I’m three weeks late on this but… better late than never, right? Also, I have somewhat of a good excuse this time. I had started writing this post on my phone’s Notes app, but I’ve lost all that content, along with all the pictures I took at Sziget, Pukkelpop AND Cabaret Vert (for a reason I’ll explain in a later post, but for now, let’s start!)
For our second trip of this festival season, we left for Budapest on August 11th. Once again, I had not planned much this time around (which is SO unlike me, what have I become?) and we had absolutely no idea how to go from the airport to the city center and our AirBnb. That said, as soon as we exited the airport, we stumbled upon MiniBud, a door-to-door shuttle company, which means that it’s a proper shuttle that takes a couple people at a time BUT with the advantages of a taxi: it takes you to whichever address you give them. It was probably more expensive than public transports, but honestly we couldn’t be arsed and this seemed like the easiest solution, so off we went.
It was scorching hot when we arrived at our AirBnb (and the extra long 3 stories with NO lift we had to climb!), but the place was spacious and nice, AND had air conditioning. We settled in for a bit, enjoyed the fresh air from the inside, and only went out when the sun was down to explore the city by night (and eventually eat at Hard Rock Café, which was a first for me). I wish I could show you how pretty it all was but remember: I’ve lost all my photos. Sad face.
The next day, we took off in the early afternoon to try and see some tourist places. Bad idea. Very bad idea. So hot. We were melting. So, after a short visit at the Parliament and the “Shoes on the Danube Bank” memorial, we ran for cover in the shadows of a very nice hotel restaurant which offered the best (and cheapest) cocktails. We did a bit of shopping before deciding to try out Jamie Oliver’s Italian Restaurant, which was located in the old City, a spot we definitely hadn’t planned to visit but which was well worth it: we found Hogwarts!
After a belly full of italian good stuff, we walked back to the centre (way easier than going up the hill) for delicious (and cheap! Did I mention Budapest was cheap?) rose-shaped ice creams before going home and to bed. The original plan was to rest before the festival the next day, but instead we went on a hair-dye adventure and I dyed my girlfriend’s hair a darker shade of pink.
After a couple hours of sleep, we finally headed for Sziget Festival! This one was a special one for me, as not only was Twenty One Pilots playing that night, but also Foo Fighters, my very close second favorite band. I don’t really remember what time we got there. What I do remember was the rain that poured for a good few hours. We found a somewhat good spot in the crowd and against a side barricade and stayed there the whole afternoon. Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes was the first band we saw that day, and they totally blew my mind – what with the “ladies only” moshpit, safe crowdsurf for girls, and the energy… I’m really considering seeing them during their next european tour. The second act was Johnny Marr, and although he’s an icon from The Smiths, I didn’t really like his set. I’d say maybe it was because I was too impatient to see TØP but we saw him again at Cabaret Vert and… same impact).
When finally Twenty One Pilots went on stage, I was delighted. I didn’t see much of the stage from where we were standing, but I didn’t really need that. The energy was there as (almost) always, and we finally heard The Hype for the first time, so extra bonus points for that show!
Don’t get me started on the Foo Fighters though… It was my favorite part of the day. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Twenty One Pilots to death, and I do not regret seeing them so many times… but when an event doesn’t happen often, it’s most definitely much more special. It was only my second time seeing Foo Fighters, and I loved every second of their two and a half hours set (although I understand it seems like forever when you’re not a major fan). They’ve played most of my favorite songs and hits, and the mood in the crowd was amazing. I had so many eye contacts and smiles with the girl next to me when we were both screaming the lyrics. I’m not too comfortable with strangers, but in that context, I find that sharing such special moments with people you don’t even know is such a wonderful pleasure.
It had stopped raining for the whole evening after the initial pour, but as soon as the Foo Fighters got off stage, and the last notes were still resonating in the field, it all started again, and not lightly! We still pushed through to get something to eat before we left the festival grounds and, instead of taking the last public transports, we avoided the queues by walking further away from the festival where we found a taxi to get us home.
These are the only pictures I managed to salvage, and I’m still pissed I lost most of them, especially the videos, but I know the memories stay – in my mind and in my heart. The most important is that I got to LIVE it all.
That’s it for Sziget. I’ll see you… when I see you (which means when I get the motivation to write about the other three festivals and what happened before Reading).
Emma's Culture Corner 