My birthday started on the 28th, with a trip into Mitte for jazz at B Flat with my friends Hannah, Patrick, and some of their friends. We grabbed a small table in the packed house, and enjoyed differnt groups playing on stage. It was a cute place and really popular for a Wednesday! At midnight our table of about 10 burst into "Happy Birthday" over the saxaphones and piano. I felt really special - the birthday was off to a great start!
My birthday tree surrounded by presents and cards! I opened my gifts in the morning and Skyped with Mom and Dad!
The free coffee and cake I had on my birthday at the German bakery where I picked out my decadent chocolate cake!
On my actual birthday, I made a fiesta themed dinner at my apartment with mom's taco meat recipe. I was wearing a new outfit and necklace, hostessing with Martha Stewart style, complete with matching napkins, appetizers, candles, and flowers. Friends filled the apartment and formed an assembly line through the kitchen and along the large table for hard and soft tacos. Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" and delved into the delicious cake. It was really a lot of fun. The plan was to karaoke afterwards, but the machine was broken! So Plan B went into action, and we had drinks in Friedrichshain in a cute little bar. Then Rachel and I cleaned up the last remains of the dinner party and fell into bed.
Jordan, Hannah, and Patrick chowing down on tacos
All smiles with my birthday cake!
Martin and Catherine at drinks
With Rachel
Anna, Chris, and Jill at drinks
With my English friends, Rachael and Gemma!
Rach and I caught the last train home and were pumped - especially for Budapest in the morning!
I hardly slept, as I was nervous about missing my flight - even though it wasn't until 10:30 AM, and I had Rachel staying with me on the same flight. But 7 AM rolled around quickly enough, and Rachel and I made it to the airport with no problems and 2 hours ahead of departure time. We grabbed a cup of coffee and waited to board.
Our flight took off an hour late, but it was really was an enjoyable experience on EasyJet. And we made it to Budapest right after lunch. Rachel and I made our way to the hostel, both not super confident in our map reading skills and our general lack of Hungarian language skills. But we made it fine to the hostel, checked in, and then were off to explore the city!
We did a lot of walking around for the afternoon, not wanting to see too many sites without Matt and Erin who were arriving that evening. We had some delicious Goulash soup and crusty bread for lunch and had seen most of the city by foot when Matt and Erin arrived. And we even had been laughed at when we thought we could visit the National Museum for 30 minutes before closing (we promptly left when we were strongly urged to spend more time with Hungarian national history).
We had a mini reunion back at the hostel, now with a group of 4 ready to explore the city. We headed to a recommended restaurant that was packed called Menza. We waited a short while, catching up on each other's lives and experiences from different cities dotted around Germany, over a glass of wine. Then we were whisked away to a table upstairs, where we selected adventurous dinners from the menu (that were fantastic!) It was already pretty late, so after dinner we made our way back to the hostel. I was so tired, I nearly crawled into bed. And I knew the next day would be an early start!
We were all showered and out the door by 8 AM, ready to take Budapest by storm by cramming in as many sites as possible in our one full day. We started with the Basilica Cathedral, followed by a guided tour of the grand Parliament building. We made our way out of Pest and into Budda by crossing the Danube over a grand bridge, taking in all of the beautiful city-scape sites along the way. We toured the old city in Budda and the Royal Palace, and also the Catholic Church where the Hungarian Kings had been crowned. We dined for lunch in a super small sandwich shop that did not boast much for atmosphere, but was not so expensive and really good. We headed toward the National Museum, this time with an hour and half, and I discovered a lot about Hungarian history (from everything I could read! : ) And I think Matt was in heaven hunting around the museum. we re-grouped and then we paused for coffee and cake break after the museum.
The next part of our evening was one of my most favorite moments in Europe so far!!! Budapest is known for their natural warm springs and mineral baths, and we had to experience a dip before leaving the city. We had packed out suits in our bag and changed when we got there. It was packed, and we all forgot shower shoes to wear walking around, but all of those set backs melted away in the giant outdoor pools. I was in heaven!! I haven't been swimming really since I've been in Germany, and I was doing laps, flips, headstands, and floating around. It was really relaxing, and we had a 2 hour pass from 8-10pm. The baths were lit up and the air was crisp outside - but the baths were warm and refreshing. And it started snow flurrying! So I was able to swim some backstroke laps as the snow flakes hit my face. It was amazing!
The baths (thanks to Matthew for these shots!)
After we were sufficiently cured of all diseases with the baths healing powers, we dried off and went for dinner and drinks. We found some interesting places, filled with colorful locals, but it was the perfect ending to our jammed packed day. We were laughing and telling stories, before collapsing into bed. The next day came early, and we were off back home. Rachel came back to Berlin with me to stay the night, which included a yummy dinner at the Greek restaurant followed by Devil Wears Prada in sweat pants. It was a great birthday weekend!!
Thanks for all the birthday wishes, cards, and emails, and hope all is well!
Budda in the background by the Danube River
Rachel and I grab fancy coffees on the Shopping Street for a break from all of the walking
The Hungarian money felt like spending Monopoly money - dinner would be around 20, 000 Ft!!
Matt and Rachel with coffee for an early Saturday morning start!
Sipping a cappuccino outside the Basilica with Erin
The Basilica with Rachel
The carpets in the Parliament were hand woven and beautiful!
Overlooking the Parliament
Rachel is a little too tall for the Parliamentarians in Hungary : )
Inside Parliament
The Royal Palace
So touristy :)
The girls - Rachel, Erin, and me
Erin bravely opens the door to the Labyrinth of Courage
Some extremely bizarre sites in the underground passage ways of the city - aka the Labyrinth
That's right, we survived the Labyrinth of Courage and found this giant sun mirror at the end
Looking onto the Pest side from the Royal Palace
Attempting our jumping pictures....
Matt really got off the ground this time!
I am so glad I got to see Rachel! Together with the whole city behind us
The Royal Palace from behind, with the ancient Roman Ruins in the forefront
Roman ruins!
