Submitted by Logan Elkins on the 2024 Winter UAPP program in Budapest, Hungary…
We began the second week of our Budapest study abroad trip actually not in Budapest… On our class schedule, we’re granted 2 “free days” for both Sundays of our trip. We decided to utilize our free day to travel to a neighboring country, that being Slovakia. After some train issues… we finally made it to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. The highlight of this day trip was visiting the Bratislava Castle, an impeccable sight to see with impressive architecture all around. We also got to see a couple of churches, restaurants, and of course souvenir shops. Later that week, we had quite an excursion ahead of us, going to a thermal bath! We went to the Szechenyi Baths and Pool facility in Budapest, and it was an amazing experience. We were outside in some thirty-degree weather in a big pool of steaming hot water. Not only was this excursion fun, but the thermal bath experience was also great for the body itself. The following day, we visited the Hungarian Parliament building, which like every other place we’ve visited, was also very architecturally impressive. Pictures truly can’t do the size of this building justice. As we toured the inside of the Parliament, the coolest thing we saw was the Hungarian crown, which we unfortunately weren’t allowed to take pictures of. This week we also had a group cooking class, where we learned how to make various forms of Goulash, a popular Hungarian dish, as well as apple strudel. (Submitted on January 19, 2024)
