Parties and reflection in Budapest

What happens when a young bloke travels through Europe on his own? You might think it’s all about partying, and while there’s a lot of that, there’s also a lot of self-reflection, human connection and admiring local architectural wonders. In this week’s edition of You’ve Been Where? our nephew Cody McFarlane-Squires tells us about his trip to Budapest. From karaoke to the stunning interior of the local McDonald’s, from aqua parks to matching tattoos, this trip had it all!

We love hearing about the travel experiences of our friends, family and readers of AllAbroad.com.au. We pick up so many tips and find new places to travel. We thought you might like to hear about their adventures too. So in this section we turn the website over to you, our travel family.

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Who are you and what do you do for a living?

My name is Cody McFarlane-Squires and I’ve just finished studying marketing and psychology. For work I do delivery driving for a supply chain company and I also do support work for people with disabilities.

Where is home?  

I live in Melbourne, Australia.

Where have you been? When did you go?

I went travelling across Europe. I began in Greece on my own, moving up towards Albania, Montenegro enroute to Croatia when I met some friends. I then continued my solo travel in Mostar, reaching cities Belgrade, Budapest, Krakow, Prague and Munich afterward. This was the end of my solo travel and I met up with my sister, her boyfriend and a friend in Dublin. After two days, my friend and I had the next three weeks together. We visited Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, Porto, Amsterdam and Berlin. 

Who did you travel with?

For Budapest I travelled solo.

What were the highlights of your trip?

In Budapest I stayed in a small, party hostel named Carpe Noctem. Highlights were in abundance as there were events each night, usually involving meeting people, fun games and copious amounts of drinking. 

On one particular day a group of five of us decided to visit one of the many aqua parks that Budapest has to offer. While Budapest is renowned for their thermal baths and these were indeed worth a visit on a later day, this particular aqua park contained multiple water slides to thrill us, large pools for playing games and a bar to refresh ourselves with some cocktails. 

Hostel events were the main highlights of our nights, including multiple boat parties, a bus party, bowling and bingo nights. These events made it easy to meet people and make great memories before heading out to the various bars Budapest has to offer. 

What did you least like about your trip?

I don’t really have anything I didn’t like about this trip to Budapest, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Maybe if I could move Budapest onto a coast so there’d be more beaches, haha.

Do you have any funny stories from your travels?

There were too many to count. When I was at the end of my trip, my hostel pleaded for me to stay another night. I’d already paid for transport and my next hotel. But, being the rubber arm I can be, I decided to leave it up to a coin toss and of course it landed in favour of me staying. I ended up staying another night after this also. I left with no regrets however as I had a great few more days afterward and a fun memory I can look back on.

What were the locals like?

The locals were friendly and everyone seemed pretty relaxed and chilled out. The locals I met out at night all had a great vibe to them, and I felt safe the whole time in their company and while wandering the streets. 

What was the food like?

I’m not notoriously the most adventurous when it comes to trying local food, however I highly recommend trying some Langos. Langos is a deep-fried bread with toppings of your choice. I chose garlic, sour cream and cheese as advised greatly by my tour guide and it was delicious. If you enjoy McDonald’s, there is a really cool McDonald’s you can visit in the city!

Did you learn anything about yourself or the world on this trip?

I learned that many great memories or shared experiences can come from putting yourself out there and doing things you haven’t done before. In other words escaping the ordinary and getting uncomfortable at times. 

This included times like giving karaoke a go, dressing up silly to go to a bar or playing drinking games that involve pairing up and doing things together you wouldn’t usually do. At the extreme end this meant getting matching tattoos with people I’d only known for a few days! 

Although I can see the trivial side in what I am saying, and perhaps youthful ignorance, these activities really did have the power of bringing people together and creating genuine connections and memories. It’s surprising the connection and fun you can have with people when shared interactions are unfamiliar and escape the mundane. 

When I go home, I won’t be afraid to put myself in unfamiliar settings or to try new experiences, as I’ve learned the potential these have for enjoyment and in creating new relationships. This lesson is also consistent with my intention of travelling solo, in reaping the rewards of putting yourself out there. 

Would you recommend others travel here? Why/Why not

Budapest has a really chilled and fun vibe to it for people wanting to enjoy themselves, with an extensive range of nightlife options. It also has a vast history to learn about between its divided Buda and Pest areas. When wandering the streets there is some really pretty buildings, especially Parliament House which is even more magical at night. The weather was pretty good every day I was there also. You can expect a relatively affordable trip here too!

Do you have any tips for people thinking of travelling here?

Go and see it for yourself! I can only share my experience as a younger person travelling there who did a lot of partying, however the city is beautiful and its history is appealing to all ages! Definitely go visit the thermal baths when you’re there, and try said food. It has one of the nicest McDonald’s in the world in terms of interior design, and definitely go see the Parliament House at night. If you’re looking for some nightlife, one of their ruin bars might also be worth checking out!

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