Hungary – Northtrotter

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Times visited: 2 (1 day in 2013, 9 days in 2016 and two days in 2022)
Cities visited: Budapest
Villages visited: Nagymaros, Visegrád
UNESCO sites visited: Budapest, including the Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter and Andrássy Avenue

My first encounter with Hungary was a very brief one indeed. My family and I were driving through Europe from Denmark to Croatia in the summer of 2013, and being a country collector at the time (much more than now!), I persuaded my dad into doing a detour taking us into the western part of Hungary. We honestly didn’t see much as we were driving on the highway, although we did make a short stop in a small village near Szombathely, which sparked my interest in the country.
In early January 2016, I could finally justify crossing Hungary off the list, as I spent nine days in Budapest, the country’s capital. Nine days is a lot in a city (for me, at least), and while I did take a few day trips, most of my time was spent in Budapest; waking up late, going sightseeing for a few hours, coming back to the hostel in the early evening and repeat. Slow-paced was a new way of travelling for me and although I enjoyed Budapest, I actually found it difficult to motivate myself. However, I’m glad that I had this experience in Budapest as I absolutely loved the city. Despite not being completely motivated, I managed to explore the city thoroughly and visit an invisible exhibition (a must-have experience!). Towards the end of my time there, I discovered that an old friend from high school lives in the city. Now I suddenly had a local to show me all the good spots and to join me on an amazing adventure to a castle above Visegrád on the shores of the Danube River.
I returned to Budapest several years later, in the summer of 2022, to attend an archaeological conference. I didn’t do any sightseeing whatsoever, but I really enjoyed being back in the bustling city, and eating all the delicious vegan foods!