Budapest

When travelling throughout Eastern Europe, Budapest, Hungary is almost always a must on everyone’s itinerary and now I can see exactly why. Not only does it have a beauty to it that is rather remarkable and yet still so strategic but it also sucks you in to this alternative vibe that it has going on. Make yourself comfortable and you soon begin to see the party place that it has come to be over the years. Dirty streets sporadically laced with vomit in the mornings, waiting to be cleaned, cigarette butts everywhere and a general scummy look to the old buildings. However do not be shied away because this place will captivate you and almost force you to extend the one or two nights you originally planned here.

Toma and I arrived two days earlier than Nat and Danielle. We were originally given instructions by Nat (who went last year) to stay in the Buda side but as we made our way up it seemed that Pest was the place to be and once we heard about the Retox Party Hostel in Pest we were sold! This place has a reputation for living up to its reviews and exceeding the stories of the travellers you have met along the way. Pretty much, anything goes here and as they say you walk in a stranger and leave a family member, even being clapped out when departing.

We arrived from Krakow to Budapest at about 9pm and headed straight for Retox, only thing was that we had a new currency and no exchanges open and so began the start of our ‘free’ public transport rides. A metro and a 2km walk later (using the GPS on our iphones) we had made it there and to our surprise there was no room for us-fully booked! We were spewing because we checked it that morning and were now so tired we didn’t want to find another hostel. We sat down for a rest and latched onto their wifi to find a bed for the night and it was here we met a group of British guys who live near us in London. Boom we had already made friends and eventually found a hostel 50m down the street. A well deserved rest for the first night.

The next day we intended to be constructive and play tourists but by 1pm we were still on the hammocks skyping friends and family from home. We eventually managed to walk 10m to the café out the front, only to have a gypsy very badly attempt to steal my wallet-sprung! By 3pm we were at the free walking tour-someone had to drag us around today. It went for 2.5hrs and we learnt quite a bit so it did become worthwhile. Turns out that the Parliament house there (which looks similar to the one in London) isn’t even really used. All the buildings are rather low, providing an extensive view of the city, except two-the Parliament and the Basilica, both 96m above the ground, this number being symbolic to she equality between the Church and State. Nothing else is allowed to exceed this height either. The majority of the city is Heritage protected and therefore much of the city remains in tact or restored giving it that beautiful old feeling.

Time to see what all the fuss is about so we headed to Retox for some drinks and ended up joining them on the booze cruise. Bottle of Champagne each on arrival and the night became a massive blur. This was to be one of the first nights that I blanked out, not even remembering that we got off the boat and onto another ‘boat club’. From what I do remember though it was a hell of a lot of fun and we all ended up kicking on at Retox, even discovering that there was now room available for the four of us…. Yes Nat and Danielle were about to reunite with us so that day we moved our bags over and fell asleep on the couches as we waited for them and our room. Once they finally arrived we all settled in, grabbed a bite to eat and started celebrating our European family reunion.

That night we attempted a ‘ruins pub crawl’ but soon brushed it and headed to Hooters! Beers, shots and chicken wings later bed was calling for some much needed sleep as we all decided to save ourselves for the Bath parties-an experience we would never forget (let’s just say it isn’t all for the good either).
The next day Nat and Danielle headed to do the sight seeing that we had already done so we headed with the British boys to the food markets, only to discover that they were closed, so a stroll along the river and back to the hostel we went, at least we did more than most people at our hostel lazing about that day. Sight seeing had taken a toll on me, there is only so many castles, cathedral and history lectures to do and see before they all become a blur and you give up caring.

This Bath party was going to be the last one of the season and they were like nothing I could describe. We grabbed a bottle of red wine and some Somersby’s (we tried Cranberry and the checkout chick didn’t scan our 1.5L red properly so that was ‘free’) then everyone in the surrounding hostels headed to this massive park for a pre-drink piss up! I’m sure many of you have heard of the Rehab Pool party in Las Vegas…its nothing like that. Instead everyone is in the pool at night (with hardly any lights except those in the pool), a DJ, a bar, a spa in the middle, then a human whirlpool and a much large pool on the outside with numerous people from the opposite sex ‘going at it’ on the edges. Depending on where you hang, your night could be a completely different experience to the next person. We chose the perimeter of the whirlpool and the large pool where the music was pumping and everyone was enjoying the experiences. However the Baths are so warm that once you get out for a drink you begin to contemplate bailing for the hot showers, clothes and opting to dance around the edges of the pool where it eventually becomes much cleaner. We lasted about 3 hours before we jumped out and by 3am they kicked everyone out and began to drain the pool-time for McDonald’s and a party back at Retox.

