That Time I Lost My Bra in Budapest

One of the realities of being on the road for an extended period of time is that SOMETIMESSSS things get left in places, never to be seen again. I try my damn hardest to stay organized but it really does just happen sometimes. I, unfortunately, have a reputation for losing my things while traveling, like that time I lost my phone in Croatia. Welp, here comes another tale of forgetful misfortune, I present to you, that time I lost my bra in Budapest.

If you are a plus size woman and you’re reading this then you know what it means to find that perfect bra. That bra that doesn’t accentuate your back rolls, won’t dig into your side boob and gives you that AHHH-MAZING cleavage. Once you find that bra you hold onto that sweet baby like it’s your firstborn. It goes everywhere with you and no other bra hugs your boobs ever so gently.

These bras come a few times in a lifetime and we will wear that thing until both wires have popped out, one of the straps ripped off and you’re missing two out of the three clasps in the back. You’ll even mend it with duct tape if you have to! Yup, we all have that ONE bra. These bras are not easy to come by as a plus size woman and bra shopping is typically a nightmare. Wellllll, this holy grail of bras is the one I lost. I should also mention that in an effort to embrace a “minimalistic” way of traveling….this was the only bra I packed for a 3-month trip.

Let’s get into how exactly this happens.

I had 1 day in Budapest, not 1 day/night leave in the morning type thing, no, I had less than 24 hours in Budapest. Steph and I had taken the night train from Krakow, Poland into Budapest and intended on taking the night train out of Budapest to Belgrade, Serbia later that same day.

The overnight ride from Krakow to Budapest is a comfortable one. Even more so after a bit of flirting turned my top bunk in a 3 tier, 6 person cabin into a middle bunk that I could actually lift myself into.

I know you’re thinking, OUUU A BIT OF FLIRTING. CHANTEL I KNOW WHERE THIS IS GOING I KNOW HOW YOU LOST YOUR BRA YOU DIRTY DOG. Get your mind out of the gutter, I changed into my pajamas and was out like a light.

With about 12 hours to play with and this being my second time in Budapest I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to go to my favorite sneaker shop in central Europe where I scored a pair of Italian made high top Vans the year before for $30. Then I wanted to spend a relaxing day hoping around Szechenyi Baths. Throw in a drink and a bit of goulash and I was perfectly content with how my quick jaunt in Budapest was going to end up.

So when the train rolled into the station that morning I had my bathing suit underneath my clothes ready for the baths, my backpack, my passport, my train pass, chargers, phone, and wallet. All of the important stuff. Check. Check. Check.

My day went exactly as planned, minus the fact that I didn’t find a pair of new kicks to rock for the rest of the trip but it was still such a nice day in sunny, Hungary. Until it was time to leave the baths and head back to the train station. I was getting dressed when it happened. That moment when your heart drops because you realized you don’t have one of your possessions. I triple checked my backpack took everything out and prayed that this time would be the time that my beloved bra would miraculously appear.

Nope.

It was gone.

Which is when I remembered that after I put on my pajamas the night before, I tossed my bra in my bed and didn’t grab it when I got dressed the next morning…..

Prior to this, I would NEVER wear a top without a bra covering my up my 42DD’s. I was mortified at the idea of my nipples poking through a top and thought that if your boobs were bigger than a B cup you could never go braless.

So, of course, I let out a “sh*t” when I realized that I still had 2 months left of a trip without my trusty sidekick. BUT I wasn’t willing to give up all hope JUSTTTT quite yet.

This is the part of the story where I go back to the train station and decide that there was a chance my bra was rescued and was waiting to be reunited while it sat in a lost and found. I confidently walked into the lost and found office and asked the Hungarian woman behind the desk if there was a bra returned. She rightfully looked at me like I had 5 heads so my next logical move was to mime out what a bra looks like.

Here I am in the middle of this office asking if a bra was found as I’m practically fondling myself trying to overcome the language barrier with my miming skills. Bless this woman because she chuckles and actually gets out a RECORD BOOK to see if my bra being returned was recorded in their logging book.

She looks up, chuckles again and lets out one word, “no.”

My poor bra was off on its own adventure to who knows where and I had to accept the fact that we would never meet again.

I searched high and low to find a replacement. But like most rebounds, there were never any that truly were the same as the one I grew to love. I learned an important life lesson from all this though. The lesson you ask? One is to always comb your bed before you leave to make sure there’s nothing hiding in the sheets. The other lesson is that it is THE BEST FEELING going braless.

For so long I thought that if you had big boobs you could NEVER go braless but boyyyyy was I wrong. I have kissed the fabric cage goodbye and haven’t looked back since this fateful day. Here’s to over two years of no bra bliss!

Have you ever lost something while on the road? Comment below and let me know!