Winter Activities: ice skating.

Winter wonderland kind of things. As you all know I'm definitely not the biggest fan of winter as a season. I mean, come on, excruciating cold, having to wear 120 layers on top of each other, not being able to go out constantly and, on top of everything, shivering 24/7 (well at least in my case). But there is something I love about winter and no it's not drinking hot chocolate by the fire although that's pretty damn perfect but it's the winter activities. And that, of course, includes ice skating (I constantly type out staking instead of skating, don't ask me why).

So, yes, as it turns out I was in luck because Budapest happens to have one of the biggest ice rinks in Eastern Europe, it's actually ranked in one of the top 10 things to do in Europe in winter (I had to google this but thought it's interesting to know). Anyways, the place looks beyond magical, I had never understood the true meaning of winter wonderland until I walked into that rink. But before I get all descriptive again let's focus a little bit on how to get there.

Well, the City Ice Rink is located in the city park of Budapest, it's called Városligeti Műjégpálya in Hugarian. Yes, I know it's a super easy word to learn. The exact address is: Budapest, Olof Palme stny. 5, 1146. You can get there by using the Metro line M1, which is the yellow line, and getting off at Hősök tere, or more famously known as the Heroes Square (which I will write a post on real soon). I got on from Oktogon and went to the place. It was super easy to get there. Once there, you just need to cross the street and walk for about 3-4 minutes and you're there. When you arrive you might have to wait in a line but don't let it bother you, as the line always moves pretty quickly and you will be inside in no time.

(Metro line M1, one of the oldest metro lines in all of Europe)

If you are a student in Hungary which has a valid student card you can get a small amount of discount there. The rink costs about 1500 forints on weekdays and about 2000 forints on weekends. you also have to pay for the rental of skates if you don't have your own, which I'm assuming you don't since you are reading this blog post. Yes so once you get your tickets and skates, you need to pay for deposit as well, which is like 2000 forints per pair of skates. If you need clearer information on prices I suggest checking out this website. Oh, and by the way it is open from 9 am to 2 pm and then from 5 pm to 9 pm. But also you can check the timings on the above website, don't come blaming me later on.

My experience

I literally mean it when I say it was nothing short of magical. I absolutely loved the experience, it was so fun, I don't know how else to describe it. Firstly, when we got there the place was packed. We didn't wait in any line or anything, so that was good but the place was packed with excited people like us. We couldn't get any lockers because they were all taken but we did give our shoes and the rest of our belongings to the coat place, we put on our skates and hit the rink. My friend literally was preying on me to fall, he literally started recording me the moment I set foot on the ice and kept telling me to fall down. Yes, I know that's freaking evil but what can I say, I have evil friends.

At first, I could barely even move. I had ice skated before but only a couple of years back and so I couldn't remember anything. I kept slipping but, somehow, I kept my balance and I didn't fall. After a few minutes I started to take some baby steps and started sliding slightly. That was before I stopped in the middle of the rink to take some pictures, which look fire as hell. By the way, you can follow me on Instagram (@sabanotsabah) and check them out. Anyways, enough of going off topic and talkig about myself as usual. Well, as I was saying, 20 minutes into the whole thing and I stopped looking like a complete frog in the rink and so my sliding and skating began. I took my own turns and was so happy and jolly that I could skate and then I lost my friends, since I was going all on my own. I waited for them at the side of the rink and that was when my friend pushed me to the ground and my knee got screwed up, it's actually still swollen and bruised after a couple of days. Yes, I know I have evil friends. We spent about 2 hours there and right before 9 pm we decided to leave. On the side of the rink there was a Nescafe car which was giving out free samples, we had some nice and hot coffee which was the perfect way to end such a perfect evening.

I definitely suggest that you guys go and visit this ice rink because it's a once in a life time opportunity and it's probably better than all the other ice rinks you've ever been to.

Hope you guys enjoy this piece, get in touch with me.

(Empty ice rink once we were leaving)

Cheers!

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