Today starts with a ride on Budapest’s metro, which is the oldest in continental Europe. Despite that title, it feels very modern and clean.

What surprised me is how far underground the stations are. These stations have escalators that take a solid minute to ride down, causing you to lose sense of which way is up.

The escalator in Budapest’s metro station

I’m headed to János hill, which is the highest point in Budapest at 528 meters. While I’m usually not afraid of tough hikes, I opt to take the chairlift up, which gives great views of the landscape behind.

The chairlift up János hill

At the top, I’m greeted by a lookout tower, which offers a 360-degree view of Budapest. It’s called the Elizabeth lookout, and it’s named after Empress Elisabeth of Austria. As a nice-looking stone tower at the top of the highest hill, you bet it’d make for great views.

Almost as flat as Ottawa!

I hike around the area for a bit, and getting bored of the rather uninteresting trails, I decide to head back.

My chairlift ticket is a round trip, but I remember a more interesting way that I can get back into the city. There’s a rail line that runs through the hills, and it’s run almost entirely by children.

A child conductor dismounting from the train

All of the kids were very friendly and professional, and seemed to be really enjoying their work!

A child checking tickets on the train

I finish the journey by bus, which while not as fun as the train, is a fast and clean way back home.