The Worst Hangover of my Life

 15/04/2025 - 22/04/2025

I awoke, head pounding, throat dry, body aching, fully clothed (fortunately no shoes) with no duvet or sheets on me. The memory of me climbing into my hostel bed like this doesn't appear to be in my head. I remember guzzling a glass of water and excusing myself from the hostel group in the kitchen downstairs. Beyond that, blank. Fortunately I soon found Fintan in the bunk bed below me in a similar state. Casting my mind back to the previous evening, I thought "We mustn't haven't been that drunk, surely?" As the memories flooded back, the answer was yes, yes we were. 

In the days preceding this, I was in a much more put together state in the Bavarian capital, Munich. Audrie greeted me at the platform of the city's main train station, with a big hug. A wave of positivity washed over me as it felt like a little piece of home was with me all the way on the other side of the globe. For those that don't know, ever since we were five, (Aunty) Audrie took my sister and I on "Birthday Adventures" rather than giving us gifts. The deal was then once we were 21 we had to take her somewhere, the caveat being it had to be overseas. Well finally, this is me fulfilling that, albeit a bit late. We dropped my bags off at our hostel room, before wandering for a coffee, a beer and a catchup. Exchanging various stories from our weeks of travel leading up to our rendezvous, we then decided to find another beer and some snacks. Munich's buildings and centre were relatively new (read: not that interesting) compared to the other European cities on my journey I concluded, as I ate Currywurst (chopped up sausage with curry sauce on chips) for dinner. Given Audrie had woken up at 4am to fly from Finland that morning, she did not join me in watching the evening's Champions League quarter finals; Barcelona v Dortmund and Aston Villa v PSG. I made a new friend watching the ties, a Canadian girl studying law in Edinburgh, who loved football, Lauryn. The following day we had a walking tour of city, learning a bit more about the history and architecture of Munich, finishing off the day with an excellent Middle Eastern meal where I tried the liver kebab (it was great!). Oh and of course more Champions League. The underwhelming English Gardens, a German roast pork lunch and an interesting art gallery (with Van Goghs) filled our third day in Munich along with a quick bits and bobs dinner from the supermarket. All in all it was a wonderful Birthday Adventure with Audrie, and a long over due one. I can't wait for the next one. 

The train to Budapest to meet Fintan - my old work mate - awaited me the following day, with the supposed six hour journey taking seven and half hours. I raced to the hostel to meet my fellow alley cat, my thirst growing ever larger by the second. A sweet reunion with him, quickly turned into a few cans purchased from the bottle store down the road, and a good hour of catching up since we last saw each other in December. The hostel bar opened shortly thereafter, and we suddenly found ourselves in the midst of drinking games with a good 30 other people from the hostel. A bar and club followed, with one of our new mates from Newcastle deciding he was buying us "whiskey gingers", whatever the hell they are. I suspect that was the culprit in our deathly bad hangovers the following day. I admit that I cannot remember the last time I was that hungover. We eventually arose in the afternoon and managed to do as little sight seeing around Budapest, with the highlight being the Hungarian Parliament Buildings, some wonderful gothic architecture similar to the Houses of Parliament in London. Langos, Hungarian fried bread topped with cheese lined our stomachs before a "party boat" cruise along the Danube. We were much more conservative in our intake of alcoholic beverages that evening, however, given it was our last night together, we still had to have a bit of fun. A good few more thousand steps around Budapest followed the next day, before Fintan had to leave for his flight back to Dublin. I sensibly decided to have another night in Budapest, but in an apartment, where an early night and some space to myself was very much needed. 

Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, was my quick stopover the next day, with only an afternoon really needed to see much of it. Hearty Slovak food of sausage, meat and cabbage soup along with three types of dumplings filled me up and helped combat the effects of a big few nights "exploring" Budapest with Fintan. All in all a great bunch of days on my trip, filled with some familiar faces. A nice grounding point for my trip when home and all my wonderful friends and family seem rather distant. While I miss home and wish I was back for a little bit, this is the adventure of my life, and I am enjoying everything that it throws at me, good and bad. Up next, The Eternal City on the banks of the River Tiber. I can't wait.