BackpackBanter

The

WeekenderEdition

Three Cities. Three Weekends.

How much can you get out a two

day trip in...

Budapest

Berlin

and Barcelona

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CONTENT

Budapest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p3-4

Berlin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p5-6

Contact Information

backpackbanter@aol.com

Travel tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . p7-8

Photos provided by

Peter Diamond

Owan Cook

Thomas Kearns

Angela Brown

Agness Walewinder

www.travelblog.com

A Weekend in Budapest

Budapest has it all to offer the young traveller and with

direct flights from Edinburgh there’s no excuse not to

savour the city’s delights.

When you arrive in the largest city in Eastern Europe

for the first time there is definitely something to grab

everyone’s attention.

Budapest was founded in 1873 through the joining of

Buda, Pest and Old Buda, with the famous Danube

River running between Buda and Pest. And it is the per-

fect East meets West city with its gritty, romantic, bo-

hemian culture and atmosphere means it is the perfect

getaway that ticks all the boxes.

From St. Stephens Basilica to a pub-crawl of the ruin

bars the city has something to offer everyone. One of the

best ways to get around is to rent a bike or get an open

top bus tour. Another thing to prepare for is the sheer

size of the place however something quite reassuring is

the number of grass parks around the city centre, includ-

ing City Park which plays host to one of the famous ther-

mal baths.

Budapest is a spa city with thermal springs bubbling up

from the deep and with a bathing culture dating back to

Roman times. And thermal baths are one of the best fea-

tures of Budapest and taking a dip in one of the historic

baths should be on every visitor’s to-do-list. It’s a fun and

pleasant way to relax after touring the city and the ther-

mal water’s healing power is an added benefit if you’re

trying to cure a hangover.

There are six baths which are placed all around the city.

All are equal in quality but going on size, the grandest

surely has to be Gellert or Szechenyi. These baths hold

15 indoor pools, three outdoor pools and 10 saunas and

steam rooms.

If you visit during the summertime be sure to get to

Szechenyi on a Saturday night where the biggest bath

turns into the biggest party in Budapest. Locals and trav-

ellers from all over the world come together from 10pm

till 3am to dance and drink in a truly unique experience.

There is an endless amount of attractions to visit in Bu-

dapest but the highlights might include the tallest monu-

ment in the city, Heroes’ Square, Parliament building,

Royal Palace and Margret Island, which is an island, situ-

ated on the Danube.

Perhaps the best

way to see these at-

tractions is to take a

walking tour of the

city. The free walk-

ing tour is highly

recommended as it

covers most of the

main attractions. Re-

member to tip the

students who take

the tour as they give

3

Budapest

Szimpla Kert Parliament building

great insight into Hungarian

culture, traditions and history.

Accommodation in the Pest

side of the city is the most con-

venient as most of the nightlife

and good pubs are situated

there. There are many hostels

for travellers but none have a

friendlier atmosphere than

Come On Inn hostel in the Old

Jewish quarter. A bed in a dorm

for three nights will cost £35pp

however a studio apartment for

two would cost £120. The hos-

tel has everything you would

need and more, providing a

real family atmosphere for the

guests.

For travellers willing to spend a little bit more Hotel

Budapest Center offers a luxury double room for three

nights for £200. Guests can enjoy their breakfast in the

comfort of their own room or in the stylish dining

lounge before setting off for the day. The location is just

200 metres from the Astoria or Franciscan Square metro

lines.

Eating in a foreign country can be daunting for some

people but experiencing Hungarian food gives you a real

flavour of Hungarian culture. If you are on a budget and

looking for a cheap authentic valuable meal then visit the

Blue Rose restaurant situated round the corner from the

famous Szimpla Kert ruin bar. Order the Hungarian set

menu for four courses including bread and Goulash

soup – Eastern Europe cuisine – Sopska salad, grilled

pork with chips and Hungarian ice cream, all for the

equivalent of £7.20.

For travellers want-

ing something extra

special, go to Zeller

Bistro, ranked the

number one Hun-

garian restaurant in

Budapest.

Situated in the

Pest side of the city

Zeller offers main

courses from the

equivalent of £6 and

still provides great value for money. The only downside

is that it is so good you need to make a reservation.

