Since this trip was a ‘find myself’ kind of adventure I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try a hostel In Budapest, alone.

Budapest has been on my radar since I first saw the English Patient and Count Almasy says, ” Budapesht”. Or maybe it was Ralph Fiennes magical voice for Katherine, reading Herodotus to her, and quoting it through the movie.

Swoon!

Of course I needed to go to Hungary and see where the dashing hero originated from.

Another Hungarian related true story ( and my pocket is full of them!) is my dear friend Tofi Zolst, whom I met on a shoot in Bucharest. He was a tall, handsome Romanian, an excellent chef who had won some contest and a man spoke deeply and thoughtfully in response to any question however mundane. Tofi and I bonded over my desire to learn more about the local cuisine, especially goulash and paprikash. He was pleased to inform me he was actually a proud Hungarian, not a Romanian, by heritage and that his goulash was the real deal learned from his grandma. He still carried a grudge against the national border line having been drawn such that he and his village ended up in Romania after WW II, instead of their beloved Hungary. Tofi also invited me on a biking tour of the countryside and I was quite keen until I realised he meant a bicycle not a thunderbird!

Anyway, I had all these ideas in my head about romantic Hungary and goulash.

In the event I did manage a fantastic homemade version at a stall in the famous Central Food Market a historic marketplace and venue on Hungarian history. And it made me inordinately happy though wistful to be all alone eating something so simple and delicious. Traveling alone has lost its pallor for me. I feel the need to share my experience and not be solitary. The right travel partner is key and I love to go on adventures with my daughter. She is the perfect foil to me and the best travel companion. Plus l get to view the world from her perspective, which is very different from me. We do get along famously.

But let me return to the backpacking part of the adventure. I went to Hungary with too much luggage, after my time in Vienna and Salzburg. And found out that hostels are generally in old buildings and have loads of stairs ( my old enemy!) And I lucked out on an elevator in the building though my daughter did score a rather hip hostel for me in a sprawling old building with huge rooms and windows. Lugging bags up wide, sprawling wooden staircases with a defunct wrought iron lift-well mocking me was sheer pain, but l did it!

flowspaces. was all modern, white and lime green. Everything was rather clean except for the common loos which no amount of cleaning could keep up with the sheer number of people using them. However, they were not dirty or icky, just a novel experience for me to use common shower stalls, toilets and basins. My dressing gown came in handy, and I rather like to imagine myself as some exotic old woman in a red floral gown wandering the corridors with her hair in a turban ( from my towel after a shampoo).

My biggest fear was the lack of privacy but that’s what a hostel is about: Community living. You have no choice but to reveal yourself to strangers who honestly don’t care about you, because this is so normal. The younger generation are all hipster and woke but I wasnt one of them. Lucky for me this hostel had no age issues so there was a nice sprinkling of different generations.

I was later told by my cousin Matt that €20 hostels are five star class and the real deal is the €7 place where the party and drinking go on all night and you are ten beds to a dorm! ( Ouch)

Overall I’d say hostels are a good way to go if you barely spend any time in hotels and use them only to shower and sleep. It’s great to network and party but that’s more for GenZ. Loads of mixers and evening activities are what hostels are for meeting people from other countries.

I shared my room one night with a single woman in a dorm for four. The beds were very clean, all the facilities were super. It’s the little things, i wanted the window open the father-daughter didn’t. There were a few mosquitoes and the new guy above my bunk was in his undies, jetlagged and begged for me to turn off any lights. Aww well!

I did use the common kitchen facilities for free coffee, and I could leave my bags there after checkout and use my final hours wandering the old streets. Flow Space was really well located with trams and the Central Food Market right next door. I could wander the historical landmark, amongst mangalika sausage to my hearts content.

I didn’t make any friends but I did enjoy myself shamelessly eavesdropping on a Delhi boy’s super pretentious and downright outrageous conversation to friends back home about his solo backpacking trip across Europe, and nights at the railway station. I had the irresponsible urge to say, “Arrey bhaiya, kaise ho ji?” Just to freak him out!

To sum it up, Flow Spaces is very centrally located and easy to live in. They are friendly and the vibe is hipster cool. It”s the only hostel I have been too, so don’t consider me an expert.

And no, i dont think hostels are my thing!