Welcome to Hungary

Budapest, Hungary

There is some sweet Jazz music playing as I sit in the community area of a really cool hostel that is essentially an apartment that has a bunch of beds. It feels so comfortable and relaxed here. I feel much more connected to Budapest than I did Prague. We arrived yesterday morning. We took a night train and unfortunately, Josh's expensive digital SLR camera was stolen in the night by two Hungarian gypsies, according to the creepy, bald train conductor with a lazy eye. We wandered around a bit yesterday and ate an amazing meal of sauerkraut and beef goulash at a local indoor market. Last night we met up with a couple girls from couchsurfing -- one of which is supposed to host us tonight. We sat at a laidback bar and talked, and everyone else drank. When the bar closed at 1:00 AM, we headed out to a club. The cover charge was 1000 Forints, approximately seven US dollars. It was like some underground series of tunnels and rooms with pipes and ducts running across the ceiling, and different music playing in different sections. I checked my jacket -- with my sweatshirt inside it and my beanie, scarf and gloves stuffed in pockets -- for another 200 Forints. I danced for awhile while everyone else proceeded to drink more. Overall I had a good time, but it was slightly tense when a Turkish guy who was part of the "group" got very upset that I was dancing with his friend. Fortunately, there was a professional Australian football player named Craig who kept everything cool. The whole experience was rather bizarre and was only exacerbated by the strobing, colored lights and loud American dance music vibrating the walls. Josh and I got back to our hostel at 5:00 AM and after making a quick video journal entry, I passed out.