Once your stomach is lined it’s time to hit some of the

bars. The seventh and eighth districts of the city are

loaded with pubs, mainly the famous ‘ruin bars’ which

are essentially bars and nightclubs in derelict tenement

houses and factory buildings. They have a vintage feel to

them but there is no specific design and certainly no

rules.

There are always groups on pub-crawls of the ruin bars

and it is probably the easiest way to get around most of

them, as they can be quite difficult to find without a

guide. They will usually end the night in the ruin night-

club “Instant” where travellers will swap stories and swig

on a cold one.

Jet2 fly direct from Edinburgh – a Thursday to Sunday

return flight will set you back £214pp including hand lug-

gage, with the flight times being generous so you have as

much time in Hungary as possible.

The Szechenyi baths

4

Sopska salad

A Backpacking Scot in Berlin

There is really no excuse not to travel to one of the

most accessible and affordable cities Europe has to offer.

Berlin delivers on every aspect of culture, seeped in its

historic oppressive past; modern Berlin is quite the paral-

lel.

There is an absolute vibrancy about Berlin that is quite

unique, unsure whether it spans the whole of Germany;

the liberal, staunch atmosphere grabs you from the

Schnitzel to the Spree.

From fun to fascinating Berlin provides an endless

amount of culture and zest. Start you trip to the capital

by getting a tour of the city, some of the free tours pro-

vided are first class but I would recommend hiring a bicy-

cle for the a day and viewing it that way, as it enables you

to be in charge. The roads are extremely bike friendly

and it is the perfect vehicle for exploring and getting to

and from all the main attractions.

Visit the Unter den Linden as soon as you can to get fa-

miliarised with the main boulevard and to see Berlin’s

most important and historical buildings. Here you will

find an array of museums, Cathedrals, War Memorials,

Embassies, and the famous Brandenburg Gate.

Food in Berlin can be found cheap and cheerful. Spe-

cialities such as the Bratwurst and Currywurst can be lo-

cated at thousands of food stalls across the city,

accompanied with chips and hardly ever stretching 5

euros. Another excellent attraction for food is the Burger-

miester Café where you will find the best burger and

chips in Berlin for less than 4 euros. An ideal stop here

would be during summer on the way back from a day

spent at the Badeschiff, a floating outdoor swimming

pool situated on the river Spree. A bizzare concept for

people who only know the river Clyde, but one that ulti-

mately leaves you amazed and slightly jealous our Scot-

5

Berlin

tish weather hinders opportunities such as that.

Other must see attractions include the Memorial of the

Berlin Wall and the poignant Holocaust Memorial,

which acts as a reminder to the not so distant, devastat-

ing history these parts possess. Both are extremely mov-

ing and could take up hours of your time, yet both are

free, providing cost effective rich cultural trips.

If you are in Berlin over a weekend definitely visit the

Mauerpark on the Sunday afternoon for a exceptional ex-

perience. The park is transformed into a sort of mini fes-

tival with a massive flea market, street performers,

musicians, and many beer and food stalls available. If you

look around on a summer Sunday you will see scores of

families and groups of friends having their own barbe-

ques on the grass enjoying the atmosphere. Best of all

though is the ‘Bearpit Karaoke’ at the amphitheatre on

the hillside of the park. Members of the public take up

the challenge of singing their song while the public audi-

ence either laugh at them or join in, it truly is a great way

to spend your Sunday and did I mention it is free?

When it comes to clubbing Berlin provides quite the

selection, especially for the techno lover who won’t leave

the nightclub till sunrise. Renowned for its strict door

policy Berghain is perhaps the most infamous with a sup-

posedly ‘anything goes’ rule once you get inside. Other

major clubs like Tresor, situated in an abandoned power

station, possess a different type of pounding energy and

Watergate also holds the special attraction to clubbers as

it sits floating on the river Spree. Entry fee to these

nightclubs usually range between the 10 and 20 euro

bracket depending on who is performing on the night.

