Budapest: Day 7 - The final hours...

My last day in Budapest was spent mostly alone, trying to explore a few areas of town I hadn't been to yet. So, after a good night's sleep, I grabbed my camera bag, a map, and headed off for adventure. The first sign I was on the right track was this massive Mythbusters ad.
After wandering through several neighborhoods full of that old world communist charm, I ended up back at the river.
Here's my take on the Elizabeth bridge.
Once I had crossed into Buda, I decided to take a hike up Gellert hill to check out the view. Turns out it was pretty nice.

Loved these spigots!
Here's Bishop Gellert himself, looking down on Budapest and keeping her safe.

Finally! Here it is, the outside of St. Stephens.

During my wanderings I came across a Crumpler store. I have to admit that I copied this guy and bought myself one of their camera bags before my trip to Europe, so imagine my surprise to find their store here. The bag is fantastic, way better than my previous one.
OK, you got me, this one is actually for rent, but I did go past their new location, but forgot to get a photo.

Remember the show from the night before? Well, apparently it carried on to this night as well. When I got there, this band was playing. I managed to figure out that they were called RU, and that they are some kind of Hungarian pop band. Their version of the Mission Impossible theme was easily the best one I've heard that incorporated a balalyka.

Later that evening, I was supposed to meet back up with Alpna for dinner. During the day I had seen numerous police in this funny, nerf-like riot gear. I had overheard someone mention there was to be some kind of rally that day, and decided to steer clear of as many police as possible. After checking out RU, I returned to the hotel to put my feet up for a few minutes before heading down to the river for dinner. As I left, I began to walk against a steadily increasing stream of Hungarians with signs and flags. At first I thought these were people returning from the protests, but after a young man used his giant wrench to open up a fire hydrant, I relized they were merely the color guard. I decided to steer clear and headed down a sidestreet, hoping to still make it to the river. A few others did the same, and at one point, after a few loud bangs and some shouting, they began to run. Figuring they knew better than me what was going on, I followed suit, finally ducking down a street parallel to my original path. As I was wondering where to go next, I caught sight of a column of police officers marching down the main cross street and began to realize I might get penned in to all this mess. Figuring that Alpna was already down by the river, and would be fine down there amongst the shops and restaurants, I decided to head back to the hotel while I could. The side streets I used were quiet, but there was one more major road that I had to cross to get back. As I arrived at the road, I could see another column of police in riot gear marching from my right, about to close off the side street I needed to use to get back. So, in my infinite wisdom, I decided my best bet was to run in front of them, like I was trying to squeeze past some sliding door. I made the dash, and only barely missed hitting a few of the guards along the way, but made it safely across, and back to the hotel, where I learned that there were three simultaneous protests being staged, one against Russia, one against prejudice and one against the government. On my way to my room, I decided to check and see if Alpna happened to be at the hotel. Turns out she was and thought I was coming by to pick her up. I explained and we tried in vain to find a safe way around the protests, but discretion became the better part of valor and we ended up eating at a Subway near the hotel. Fun story, right?

As for the hotel itself, it was clean and comfortable, if not large. But really, for the price (cheap) it was more than I expected. The place was an easyHotel, same company as easyJet, and they basically charge you for any "extras" like having the sheets changed or watching the TV. I guess it would probably start to add up, but for 2 nights, it wasn't bad.