Budapest!

Hello everyone!

I got back from Budapest yesterday and I am TIRED! And I only have 15 days left in school...that means cram time! I am a bit overwhelmed but will figure things out I am sure.

So Budapest. For those who do not know much about the city Budapest is the Capital of Hungary. The city is divided by a river called the Danube. The part of the city on the west bank is called Buda and the part on the east bank is called Pest. Ryan and I had a blast in Budapest! It was supposed to rain all weekend but really only rained on Saturday, so that was nice.

Ryan and I got in late Thursday night. Ryan had a little difficulty getting to the hostel because there are actually two in the city with the same name (he went to the wrong one) but we figured it out and got him to the right one. Ryan had baked some homemade stuffing back in Denmark and brought it to Budapest so we could celebrate Thanksgiving together (he's the best)! It was so good! We ate it at one in the morning on Friday because that's how long it took for us to both get to the hostel!

Friday we started off with a free city tour. We were walking to the start point and literally ran into Ryan's friend Mash. Mash is friends with a girl on Ryan's floor in Denmark. Ryan met him while Mash was visiting one weekend and he said when we go to Budapest he would show us around. So Mash came on the tour with us.

We started the tour at the Opera house. It was built while the Austria-Hungarian Empire was in control. Our guide said it was really just the Austrian empire and Hungary was more like an extra on the side. Anyways, Vienna (Austria) has a huge, glorious opera house so Budapest wanted one too. The emperor at the time said fine go ahead, but only if it remained smaller than the one in Vienna. Men in power make strange, pointless demands sometimes.

Next, we went to an area that has a park and many cafes and bars. There were two main statues in the park dedicated to famous Hungarian writers, but ironically, I cannot remember their names or which awards they won.

Then we went to Varosliget, or City Park. Here we saw one of the most famous bath houses: the Szechenyi Baths. Hungary was occupied by the Turks for quite some time in 15th and 16th century so they have many Turkish customs integrated into their culture. The biggest of these customs are bath houses. The baths are basically huge spa complexes that are naturally heated. They have different pools at varying temperatures, saunas, steam rooms, massage rooms, etc. People just go hangout and relax in these baths for hours.

After the baths, we walked through the park to Vajdahunya Castle. This castle isn't really a castle. It's a complex containing four different buildings representing four different types of architecture. The buildings all used to exist outside of Budapest but were destroyed in wars and such. They were rebuilt in cardboard as a part of the millennial exhibition in 1896 and were later rebuilt as permanent buildings. They are now all museums. It was a cool little area with four very big, pretty buildings.

Next, we walked across a bridge to Heroes Square. This is a GIGANTIC square that houses the Museum of Art, Hall of Arts and the Millennium Monument. The Millennium Monument is a column 36m high with a statue of the Archangel Gabriel on top. Gabriel holds the Hold Crown which was said to have given to King Stephen (the first Hungarian king) in a dream. Around the column are statues representing the seven (or nine?) tribes that originally inhabited the Carpathian Basin (Hungary) around 896. Behind the column, on the left and right, are two monuments containing statues of Hungary's leaders. The Hapsburgs were originally represented in the monument, but after a bomb hit the monument in WWII their statues were replaced with leaders who fought for Hungarian independence. Hungary did/does not like Austria and the Hapsburgs.

After Heroes square, we went to St. Stephen's Basilica. This is a massive Baroque church in the middle of downtown. It holds the relic of St. Stephen's arm, lovely I know. But the Hungarians LOVE King Stephen. As I mentioned he was the first Hungarian king. Every year in March they parade around the city with Stephens arm to celebrate him.

Then we walked to the Danube and our guided pointed out the Castle, Gillert Hill, the Chain Bridge and other monuments on the Buda side. We ended the tour in the Christmas Market in a main square. Mash bought us hot wine, and we walked around the market for a bit. Then we went to the Synagogue, but it was closed. It is the biggest Synagogue in Europe and very pretty on the outside! Then Mash took us to the Parliament building. We didn't go inside because the tour was only offered to members of the EU, sad!! But it is a huge gothic, castle-like building right on the edge of the Danube. At this point Ryan and I were exhausted and went back to the Hostel for a nap.

Then we ventured out again and went to the House of Terror. This is one of the coolest museums I have ever seen! It was a history of the occupation of the Nazi's and Communists. As our guide said, Hungary was very happy to be liberated by the soviets but were very unhappy that they decided to stay for 45 years. The museum was very well done and had a TON of information. Ryan and I really enjoyed it.

After the museum we decided to try and find "Thanksgiving" food and noticed a Fridays across the street. We decided to eat there because it was at least American food, but the only turkey they had was on the California Club! So that’s what Ryan got! We both noticed that the service was the best we've had in Europe!

After dinner we walked down the incredibly long and largest boulevard in Budapest, Andrassy Ut, to go back to the Bath house we visited earlier that day. It was amazing and exactly what we needed after such a busy walking day! I hadn't been in a bath/hot tub in a very very long time. It was so relaxing. Then we trekked the 25 minute walk back home and passed out!

Saturday was less strenuous. We visited the Buda side. We walked down to the Chain Bridge, across the Danube and up 189 steps to the Castle. It was a great view from the top and a very pretty walk through fall woods. Then we walked back across to Pest side and checked out when the boat tours were running. The tour looked really lame and we had already seen everything it goes by so we decided to skip it. We went back to the Christmas Market for lunch and then it started pouring! We decided to walk down Vaci Utca, the main shopping street, and shop to avoid the rain. I didn't buy anything :( but Ryan got a really nice shirt! Then we started walking home and stopped in a bar to avoid the rain. Once we got out the rain had stopped and the sun was shinning! But we were pretty tired still from Friday so we just walked home.

We ate dinner at a Hungarian restaurant near our hostel and got desert at a cafe. We tried Dobos cake, a Hungarian desert. It was pretty good but I think Ryan and I both prefer the chocolate cake from the cheesecake factory! Come to think of it I haven't had a desert that is better than that in Europe! After desert, we went out to a bar with Mash and his friends. It was really nice! They really made an effort to talk to us and bought us beer and Perlika (a traditional Hungarian Brandy usually made from plums, peaches or other fruits)! We made it an early night though because we had to wake up at 4:30 the next morning!

Overall, Budapest was really fun! I was really sad leaving because I won't see Ryan for another three weeks and because it was my last trip before exams...now I really have to hunker down and do work :( So I have been very busy all morning!

Oh yeah! When I went to the grocery store this afternoon there were police cars and fire trucks all over the square in front of my house! I went to go get a closer look only to see that part of the Christmas market had caught on fire!! It was the hut where they make the Czech desert caled Tredlink (the make it over an open flame)! Only a couple of huts burnt down so I am sure the market will be re-opened tomorrow!