We were so hammered the next day and did as everyone seems to do- we extended just to have that extra night sleep and recovery. We headed for a Hungarian feast as the goulash has been delicious and we have welcomed a change of foods up in the East, but Toma and I ended up with pizza as we simply didn’t have enough to wine and dine that night but Nat and Dani had what they recall one of the ‘best meals in Europe’- jealous! But the pizza shop had a line longer than Hong ha and totally did the job for us, making it worthwhile in the end.

Our time in Budapest was up and I had fallen in love with the city but with Prague, Berlin and Munich ahead how could I not keep going. As I walked the streets and sucked in every last bit of the city I promised myself to come back here in the Winter when it is blanketed with snow and opt for the more touristy sight seeing experience. Budapest you are up there as one of my favourite cities and I only wish I could explore more of Hungary now!

Fehitye-Olypmos Cruise and Cappadocia

This was one of our highlights of the tour. Not only did it bring us closer to the people in our tour group but imagine cruising the Mediterranean with Turkey on one side and Greece on the other. I think this is where we really got into holiday mode and it really begun to sunk in just what our life would be like for the next few months. We were also super lucky because the previous year’s tour group had nothing but rain when they did this and we were going as the first cruise of the season so the weather could have been touch and go yet we managed to have 25 + everyday and could say to ourselves ‘this is the life’ at any moment of the day.

Our boat started from Fethiye and over 4 days made it’s way to Olympos. It’s really unfortunate that we weren’t in Fethiye longer because the little time spent felt like a tease.  Due to the size of our group we were split between 2 boats but were always docked side by side and partied on the one each night. Boarding at 11am we met the crew, who very friendly and chose our rooms then it was straight to the top deck for drinks and sunbaking. There was a problem with staffing at some gate near the dock and the crew were ever so apologetic but as along as the bar was open we didn’t have a care in the world so by 2pm when we set off everyone was already yelling Happy Birthday to Chris and running a muck.

Its safe to say that on this cruise we drank roughly the same amount of alcohol as we had done in the last year and whilst we expected dreadful hangovers, like everyone says, they just do not occur when in Europe. We had a rule: No hangovers and no seasick and strangely enough everyone managed to stick to it. Days were filled with sunbaking, dancing, sing-a-longs, card games, pass-the-pig (we must find this game for Europe!), drinks and loads of swimming. We had a perfect balance between cruising and docking and we definitely never went hungry. The food was delicious and some of the best meals we had. The water was always picturesque; so clear and pretty and always refreshing no matter what time of the day or night we jumped in.

Every night we were blind before dinner and we migrated to one boat or a hide away club on the coast of Turkey. With such great weather we were able to sleep on top deck every night so the cabins, which were a decent size, were purely for getting changed and storing our stuff. The time we had on this boat was unforgettable and we witnessed some of the most magnificent hideaways that’s its hard to imagine there are such places on Earth. If you every go to Turkey you can not leave without doing such a cruise because it is truly spectacular and full of fun!

Once the cruise had finished we made our way to Olympos. A lot of people rave about Olypmos but once you get there it really is just a lonely stripe in between mountains....but it is beautiful!!! We stayed in these treehouses that were so cool! To be honest we didn't stay in the nicest set of tree houses as Loz had showed us where she stayed and the common area seemed much nicer although we did like our treehouse set up a lot better. Nevertheless we still had such a great time just simply relaxing. It was the first bit of wifi we got though so it was a funny look seeing everyone at this massive table and no one talking as we were all on our phones contacting home and friends and family etc. All we did here was relax, drink, eat and smoke shisha (thanks to Loz!)

Finally, next stop after the cruise was Cappadoccia and even though it wasn't a true highlight we thought it was best to mention it as many people have been asking us what those funny looking mountains are. They are formed from thousands of years ago and are now known as Fairy chimney's. People actually live in them too but not in the winter as it is definitely too cold for them. If you like hot air ballooning this is the number one spot in the world. The weather was touch and go so both Toma and I gave it a miss but me being in love with photos I would have loved it...just not paying the 150 Euro for a picture though.