Budapest to Vienna

I wasn't hungover when I woke up, but I was definitely not 100%. I don't recommend staying out until dawn when you have to checkout at half 10 the next day. I decided to at least try to find the ruin pubs, even if I didn't get to go on the pub crawl. While I was searching for them, I stumbled across a little street market, selling the general tourist crap that's found everywhere in Budapest, but which had a funky little beer shack and it was nice sitting in the sun listening to the chillout house music they were playing through their sound system. I was sure the ruin pubs were just round the corner from there but it took quite a while to find them, because, as I slowly realised, the street names on my map were different to the actual road signs for some mental reason. I ended up walking around in circles like a dick for a while.

It's a bit cheeky to still advertise the ruin pub area as an attraction, as it's clear that most of the area has been redeveloped in recent years, and I very much doubt the remaining places will exist in a couple more. I did find a nice beach-type bar, which reminded me a lot of Yaam in Berlin, where I had a drink and some lunch. BBQ beef and potato salad - nice.

I picked up my bag and jumped in a cab to take me to the station. My taxi driver wasn't anywhere near as crazy as the other I had, but spoke a lot less English. We managed to cobble something together though and, through some shouting, thumbs-up motions, chest pounding and other passionate gestures, I got the impression his favourite Premier League team is West Brom because of the Hungarian player Zoltan Gera, even though I think he's just been released by them.

It's nice to be back in a German-speaking country, where I feel a bit more comfortable talking to people. I got to Vienna at around 6 and headed straight for my hostel. After a much needed shower I went down to the hostel bar as, with an entire day in Vienna to follow, I'd decided to just relax indoors for a while, do some writing and get an early night. I got chatting to Priscila, the very lovely Spanish barmaid, then sat through the mad rush of happy hour; it was easier to do that than fight my way out of the bar, honest. I was just about to finally go once happy hour cleared out when I got talking to a couple of Danish guys. I didn't end up leaving until the bar shut at 2. I had my 4 bed dorm room all to myself, which was awesome.