A hot shower...is that even possible?
We got into Budapest, Hungary late on Friday night after the two hour plane ride and ~50 minute bus/train ride to the hotel. Jeff and I were a bit surprised to see the train we were riding in, as it screamed 1990's American trains. We hit the sack and woke up early to start our adventure in a new city and country. A little fact: the city is divided into the "Buda" side and the "Pest" side (the Danube River divides the two). I read the Buda side is the calmer side where the main attractions stand. The Pest side is known for the nightlife. We stayed on the Pest side.
Definitely one old train. We did see some newer ones walking around
the city, and a few of the other underground trains were newer as well.
First up was the famous shoes on the Danube River. A sculptor created memorial for the Jews that were killed during World War II. They were asked to take off their shoes before they were shot and fell into the river. The memorial represented men and women's shoe(s) all along the area. It was really incredible.
The shoes. You can also see the Royal Palace in the background
Next, we booked it down to the Central Market, as I have a fascination with markets now. I wish Indy had a larger selection of markets, as I just think it would be fantastic to go weekly to pick our fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats. The market was not only filled with fresh food, but also some trinkets, clothing, and a few restaurants. Jeff and I both agreed that if we had more time, we would have loved to get a few Hungarian snacks to hold us over until lunch time.
The bridges were really pretty as we walked along the river. The most famous one, the Chain Bridge, was beautiful. An urban legend stated that if someone found something wrong with it, the architect said he would kill himself. A person pointed out a long time ago that the lions at the both entrances to the bridge were missing tongues. And that night...the architect mysteriously died in his bed.
We made our way back to the Hungarian Parliament Building for our tour. Surprisingly we were able to take pictures (all except the guarded Crown Jewels). The Crown Jewels are guarded 24/7, and the guards change positions every 5 minutes. We were able to watch them do that during our time in that particular room. We even learned that the Crown Jewels were stored in Fort Knox during the war for safe keeping. Our tour led us through one half of the building, and we were able to learn some interesting things.
Parliament was so large, I couldn't get the entire thing in one shot
The front of the building
Jeff took this artsy shot. I really like it!
One of the prettiest views in Parliament
A place for the members of Parliament to put their cigars while in session
Next up on the list was to see the Royal Palace. We walked up a large hill to get to the top, and the rain started hitting harder...which wasn't too fun. We have been really lucky that weather has not gotten in the way of our travels. I would say this would have been some of the worst weather we've been "stuck" in. We didn't go in the palace, as there were just random museums inside that we were not overly interested in.
We saw the Matthias Church, which was stunning. The pictures below do not do it justice, as there was beautiful orange, green, and yellow colored tiles on top that you couldn't see too well in the photos. Next to it was the Fisherman's Bastian, which had some beautiful views. Too bad the weather was so yucky, as the skyline view was a bit cloudy and foggy. Finally, we found this amazing restaurant nearby. I was able to try some paprika chicken with homemade Hungarian egg noodles. Jeff got another chicken dish that looked pretty yummy, too.
Matthias Church. If you look closely you can see how pretty the roof is
Fisherman's Bastian
The main part of Fisherman's Bastian. Although the top is a bar, which was a surprise.
After lunch we wandered around the are for a while, and then found this labyrinth of Buda Castle nearby. It was not something we planned to do, but with the weather being so miserable we thought it was a great idea. It was this massive maze under the palace grounds where we learned about Vlad Tepes (Count Dracula) who was imprisoned in these caves. We learned a lot about his life, why people suspected he was a vampire, and his secret wife. The next day we visited his castle as well. The labyrinth was about a mile long, and there were creepy dead ends that were not lit up very well...which became creepy at times. Although people were going around lost, Jeff and I seemed to take all the right turns because it didn't take us very long to find the exit. Professional Labyrinth explorers, perhaps?
There was fake fog down there, so our pictures didn't come out the best...
...or they just turned out creepy
Later that night we grabbed burgers at this yummy looking burger place. Jeff got this mega burger that was bigger than his head. SO massive. It reminded me of Purdue's Pappy's Sweet Shop, where you can do the Pappy's Challenge (1 pound burger, fries, and a milkshake) to get your picture on a wall. My best friend, Kristin, and I tried...but failed senior year. Jeff also finished his, and I'm pretty sure it was way bigger than a pound. You be the judge.
We had a full day on Sunday to do some exploring. We decided to go to the mall (attached to our hotel) to look for bathing suits so we could go to one of the famous thermal baths. I think we were a few weeks or a month short of bathing suit season. We were unable to find some, so I ended up buying one at the baths (cute top, ugly bottoms, & overpriced...in case you're wondering). We stayed at the baths for a few hours hopping from baths (both inside and outside) to saunas, to steam rooms, to baths again. The baths were about 98 degrees Fahrenheit, but there were also some cold baths that were about 64 degrees. Jeff braved that one, although I couldn't and just put my toes in! Our favorite was the large outside bath, as the snow was hitting us in the face. It was wonderful, although SO cold when you get out to run to your towel.
This was our favorite bath. Beautiful!
They had a few baths, including this large one, that people could swim laps in. It wasn't for just lounging.
We also visited the Vajdahunyad Castle nearby. Once again, we didn't get to go inside...but it was beautiful. There was a museum inside, that once again didn't interest us. We walked around the area, where we saw the largest open air ice skating rink in Europe.
The river is normally full, but the dam stopped it because of the ice skating rink.
Count Dracula's Castle...
One of the most colorful and beautiful castles we have seen so far.
Ice skating. Not the best shot, but the next time we walked past it...there was no one on it as the Zambonis were doing their magic.
One of the last things we did in Budapest was visit Gellert Hill. We were so relaxed and tired from the baths earlier that morning that we took the underground to get there...which is not like us at all. There was a church located on the side of the hill, Cave Church. We were able to walk through it. Very interesting, although out of respect I did not take any photos. We walked up this giant hill with beautiful views of the city. It was neat to see the snow get thicker the higher up we went. Very beautiful. There was a fortress at the top, although either it was closed or you couldn't get in there at all. We snapped some photos as all the lights of the city were beginning to turn on at that point. Our photos were pretty, although I think we need to learn how to work it more as they weren't as clear as we had hopped.
Outside the Cave Church
Another beautiful bridge (not the Chain Bridge)
Can you spot Jeff?
The city lit up at night. The Royal Palace on the left and the Chain Bridge on the right.
We headed to bed early, as our flight home left at 6:30 in the morning. We took a taxi (very unlike us as well) to make it easier than the public transportation we took to get to the hotel. We were glad we did as we were walking zombies and not functioning enough to probably get their safely on our own. It was a great trip overall. Although, Jeff and I think that this would be an amazing place to visit during the summer...not so much in the winter. I think we're spoiled when it comes to weather...silly rain and snow.
On to the next adventure...
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