What does the morning after a night out in Budapest at two different bars built in ancient buildings with some Scottish girls we met on a walking tour of the city and some of their hostelling compatriots from various countries call for??? (breath in)

Well, a traditional Hungarian bath, of course.

Luke and I had an enjoyable first day where the Buda meets the Pest on Friday. We headed over to the walled city (the other side of the river) early in the day, and — after a brief incident with a clunky rented audio guide that left us more confused than informed — successfully found a free walking tour of the city, where we met a couple of guys and gals from the UK AND learned a thing or two about this stunning Hungarian city to boot. Unfortunately Lassie (our host, by nickname) was ill Friday night, so we headed out to a bar called Mumus, and partied until the wee hours with our new friends and some of their acquaintances (one of whom was an incredibly annoying American who put it upon himself to inform me of what a stupid idea it is to be going into journalism).

After a night like that, we decided to hit up one of the famous bath houses, filled with mineral water reputed to clease toxins and restore health. We may not have steeped sufficiently, as the water’s healing powers mostly escaped us, but we did leave feeling refreshed and happy to have soaked lazily through the afternoon.

Night at the Museums — something we learned only happens once a year — proved a good way to spend a Saturday evening. First stop was the Holocaust museum, where we learned the specific plight of the Hungarian jews and the Roma people during WWII. A stunning 10 per cent of people killed during the Holocaust were of Hungarian origin, so there proved to be much to learn about this particular side of the war. Following that, Terror House was a fascinating trip through the former headquarters of the Soviet Secret police. Unfortunately, it was by far the most popular stop during the museum event, and was absolutely packed to the brim. On top of that, there was not much English content, so we found ourselves roaming through phenomenal photos and brilliant multimedia exhibits with very little context. Thankfully, our final stop at the Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art was well worth the early morning visit (the museums are open until 2 am) due in part to a generous exhibition of the work of Anton Corbijn, the famous music photographer and video director.

After all that, we have made like Christians and rested on this rainy, rainy Sunday in Hungary. Looks like all we’ll get up to today is pick up some books and hang out with our host before we pack up for yet another train ride, this time for the small but scenic Slovenia.

—Wendy