I left my *legs* in Budapest.

I have to admit that when my housemate told me that she really wanted to visit Budapest before leaving Europe at the end of the semester, to say I was dubious is probably an understatement. I thought that this whole scheme was going to be crazy, expensive and difficult.

How wrong could I be? Well, it was a bit of a challenge since we flew from Eindhoven and so we had the cross-country journey before we had even started the flight. All in all, travelling time was enormous. We also seemed to take every single form of transport that day so when we arrived at the hostel to a chorus of ‘are you coming out tonight?’; I think that our legs said a definite ‘NO’! In fact once we did arrive (including the climb of four flights of stairs to our room), a heavy, bunk-bedded sleep was a definite on the agenda.

However, once revitalised, we certainly were not disappointed in the beauty, intrigue and splendour of the city. Whilst it is called ‘Budapest’, it was originally two cities, ‘Buda’ and ‘Pest’, separated by a river.

We started our day with a (free!) walking tour across the bridges, up hills, hearing the history and the myths; all with a friendly Hungarian touch.

After a whole day of walking, we were exhausted; but all the beautiful sights had been worth it. Apologise for ALL the pictures, I couldn’t decide which place was the most beautiful!

Sitting by the gleaming river made me realised just how lucky I was to have this chance to travel and grateful of the opportunity which has been presented to me. I’ve always been told – you always regret the things you didn’t do more than the things you did – and in this case, it seemed so true!

Another day and a trip to the famous Hungarian baths – hot pool, cold pool, sauna, shower, pool … rinse and repeat!

A traditional dinner was also in order with the famous Goulash soup, paprika chicken and espresso – I think my stomach was certainly happy I’d made the decision to start the trip!

All in all a beautiful trip – if you get a chance Leideners perhaps you’ll be able to find your own exciting escape. Be sure to enjoy! For now, good luck recovering from mid-terms and papers!

Although, after it taking about a week for my legs to recover from trying to take in the city in a couple of days, I can truly say ‘I left my *legs* in Budapest’!