Hasty Wandering in Budapest.

I've been planning to actually write this post for a long time now. It's been a little bit over than a month since I travelled to Budapest by bus. Five hours through Slovakia and Hungary, through hilly steppes and dazzling sunflower fields was adequate to spark my poetic side. I wrote a few poems, dreamed a few dreams, hoping I'd make them real someday, and listened to some inspiring music.

We were accompanied by a travel guide, who exerted a lot of effort in the heat explaining the history behind Budapest, but to be honest, no one was listening. I, personally, was captivated by the mesmerising architecture and profound beauty of the city. It's beyond beautiful. The vast squares, the arrays of palaces and monumental buildings followed by each other, the small packs of quiet tourists passing around. Unlike Prague, Budapest was quiet and calm and it was substantially easier to just stand for a while, take a picture and imagine those who built this city. How I admire them! Unfortunately, we had a long day of sightseeing and the travel guide did not allow us to linger and take casual walks and that, in my opinion, is the worst disadvantage about arranged trips. Cities like those need a few days and perhaps a little bit of solitude to make a memory packed with the city's historical aura. Nonetheless, I am grateful I got to see such blinding majesty and royalty.

First, we headed to Pest (if you didn't know, Budapest is actually made up of two cities which are Buda and Pest).  Pest is more political and functional, for it has the parliament which is, tremenduously attracting.

We also passed by the Varosliget park which had banners protesting the outlash of trees. I respected it a lot, and loved how some people exerted effort to protect the environment in Budapest. It seems that instead of this huge park, the government was planning to build a touristic gallery. But isn't Budapest touristic enough? It is sad that the authority fails to remember the power of people. Ignorance, will forever be our worst enemy.

We headed towards the Heroe's Square, which I didn't have enough time for. Ideally, I would have liked to spend a few hours there with sunglasses and a book. Although I do not like such big cities, but Budapest changed my perception quite a little. It wasn't bombarded with busy people and the car honks did not ruin the clarity of the atmosphere. Everything was quaint and calm, just as I like it.

We had a walk in the Andrassy Avenue, which had all those first-class shops and boutiques and I cannot say the walk there wasn't enjoyable. Yes, it was such a consumerist sight but, one can't help but find it pleasing to feel so dignified once in a while.

The tourist guide then finally allowed us half an hour to stroll near St. Stephen's Basilica, which was situated in the centre of a square. We just sat there, as my sister ate her ice cream, feeding the pigeons the ice cream cone as we sat on the benches. People all around were taking memorable pictures, there was laughter and joy trilling from the nearby cafes. One sometimes does not focus on how beautiful a place is, but the vibe it allows to ascend. Everything in that moment was purely happy and simple and I was, for once, present in the moment, thinking of nothing at all which is something worthwhile, to me.

We took the bus and headed to Buda, and our first stop was the Buda Castle and oh, how a quaint and romantic spot it was! The gardens, fountains and the castle itself was beautiful. Generally, I liked Buda more. I don't know whether this liking came from the late afternoon sunshine glimmering on that creamy-white shade of the castles and buildings or the architecture itself. The afternoon shadows and the designs combined just made Buda look perfect, and I cannot explain more.

We ended the day by taking a boat along the Danube river, passing one bridge to the next and watching Buda and Pest become one, as our vision went from one bank to the other. The driver turned on Strauss's 'The Blue Danube' waltz and my sister and I couldn't be more happy. We, at once, pretended to be Victorian era dancers, and I asked her if she would like to dance. She clutched the tip of her dress and replied 'of course!'

We danced and everybody watched us and laughed. Apparently, we made a sensation, haha. We waltzed like professionals until the waltz ended, and I took a moment to myself just to presently love every second that was passing by.

The ride back home was sweaty and tiring. Fortunately, I was accompanied by a sunset and a moonrise which caught my attention as we passed by the steppes and the sunflowers, their petals sinking to the ground.

I will never forget you, Budapest.