{"id":1870,"date":"2023-05-01T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-01T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/?p=1870"},"modified":"2025-05-23T10:31:25","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T08:31:25","slug":"interrail-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/interrail-8\/","title":{"rendered":"My crazy Interrail journey – Chapter 8: Budapest, Szabadk\u00edgy\u00f3s, P\u00e9cel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<< Introduction<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<< Chapter 7: Warsaw and Bratislava<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Budapest is a huge city and one of the places I was looking forward to visit the most. Already at the first stop of my tour of the city, I was able to enjoy its unique beauty from a panoramic spot along the Danube with a perfect view of the magnificent building of the Hungarian Parliament. I walked along the river on the Buda side, the western part of the city, before going up the V\u00e1rhegy, or Castle Hill. Climbing the hill I quickly arrived at the richly decorated Fisherman\u2019s Bastion, which is rightfully famous for its spectacular view over Budapest. I was then in the heart of the Castle District, where the elaborate statue of Saint Stephen stands next to the stunningly gorgeous Matthias Church. With many rich decorations and lavishly adorned interiors, this church stands among the most beautiful of those I visited on the trip. I moved on to explore the rest of the Castle District seeing landmarks such as the Vienna Gate and the ruins of the Church of Mary Magdalene, stopping often at the various panoramic spots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next was the historic Buda Castle, a massive palace complex that dominates the hill. There, I visited the Hungarian National Gallery, the rich art collection hosted inside the castle, before making my way down the hill through the nearby gardens and crossing the Elisabeth Bridge. I originally planned to walk on the more famous Sz\u00e9chenyi Chain Bridge, but it was closed for renovations. Now in Pest, the eastern side of Budapest, I stopped at a restaurant for lunch, where of course I ordered some goulash, the classic Hungarian soup of meat and vegetables seasoned with paprika, which was very tasty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now it\u2019s time to talk about Loona again. One of their sub-units, Loona yyxy, came to Hungary in 2018 to take pictures for their album and film a music video, while another one, Loona 1\/3, went to Prague, my next destination, in 2017 for an album photoshoot. Before starting the trip I looked through all the photos and behind the scenes videos to find out where they were taken and I included all those places in my tour, as I wanted to try and take the same pictures as them (read more about my tour of Loona places in Europe here<\/a>). However, I was not successful on my first try. I went to a precise spot near the E\u00f6tv\u00f6s t\u00e9r tram stop, even finding specific details such as a small number written on a street light and a worn-out sticker on a railing, but there was almost nobody around so no one could take a photo of me. I decided to move on and come back later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Afterwards, I again walked along the Danube, this time on the Pest side, to reach the Parliament building, and I continued until the curious statue of Imre Nagy, leader of the failed 1956 revolution against the Soviet-backed government. Going back toward the city center, I crossed the Kossuth Lajos Square and the nearby Liberty Square, both of which are adorned with many monuments. I stopped a bit to get a delicious k\u00fcrt\u0151skal\u00e1cs<\/em>, the popular Hungarian chimney cake, before seeing the beautiful and large Saint Stephen\u2019s Basilica. There, I was able to get my first successful replica of one of the Loona yyxy album photos, shortly before taking the second one at the Church of Saint Theresa of \u00c1vila.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walking around this area, I passed in front of the elaborate Hungarian State Opera House, the beautiful Doh\u00e1ny Street Synagogue, and the Neoclassical building of the National Museum. I stopped at the Great Market Hall where I was lucky enough to find two 200 forint coins on the ground. Later that evening, I put one away in my bag, together with the other coins I kept to add to my collection, while the second one remained in my wallet. Since I didn\u2019t change currency in Hungary, as I was planning to only pay with card, those were the only forints I had. This seemingly trivial event would be significant the following day. Anyway, after leaving the Great Market Hall, I crossed the entire V\u00e1ci Street, the popular central pedestrian avenue filled with stores and restaurants, until V\u00f6r\u00f6smarty Square, before returning to the hostel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Hungarian
<\/a>

Hungarian Parliament Building<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"Fisherman\u2019s
<\/a>

Fisherman\u2019s Bastion<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"Statue
<\/a>

Statue of Saint Stephen I of Hungary<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"Matthias
<\/a>

Matthias Church<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"View
<\/a>

View of Budapest from the Castle District<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"View
<\/a>

View of the Castle District from the Elisabeth Bridge<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"Goulash\"
<\/a>

Goulash<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"South
<\/a>

South facade of the Hungarian Parliament Building<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"K\u00fcrt\u0151skal\u00e1cs\"
<\/a>

K\u00fcrt\u0151skal\u00e1cs<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"Saint
<\/a>

