The food, the clubs, and the environment

 I promised a more cultural based update so here it is. Since being in Budapest I have noticed very many things that are different than in the states. Some of them are really great... others not so much. Here they are:

The clubs are amazing. The drinking age is only 18 and the bar culture is definitely a part of life here. There is even a law that says that alcohol shops cannot sell alcohol after 10pm. This is done in an effort to help preserve the bar culture. The most interesting bar topic is ruin bars. They are amazing. I've been to three thus far. One is a maze of a building where each room has a different bar and a different type of atmosphere. There are always really interesting decorations (think hipster or Alice in Wonderland). Here's one of the bars that I've been to. It was called the mouth bar and was decorated with mouths all over the places.

Some of the decorations that would be expected in a bar here.

 Another used to be a house with a court yard but they opened up the entrance to the court yard so part of the bar is inside and part is outside. This again has multiple rooms with multiple bars (not so much dance floors). This is a much more relaxed bar; it also has a hookah bar in one of the rooms. The other clubs that I have been to have also all been very interesting with multiple dance floors of different music types. I have yet to have any negative experiences at these bars besides one of my watches getting stolen (right off of my wrist!). The amount of theft in Budapest is pretty extreme, but I've been pretty lucky thus far. Otherwise, everyone has been very respectful and helpful (this of course does not persuade me to ever drop my guard). I've really enjoyed being able to go out and dance so often. Since participating in my university's Cabaret performance in May, I have realized that I really do love to dance and that I would like to start taking lessons when I can.

Goulash and potatoes, my first Hungarian meal

Risotto with goulash. This was really good.

The food here is really good. It is much cheaper, if you are okay with not eating meat that is. Fast food consists of Turkish food such as gyros and fruit stands; it's much healthier but I have to admit that I do miss Taco Bell and the many to-go Mexican restaurants. There are so many places to go and a lot of the food tastes homemade. I've been doing really well with eating gluten free. Many stores store gluten free products such as pastas and crackers/cookies. Risotto has been a very common food for me, but I've also had my taste of goulash, a lot of Turkish food, some Mexican (I really had to hunt for that restaurant), and Italian (I even found a gluten-free pizza place). There is definitely a much more limited amount of options here because there is a much more narrow palate that has to be provided for than there is in the US. I have yet to find an Asian restaurant. There is one little shop by my school that I have gone to a couple times that has really good food. The people are getting to know me and are keeping better track of what is and isn't gluten free. Upon eating so much Hungarian food, I can really start to feel for my Hungarian/ German roots. I've had it occur multiple times where I've been eating something and thought to myself “Man, this tastes like something my mom or dad would make”. The alcohol is also very good, and I think that my new favorite alcohol is probably Palinka, a fruit based alcohol that Hungary is known for. The ice cream/gelato is also really good, but since I had a small banana allergy the last time that ate it and I have not since eaten any. I think that my favorite meal thus far was my lunch today (my favorite keeps changing daily). It was from the little shop by my school <3 and was a dish with chicken and potatoes (kinda like a stew) over rice. It was really good.

Things are much more natural and efficient for the environment here. Many stores charge for plastic bags, and because of this most people reuse bags or buy reusable shopping bags. Most people use public transit instead of driving and there are always a lot of people riding bikes and motorcycles. I'm not sure if this is really a green movement or if that is simply how things are done here because of it being a city. However, in exchange for the fresher air in this respect one gets the problem of smokers. They are everywhere and there are many of them. This has really made me appreciate the US and its laws against smoking in public buildings/areas.

That's all for now. I will put up another post shortly. I'm sorry about the large time gap between postings, but I am here to study and experience that culture here, and as such I have been very busy doing that. I have a limited data amount per month, and posting on here takes up much more data than on Facebook, so if you would like to see more pictures, feel free to add me as a friend on there.