For travellers looking for a quieter affair Berlin offers

some very distinctive bars. The Weinerei bar on

Fehrbelliner Street is more of a social experiment than a

public house. On entry you hire a 100ml glass for 2

euros, and then participate in an extraordinary experi-

ence. You are allowed to drink as much wine as you wish,

but you have to keep in mind how much you are drink-

ing because at the end they ask you to pay for how much

you have taken. Therefore no one is monitoring or polic-

ing your intake, so it's more of an honesty policy. There

is also a buffet of food that goes by the same rules.

For accommodation I would look no further than St.

Christopher’s Inn situated on Rosa-Luxemburg Street in

the Mitte area of the city. Three nights in a 12 bed dorm

on a weekend will cost £60 but it is well worth it if you

want to meet other groups of travellers. The hostel has a

bar which provides food and stay here entitles you to

25% off the price.

Return flights with EasyJet from Glasgow vary through-

out the year but rarely exceed £150 with hand luggage.

6

Holocaust Memorial

Bearpit karaoke

7

Travel

Adventurous friends Agness and

Cez from Poland call themselves

‘Etrampers’, a phrase they

coined to describe the lifestyle

they have chosen. Combining

a shoestring budget of travel-

ling the world with their on-

line content about all of their

experiences.

What made you want to travel?

Cez: In my case travel bug has a name

– Agness – don’t get me wrong, she

did not bite me. She just convinced

me to go with her to France, Italy,

Spain and Egypt. That’s when I

started to think about travelling

more. Not a long time later I decided that I

had enough of my 9-5 job, steady-Eddie life

and I was in a need of real adventure.

That’s when the bug matured and there

was no way back…

Agness: Travelling has always been in my

blood. I wanted to explore the world

since I was a little kid, but I could

not afford it. When I went to the

university and got my first part-

time job, I

was able

to save some money and then my real adven-

tures started. My first real travel journey was

in August 2011 when I set off to China for 10

months and made me realize travelling is my

real passion.

How long have you been travelling for?

Since August 2011.

What has been your favourite place to visit?

Cez: Truly difficult question for anyone who

travels. There were so many memorable expe-

riences, of which many could be described as

the most memorable, that I don’t believe I

could list them all on my own blog. Neverthe-

less, I think one comes first to my mind when

asked such question. It’s the visit to Zhangjia-

jie in China that made me awestruck. Imag-

ine walking on a man-made balcony situated

near the top of 800-metre high vertical cliff.

Now, take into consideration that I have a

considerable fear of heights. Then, suddenly,

My foot slips into a hole… I fell only half a

metre because it was too small for my body,

fortunately. Yes, it was hard for me to breathe

for another few minutes.

Agness: For me it’s been every minute spent

in Lhasa, the capital city in Tibet.

When people heard the first sen-

tence, they always ask “What was

8

Tips

with

Agness Walewinder

so special about Lhasa?” During my whole

stay in Lhasa I felt like it was my place on

Earth. I felt so connected with everything sur-

rounding me and really would like to settle

down here in the future when Tibet eventu-

ally gets entirely free. I am interested in Bud-

dhism religion, the scenery was just incredible

and people are so hospitable.

How do you finance your world travels?

Unfortunately we were not born in rich fami-

lies, we don’t get any financial support from

anyone and we never had any possessions we

could sell to travel the world either. How do

we do it then? It’s simple – we work our a***s

off in every single country we travel to. We

were full-time English teachers in China, web

designers and photographers in Cambodia

and who knows what else we can do in the fu-

ture! We also control our limited budget by

never buying too many clothes, rarely party-

ing, always cycling or walking instead of using

cabs and local transport and sleeping in dead-

cheap hostels. Nevertheless, travelling on the

cheap doesn’t mean we don’t treat ourselves

with some good food or won’t go to do some

amazing activities. It rarely happens, but

it does happen. The most important to us

is to keep the balance. That’s our main

rule – “if you spend too much

one day, make sure you spend less the

day after”. In this way, we can slowly

travel all 7 continents without

(hopefully) any debts!

What advice would you give

anyone thinking of travelling

the world?

If travelling has been your

dream, make it come true

as soon as possible. Leave

your comfort zone and

make it your priority. If "PLAN A" does-

n't work out don't worry, you

still have 25 letters left!

You can keep up to date

with Agness and Cez on

their travelling adventures

by visiting their Etramping

website.

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