Saint Stephen\u2019s Basilica<\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The following day was one of the craziest ones of the entire trip. I wanted to go to the castle where Loona yyxy filmed part of the music video for their song \u201clove4eva\u201d, but it\u2019s located hundreds of kilometers away from Budapest, almost at the border with Romania. To get there, I had to take a train to B\u00e9k\u00e9scsaba and then a quick bus ride to Szabadk\u00edgy\u00f3s. Thus, after arriving in B\u00e9k\u00e9scsaba I headed to the bus station, where they told me that the ticket could only be bought on the bus. When I boarded the bus I tried to pay for the ticket with card, but only cash was accepted. I quickly took out the 200 forint coin that I found the day before and, although the bus driver didn\u2019t speak English, I somehow managed to explain where I needed to go. I just wanted to go as far as 200 forints, which by the way is about 50 euro cents, would get me, but instead the bus driver was kind enough to give me a ticket for Szabadk\u00edgy\u00f3s, which would have costed 250 forints. Basically I got a 10 euro cent discount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was finally in Szabadk\u00edgy\u00f3s and I quickly arrived at the Wenckheim Castle. It was truly surreal being in the same place that I saw countless times in the music video, and at every step I was thinking about the scenes that were filmed there. Loona aside, the castle was very beautiful, with decorated interiors and surrounded by a lovely park. Since it has been recently renovated, it was also well maintained. I then had to return to B\u00e9k\u00e9scsaba but this time I had no forints at all, so instead of going to the bus stop I decided to walk. After more than a month of constant walking, the nine kilometers that separate the two towns didn\u2019t feel like an excessive distance. In the end, this unexpected walk in the Hungarian countryside was quite nice, even though it took me about one hour and forty minutes under the strong sunlight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was back in Budapest at 6 p.m. but I was not done for the day. I took the metro and then the tram to H\u0171v\u00f6sv\u00f6lgy, a neighborhood at the outskirts of the Hungarian capital. The reason I went there is once again Loona, as they took some pictures in an American-style restaurant in this area. I went to have dinner there, sitting at one of the tables where the group members sat and I also tried to order the same food that appeared in the photos. Hamburgers and milkshakes are not exactly traditional Hungarian specialties, but they were good anyway and it was really fun being there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Wenckheim
<\/a>

Wenckheim Castle<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"A
<\/a>

A room inside Wenckheim Castle<\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Visiting the Wenckheim Castle felt unreal, but some of the most iconic scenes of the \u201clove4eva\u201d music video, including various dance scenes, were taken somewhere else, at the historic R\u00e1day Palace in P\u00e9cel, a suburb of Budapest. So the next day I again took the train, this time just for a quick twenty-minute ride to P\u00e9cel. I thought that surely a card payment would be accepted this time, like it was at the Wenckheim Castle, since they are both run by the same heritage protection association. I was only partially right, as they accepted cards, but only Hungarian ones. However, the luck that I only have when Loona is involved struck again. Other than me, only two elderly ladies were there to visit the palace and, seeing that I was trying to pay for the ticket, one of them offered to change my euros in forints so I could pay in cash with the local currency. Thus, I was able to enter the palace and, since the guided tour was only in Hungarian, they let me wander around on my own and so I could take all the pictures I wanted. Anyway, this little-known palace, although modest in its outside appearance, hosts a truly spectacular frescoed hall, that could compete in beauty with the decorated rooms of much more famous royal palaces. I then returned to Budapest and I had lunch in a lovely restaurant with some delicious paprika chicken served with dumplings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After lunch I went to the large Heroes\u2019 Square which hosts the impressive Millennium Monument, before entering the vast V\u00e1rosliget park. I spent quite a bit of time walking around this nice garden and I stopped at the adorned Vajdahunyad Castle, where I took some more Loona-related pictures. My time in Budapest was coming to a close, so I decided that it was time to go back to the E\u00f6tv\u00f6s t\u00e9r tram stop. This time I was more lucky and I was finally able to get the photos I wanted. I ended my tour of Budapest by wandering around the city center on both sides of the Danube, crossing the Liberty Bridge before going back to the eastern side and finally to the hostel. I really enjoyed the three days I spent in Hungary, not only because of the fun I had hunting down the places where Loona has been, but also thanks to the many wonderful landmarks I saw and the great food I tried. In addition, after days of feeling unwell, I was finally fully healthy again and I had no problem walking a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Hall
<\/a>

Hall inside the R\u00e1day Palace of P\u00e9cel<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"Heroes'
<\/a>

Heroes’ Square<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"Vajdahunyad
<\/a>

Vajdahunyad Castle<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"Vajdahunyad
<\/a>

Vajdahunyad Castle<\/h4><\/div><\/div>
\"Another
<\/a>

Another statue of Saint Stephen I of Hungary, with a view of the Liberty Bridge<\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 9: Prague and Berlin<\/a> >><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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Already at the first stop of my tour of the city, I was able to enjoy its unique beauty from a panoramic spot along the Danube with a perfect view of the magnificent building of the Hungarian…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3894,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":6,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_8_cover-scaled.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Stefano Cammisa","author_link":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/author\/stefano-cammisa\/"},"author_meta":{"display_name":"Stefano Cammisa","author_link":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/author\/stefano-cammisa\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_8_cover-300x100.jpg","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_8_cover-scaled.jpg",2560,853,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_8_cover-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_8_cover-300x100.jpg",300,100,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_8_cover-768x256.jpg",640,213,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_8_cover-1024x341.jpg",640,213,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_8_cover-1536x512.jpg",1536,512,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_8_cover-2048x683.jpg",2048,683,true],"trp-custom-language-flag":["https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_8_cover-18x6.jpg",18,6,true],"xs-thumb":["https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_8_cover-64x64.jpg",64,64,true],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_8_cover-300x100.jpg",300,100,true],"minimalistblogger-grid":["https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_8_cover-350x230.jpg",350,230,true],"minimalistblogger-slider":["https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_8_cover-850x283.jpg",850,283,true],"minimalistblogger-small":["https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Interrail_8_cover-300x180.jpg",300,180,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Stefano Cammisa","author_link":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/author\/stefano-cammisa\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Budapest is a huge city and one of the places I was looking forward to visit the most. Already at the first stop of my tour of the city, I was able to enjoy its unique beauty from a panoramic spot along the Danube with a perfect view of the magnificent building of the Hungarian...","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["Travel<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Travel<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 3 years ago","modified":"Updated 11 months ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on May 1, 2023","modified":"Updated on May 23, 2025"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on May 1, 2023 3:00 pm","modified":"Updated on May 23, 2025 10:31 am"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1870"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1870\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12288,"href":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1870\/revisions\/12288"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cosmundus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}