Hungary? Grab a Budapest.

If you're traveling Europe, you should really make time for Budapest. Why? For the awesome.

Budapest: obligatory Hungarian Parliament Building Shot.

Oh is it awesome? Thanks for the advice, Kat! I love awesome places! But why should I go all the way to Hungary? 

Good question, Italics! I trust you know I don't exaggerate. This city has significant cool points.

I ain't lion!

But really, it's up to you. You just have to ask yourself a couple of questions: do you like artistic hipster night life? The answer is yes. Explore the Pest side (East of the river). So get yourself to Szimpla if you like having a drink while staring at bright trippy graphics or while sitting in a thing formerly known as a car. If you like techno and raving, get to Instant, where you can dance under a hoarde of flying rabbits. And once you've done that, check out all the rest of the less heavily tourist ruin pubs. 

What's that you say? You don't care about nightlife? No problem! Budapest has other things too. Like what? Like, (not pictured) really sweet Thermal  Baths that you can experience as daytime therapeutic relaxation or nighttime hardcore bikini parties. Like, (not pictured) really great second hand shops and used book stores where you can find sweet finds like an old copy of Jurassic Park for 300 Forint! Like, enormous markets with literal tons of paprika and peppers for sale.

I hope you like paprika. 

And if you go to the Buda side (West of the river) there are plenty of interesting looking buildings to look at.

World's most underwhelming picture of the very whelming St. Stephen's Basilica.

On the Buda side of the river, you can see all kinds of churches and old stuff.

It's a roof with scales! Like Music! Or Justice! Or fish!

Speaking of Fish, right by the church is the Fisherman's Bastion. Which is pretty.

Pretty Bastion.

It's pretty, from whatever angle.

Lots of pretty.

At night, you can either hit up those sweet Ruin Pubs back in Pest, OR you can look longingly at the beauty that is Buda. Which contains remnants from many different time periods.

The once upon a time castle.

Still a castle.

A great place to get a good view of the city is by hiking up to the Liberty Statue, which was originally put up to honor the Soviets for liberating (in a manner of speaking) the city from the Nazis. It was later re-branded, but lost none of that blocky Soviet chic.

The rebranded communist statue

Classic yoga pose.

One thing you will notice about Budapest: It has bridges. And a river. Like many European cities.

Back on the chain bridge.

And a huge range of architecture, some of which looks like Prague, and some of which looks like sand castles.

And general old things.

In short, it's a cool city with a thriving night life and some pretty old things to look at. And if you go there during the shoulder season, it won't have the tourist overload vibe of many European capitals.

So go to Budapest. Come back from Budapesht.*


*You'll learn to say it like a local. And you won't suffer anyone to mention the city in standard English for a good six months.