I am heading home for a month of much needed vacation, and I am writing this from Liszt Ferenc Airport, Budapest's main hub. Even though I will hopefully be back in January, there is a certain finality to leaving a place at the end of the year. Or perhaps that's just the way it feels to me. Maybe it's an effect of the heavy fog that's currently surrounding the airport: a place of departure enveloped by a cloud so thick that anything could potentially hidden on the inside. Regardless, here is a list of a few things I will miss about Budapest.
The food and drink: while there's hardly any fish on the menu in Hungary, there are plenty of delicious meat and vegetable dishes to make up for it. Paprikás, which literally means "pepper" in Hungarian, can be found in most every dish. Other popular seasonings? Sour cream, parsley, and garlic. The food is almost uniformly terrible for you, and that's what makes it so delicious. There are healthy options (my second to last night there, I ate at a vegan restaurant that you would never have suspected of veganism) but if you aren't eating something delightfully meaty or sweet, you aren't doing Budapest right.
The people: when I lived in Japan, I found that people usually avoided me because I was obviously foreign. Not so in Hungary. As odd as it sounds, having random people come up to you on the street to ask for directions or try to hand you a flier or, in one memorable case, complain about a man who had started across the road while the traffic light was still red was actually quite fun. It felt good to be a part of something larger than myself, even though I spoke so little Hungarian.
The public transit: oh my lord, is getting around the city ever easy. I sprung for a monthly pass (9800 forints, around 45 American dollars) each month, and that covered me for every form of transport within city limits, save for the antiquated funicular that goes from Clark Adam square to the top of Castle Hill. I could even ride a ferry down and around the Danube if I felt like waiting. Even with the ongoing construction of the fourth Metro line and the occasional tearing up and rebuilding of the tram tracks, I never felt like I had to struggle to reach a destination.
The pleasant surprises: I got lost in Pest one day and came across a wonderful little square (Egytem square, I learned) that boasted some cute cafes, a large memorial to soldiers who fought and died in World War I, and a stone fountain in the shape of a giant book. I wandered down Andrassy boulevard one night and came across the Opera house, which was broadcasting a new performance on a giant TV screen set up outside; hundreds of onlookers had filled the chairs set up in the street. I climbed out of the M1 Vörösmarty square station a week ago and found myself in the middle of a Christmas market. Not being able to speak a language can be frustrating at times, but making discoveries like the ones above is part of why I love going to foreign countries so much. If you ever get a chance to go to Budapest, explore! Maybe you'll find something I didn't.
So with all that said and done, I'm still looking forward to seeing my family and friends in the United States. But as excited as I am to be coming home, I'll be looking forward to returning to all of these elements when I fly back in 2013.
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