, 12:15 a.m. in the fibers studio with an aching back, an exhausting break-up and eating popcorn with Stacy in the living room.
We drove straight through the night into Sunday morning and arrived in Budapest about 5:00 a.m. After a short nap at a random gas station just outside the city center, we cracked open our living space for the last 48 hours and let the fresh morning air clear the fog on the windows. Dirty and exhausted, but adrenaline pumping through our veins, we trudged onward to see Budapest one more time. To say goodbye to this beautiful city by the Danube before the inevitable train ride home. Home in Salzburg.
November 13, 2008 at 11:09 pm |
great stories, makes me remember my own old stories, travel is such an education in and of itself. Loved all of the pictures, nice you do not have to pay for prints to enjoy so many.
We’ll talk soon.