Buzzing Budapest

Day One 

After a six and a half hour train ride, we arrived in Budapest. It was difficult to find our hostel as it was not well marked and a little grungy from the outside, but HappyHostel turned out to be a comfy and clean home base. We didn't see much of the other guests, but the owner was very useful and loaded us with information, offers and advice. From having looked at our Lonely Planet guide, we knew that there was a ton of stuff we wanted to do and we only had two nights to see as much as possible. 

Since museums were already closed, we decided to walk around and see what Budapest was like in the evening. We strolled down the main pedestrian street, Vaci, and into Erzebe Square which fills up with thousands of people hanging out and drinking at night.

Sunset over the Chain Bridge on the Danube

It was quite a scene. We stopped to buy the mandatory pins at Hard Rock Cafe and ended up having dinner there as ribs just sounded too good to pass up. After dinner we walked down to the Danube and over the Chain Bridge. At night all the bridges and big buildings along the river are lit up and it creates a magical scene. After a quarter of a day in Budapest, I already knew I liked the city a lot and there would be no way to see it all in two nights. 

Day Two

Big touring day! So much to see, so much walking to do. I'm pretty proud of how much we covered, but we still couldn't do everything. We went to the biggest Synagogue in Europe, explored Castle Hill with its many old bullrings (including going into the National Gallery in the old palace), toured the Hungarian Parliament building, took in the view from the top of St. Stephen's basilica, visited a bath (not enough time to go in), went to Heroes' Square and Andrassy Avenue, enjoyed a nighttime river cruise and wandered around the famous ruins pub area but were too tired to stay out. 

Fun Hungarian Patterns in St. Matthias Church

Most of this was done on foot and I really enjoyed walking the city streets. I can see why they call Budapest "the Paris of the East." It's not at all what I expected. I think of Hungary as being more rough around the edges and with more of an Eastern/gypsy feel but that's not how Budapest was at all. With grand old buildings, wide tree-lined streets, and a bustling population the city has a sophisticated, historic vibe but with a modern and well-maintained aspect as far as quality of transportation and public spaces.

Nothing like the chaotic feel of Istanbul. The way it's set up on the Danube contributes to the romance of the city because the river with its many bridges is definitely stunning. I also really like the Hungarian style of colors and patterns. My favorite place we visited was probably St. Matthias's Cathedral on Castle Hill. The inside was completely covered with a code variety of patterns and colors and I loved it, especially since it was so different from most churches I've visited. 

Day Three

Because we loved Budapest so much, Nathan and I decided to take a later train so we could fit in a last visit to the Central Hall Market. It's a bunch of stalls inside of a big building next to the river. We wandered through the food stalls and got some pastries and fruit for breakfast. I was sad to leave Budapest and will for sure be coming back. To do in Budapest wish list: baths, opera house, house of terror, hospital in the rock

Conclusion:

House of Parliament

Budapest was an unexpected gem. It's funny how completely wrong an uninformed idea of somewhere can be. It was a reminder of how delightful it can be to travel to new places and to always have an open mind about unknown destinations. The other cities I visited on this trip I felt like I got to see most of the main tourist sights but not quite so with Budapest. I'd love to go back and stay for a couple of weeks. I can not understand a word of Hungarian because it could be an alien language, but luckily we haven't had any issues with language barriers. I'm constantly impressed with the people who we interact with who can communicate in four or five languages. Guess that's part of living in Europe and working in the tourist industry. We've seen travelers from all over Europe, they're lucky how close countries are! I wish it was as easy to travel to places from the U.S., I absolutely love the Eurail system. Train travel is the way to do it. Next stop- Vienna!