Travel and you learn a lot about yourself!

Visiting four big cities in four different countries in just a few weeks is amazing.

There is a lot of variety and a lot of new things, a lot of amazement, some head shaking, and a lot of adventure.

But what I noticed at each stop and now particularly stands out:

I am someone who needs familiar things, who loves routines, and at least a little bit of 'Ah, I know this, this is where I belong', I don't want to miss out on that.

A 6-bed hostel, where construction workers are still busy, cannot provide me with this feeling of home.

But I immediately found two places for my mental balance in Budapest:

Welcome home 1:

And so on both days I sat in a small café very close to the accommodation, once I had a cappuccino and yesterday I had breakfast.

Today I went back there and wanted to celebrate my first coffee of the day.

Then the waitress said:

'The credit card didn't work the day before yesterday. There is still an open cappuccino.'

Whoops!

I really like it when I am recognized in the café, even if it's as a welch. Unfortunately, I couldn't settle the bill, that can only be done in Hungarian forints, so now I have one more cappuccino to pay for. She trusts that I will be back tomorrow.

I will be there.

Welcome home 2:

There are plenty of cool shops here in the city: sports bars, biker bars, hipster hangouts, then the store for high earners, Trip-Advisor recommendations for every taste, and establishments where Hungarian women show their breasts...

Where do I end up?

Of course... in the social café 'Empathy'. It is run by the Red Cross. Crazy, right?