Across the Earth

The liquid in the shot glasses jiggled as he placed the tray on the table between everyone. Eyeing the amber liquid with trepidation, I wondered how and why I’d agreed to this.

‘Bottoms up!’ he roared and tossed his shot back like a seasoned drinker, despite his youth. Everyone else slowly reached for their glasses. We knew what was coming. Downing the Hungarian spirit, Palinka, is no easy task – fermented exclusively from fruit and bottled with at least 37.5% ABV (Alcohol by volume), it’s strong. Glances were exchanged before a mutual agreement to ‘just do it.’ There was an explosion of coughing as everyone tried to recover from the burn of the liquid rushing down their throats.

‘Ah, you get used to it!’ Our guide said, and then launched into a story about ‘this time when I went on a pub crawl in Prague…’ We were a motley crew. Our ‘guide’ worked in the hostel, an English guy who’d run out of money traveling and decided to stay in Budapest and work for a while. Then there was myself and four other Aussies, two of which were coincidentally from Adelaide too, a well-spoken American and two funny guys from South Korea.

We’d ended up in a ruin bar, which is one of the first things you hear about when going to Budapest, other than the Turkish baths. Why? Because they’re quirky, alternative and definitely one of a kind. A ruin bar is exactly what it sounds like; a ruined building from the war that’d been converted into a bar. And by ‘converted’ I mean that they didn’t rebuild much. I’m talking tarps on some sections of roof and plastic flaps (the kind that keep flies out) as doors. Some rooms are outside, inside, there is an upstairs and a downstairs, probably also a basement that we didn’t find as well. This is the kind of place where you’ll find furniture on the walls, mirrors on the ceiling, graffiti, street art, fairy lights and lots of leafy green plants in every nook and cranny.

Patio heaters radiated warmth and we soon shed our winter coats as the conversation became more animated. Then it hit me. I was in Budapest, half a world away from home and traveling solo, out with a group of friendly people and having a blast.

How in the world did I end up here? The answer: I just said yes.