Visiting Buda and Pest by the Danube in Hungary

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Every bit of traveling you do becomes your very own. No matter how popular or crowded a place is, your visit will always be unique. Today in Budapest, Hungary, Masayo and I saw some of the city for the first time: we visited several famous places and missed others. Nobody else’s time in Budapest was exactly like ours, and I enjoyed everything because of that. My blood sugars were even quite good all day – until after dinner. Again.

After the terrible blood sugars of the last two days – including a 313 last night and then a 3:00 am low that became a sweaty Twix snack – today I was only 75 when I woke up at 10:00 am. Terrible roller coaster.

We’d only seen a little of our neighborhood, an area called Oktagon, in the “Pest” part of Budapest. (“Buda” is a ways away, across the Danube River.) So we were looking forward to seeing more of this famous European capital city. But first it was breakfast time, so we went to a place called California Coffee Company, a big Starbucks-like place where we got coffee and big thick muffins, plus a little table in front of a window through which we could watch relax and watch pedestrians.

I took my Humalog shot at the table after eating about half of the muffin. Muffins often make me high. But I was only 75 when I woke up. And we were planning to walk around all day. So much to think about when dialing up Humalog.

Today was a cold and sunny day in Budapest, great for walking around. After breakfast Masayo and I strode through the streets of Budapest, inching towards the mighty Danube which we’d first glimpsed back in Bratislava, Slovakia last week.

Passing along towering buildings full of shops and old apartment buildings, we saw a lively side of Budapest as people came and went, trams dashing around and people buying and selling, talking and laughing and eating, zipping up their coats and squinting in the sun.

Eventually we arrived at the Chain Bridge, one of several large bridges that span the mighty and wide Danube River. Cars and trucks shook the structure as we walked along the pedestrian path on the side, pausing at points far above the Danube for irresistible photo opportunities.

Across the bridge and back on land, we were in the former town of Buda, now just the west side of Budapest. With its steep hills that overlook the surrounding countryside (and look down on busy Pest), Buda is full of scenic old buildings popular with tourists. The first thing we saw was Buda Castle, high on a hill overhead.

A funicular was in service, carting tourists to the top of the hill for about $7 each. Despite my extreme frugality I was prepared to pay it but Masayo suggested we hike up ourselves and save the cash. It was a good idea.

We walked up stairs and along concrete paths that zigzagged up the incline, earning ever more breathtaking views across the city as we went. Halfway up, looking down over the Chain Bridge and with the benevolent winter sun illuminating the countless buildings in the far distance, I checked my BG to see how I’d handled the muffin. I was 138, and it made for a particularly cool diabetes photo.

At the top of the hill we walked all around the outside of the castle, but declined to actually enter for the tour. The outer wall was massive and impressive, and the scenic panorama beyond was matchless. Good blood sugar in a remarkable place in the cold winter sunshine – it’s hard to think of anything nicer than this experience.

Soon we found ourselves behind the castle, where a modest group of tourists was assembled to watch a changing of the guard ceremony. We watched it too; it reminded us of the one we’d seen at Prague Castle back in the Czech Republic a couple of weeks ago. Further behind Buda Castle, looking westward, you can see more modest neighborhoods and quieter tree-lined streets below. Buda seems a lot less ostentatious than Pest.

Best of all, perhaps, was the mammoth Matthias Church, a large and ornately-designed building on the edge of the hill above the Danube. Its stark white faces, red conical sections of roof, and the whitish-blue sky behind it, gave it an almost cartoonish look. As if it were too good to be true.

Right outside the church was a little enclave of tourist shops, and we found a little restaurant that looked nice. Despite the cold, Masayo and I elected to make use of the outside seating. Masayo sat next to a heater, which helped her at least. We both ordered Hungarian soup in a sourdough bread bowl, with fruit tea. It was pricey but in circumstances like this, even I didn’t care. Our waiter was super friendly, in a genuine way. He must deal with tourists all day every day, which wears down most people, but he seemed like he really wanted to give us a great impression of Budapest and its citizens. And he did.

The bread soup was excellent, of course. I’ve never had bad soup in a bread bowl. I took my Humalog shot at the table through my Bluff Works pants, in the cold, wildly guessing at the carb content of the meal.

It was getting dark (but not late) so we started walking down towards the Danube River, on stairs and paths that we hadn’t seen before. Across from this section we had a great view of the famous Parliament building, the magnificent and humongous white building on the eastern bank of the mighty waterway. It’s a key symbol of Budapest, and the biggest building in the city.

Batthyány tér train station was at the bottom of the hill, across the river from Parliament, and we went down to find the Metro train that would take us to a stop called Blaha Lujza tér, where Masayo believed some yarn shops were. She was looking for some yarn to make a new knit cap for me, since I’d lost mine back in the Slovakian High Tatras mountains.

After some yarn shopping – during which I mostly hung out at the record store next door, chatting with the owner about Ray Charles – we chose to walk back to our part of town. On the way we stopped at a large grocery store for dinner in the room, and then I lucked upon a barber shop. Not a hair salon, just a traditional old barber shop for men. Simple, quick cuts, no BS. They gave me a buzz (the barber was balding just like me so I just motioned to his own head when he asked what I wanted), and I felt like my normal self again. The cut was about $6, plus a $2 tip.

As we neared our part of town we went by another thrift store, bigger and brighter than the little charity shop we visited yesterday where I bought my new used backpack. This time I needed a belt: the one I bought for $1 before leaving Japan was disintegrating. This shop in Budapest had several used belts, all about $1 each, and I picked one out.

So I’ve got a new haircut, a replacement day pack and belt, plus plenty of Dr. Bronner’s soap from the shop in Prague. No more extra expenses for a while; I’ve got everything I need!

Back in the room I found that I’d overdone the insulin for the soup bread: my glucose reading was 59. Masayo made pasta with sauce from the supermarket and I ate fast. But then I had a large cinnamon roll as well. All of this activity made the dinnertime Humalog dose tough to choose. I was acutely aware of how poorly my BG can be after dinners like this.

But you have to eat.

Sure enough, at 11:00 pm I was high again, 323. And I wasn’t surprised in the least. Pasta and a cinnamon bun, what did I expect?!

Remembering the middle-of-the-night low from last night after a similarly high reading I took a mere two units of Humalog (plus my usual Lantus) and we went to sleep.

So our time in Budapest is at a finish. We used the city to relax yesterday, then we got to see a castle, a church, the river, and other mesmerizing sights today. Plus we had some great food, got some good exercise, and met some nice people. Plus, I only had one high BG reading all day. (Unacceptably high, but still only one.)

Thanks for everything Budapest, and thanks for showing us a unique collection of things that we can remember forever. Tomorrow we’re leaving Budapest to go see Central Europe’s largest lake, Lake Balaton. Plus we’ll get another train ride out of it!

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