[vc_row][vc_column][vc_message]This is a photo-heavy travel post about Budapest[/vc_message][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
I was fascinated by so much that I saw in Budapest.
The grocery stores, markets, food
Spaces, things available to the public.
Playgrounds
The playgrounds were so nicely designed, new, cushy, the kind every child wants to spend time in.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”53253″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” link=”http://www.meriahsnaps.com”][vc_single_image image=”53255″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” link=”http://www.meriahsnaps.com”][vc_single_image image=”53254″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” link=”http://www.meriahsnaps.com”][vc_single_image image=”53260″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” link=”http://www.meriahsnaps.com”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The buildings in Budapest are famous for a reason: they are almost unbearably lovely.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”53267″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” link=”http://www.meriahsnaps.com”][vc_single_image image=”53268″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” link=”http://www.meriahsnaps.com”][vc_single_image image=”53256″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” link=”http://www.meriahsnaps.com”][vc_single_image image=”53257″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” link=”http://www.meriahsnaps.com”][vc_single_image image=”53132″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” link=”http://www.meriahsnaps.com”][vc_column_text]
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The doors are like art; the details made my soul ache with the beauty.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”53266″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” link=”http://www.meriahsnaps.com”][vc_single_image image=”53222″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” link=”http://www.meriahsnaps.com”][vc_single_image image=”53184″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” link=”http://www.meriahsnaps.com”][vc_single_image image=”53208″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” link=”http://www.meriahsnaps.com”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]But I found after a while that I didn’t care very much anymore about how gorgeous everything was.
I was just unhappy with how mean and grumpy everyone seemed to be.
You know, I’d walk up to a little kiosk and smile and make eye contact and emit ALL THE GOOD VIBES and ask for some bread or something and the sales person would visibly roll their eyes and all but spit at the bread before handing it to me.
It was like they could not be more put out by being there, by our existence, by absolutely everything surrounding them.
Add that to heat, miles of walking, trying to figure things out and you’ll get a mom who was getting increasingly put off by the attitude, less willing to shine the good vibes.
Even though I suspected that I could be in the wrong areas at the wrong time – or in a tourist zone? Or just unlucky? – I was seriously thinking of just leaving because there didn’t seem to be a point to being in a place that, however gorgeous, was just mean.
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The Railroad Museum of Budapest
We went to the Railroad Museum when I was feeling no positive vibes and ready to leave the next day.
It took a long time to get there – about 6 transfers through Metro and Tram (we left the stroller at home through the entire trip to Budapest on account of the flights of stairs and lack of overall access).
I noticed that people got nicer as we got further from the city proper.
They looked less grumpy. We got more smiles – even if just eye smiles or eye warmth.
I thought later how impossibly different Hilo is from Budapest – I mean, the town where everyone smiles at everyone else and says hello, waves shaka, with the city where everyone walks around like their house just burned down.
Anyway, so.
Like I was saying, people were getting a little warmer with more transfers we had, then we were at the Railroad Museum.
The Railroad Museum was cool.
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The people there seemed nice and I definitely enjoyed all of their trains. As did the kids.
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We made our way back
We made our way by walking, then via trams to the subway station and decided to stop for a bite to eat at a station eatery (that looked remarkably like a Mexican taqueria).
We got food, settled in, and after a while, Micah told me that people at the back of me seemed to be deaf, signing.
I turned and sure enough!
We started talking, and it felt like I was home.
The lady spoke ASL; the man only Hungarian sign.
But we had the best conversation about just.. stuff.
Everything and nothing and it felt so easy and wonderful to talk to them and laugh at their (many) jokes (like she couldn’t believe all of my kids were from the same father, and joked that I had a lot of guys stashed around with all these kids of mine).
We laughed and laughed and it felt sooooooooooo good after holding all that tension inside – it was like the steam blowing out from a pressure cooker.
Tears slipped out of the corners of my eyes from the delicious release of all the pressure and joy of friendship and through the laughter my heart opened to Budapest.
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Read More of My Travel Blog Posts:
Rick Steves Europe Through the Back Door
Meriah Nichols is a counselor. Solo mom to 3 (one with Down syndrome, one on the spectrum). Deaf, and neurodiverse herself, she’s a gardening nerd who loves cats, Star Trek, and takes her coffee hot and black.
Wow–really interesting. I feel like people’s attitudes can totally make or break a trip. I’m glad you managed to find the good! I love the pics of your kids on that train. Such joy!
I am not sure of course if it’s the same for everyone. I wonder about the people who load up on tourist buses and go and see sight after sight – they have no interaction with locals… how is that, and how can that make or break things?
I have been on a few tours myself, but they were very small tours and covering places I wouldn’t be able to reach on my own (- like the Uyuni salt planes in Bolivia and Colca Canyon in Peru). They were a lot of fun, but seem different from the busses I saw around in Budapest (and at home in Hawaii too for that matter!)
thats a great post thanks for the share i really liked it