Central European Tour, Part 1: Budapest

Hello again! It's been a while since I've last blogged. Over the past week and a half I've been making my way around Central Europe - in Budapest, Munich, and Prague, each for three wonderful days. As you can imagine, I have a lot to share. Here is part one, Budapest, in pictures and captions:

GOULASH.This delicious Hungarian specialty meat soup/stew was quite possibly the highlight of my Budapest trip. I think I had goulash as a part of every meal (it makes for an excellent lunch with bread). Anyway, if you go to Hungary and do nothing else, at least eat some goulash.

I'm enjoying my first meal after our flight, Goulash as an appetizer with a fine Hungarian beer. One of the best parts about Budapest was the exchange rate: about 200 Forints to 1 US Dollar. Makes for excellent and cheap meals!

A view of the famous Buda Castle from across the river. You're not gonna believe this (I didn't at first) but Budapest is actually 2 places: Buda and Pest, divided by the Danube. The more you know...

That's Matthias Church and the Chain Bridge, other big sights in Budapest. There is a TON of history in this place, which, to spare you the boredom of me going through all of it, you can access here.

Since visting "Lover's Bridge" in France, Katie and I have come across a ton of places with love locks on them. This was in a typical park on the "Pest" (pronounced: "Pesh") side, which is where our hostel was. I guess that's the thing to do these days...

St. Stephen's Basilica is probably the most important church in Budapest and all of Hungary. Hungarians LOVE St. Stephen - in fact, he is pretty close to the level of Christ in this church alone. They also keep his right hand, mummified, in the church. Weird...

Legend has it that if you rub this guy's tummy, you'll enjoy your next meal. Legend was right.

This is an example of communist architecture that is present in much of Budapest, unfortunately making the city somewhat bland to walk around in at times. Young people in both Hungary and the Czech Republic (which I visted later) really feel strongly about communism, typically against it completely.

This is a nice view of the Chain Bridge and Danube River. Hungarians are REALLY proud of this bridge. I liked it, but I was surprised to see how much they truly care about it. It is very much a national symbol.

Hungarian Parliament, which Katie and I actually visited. Unfortunately, the other side doesn't look quite as pretty, partially due to the easily-dirtied nature of the limestone from which it is built - luckily, the inside is ridiculously decorative.

Here is Matthais Church from a little closer. Each church in Europe has its own unique qualities - this one is known for the decorative orange tiles, made out of a durable substance that Hungary exports around the world.

Enjoying the view from the top of the hill where Buda Castle rests!

This is the "Hungarian White House", which our walking tour guide described to us as "unimportant". Well, then...

More great views, this time from the Chain Bridge!

Katie and I ventured to the Market Hall in the southern part of the city, enjoying the food and gifts being sold.

Inside the Great Market Hall

Budapest looks even better at night!

As I mentioned earlier, this is the unattractive-and-under-construction side of Parliament. Budapest in general was a pretty confusing place, often times Katie and I were frustrated with the lack of signs pointing to major sights or entrances. It certainly wasn't the end of the world, but the disorganization can definitely get on your nerves. Parliament was a fun visit though once we got inside...

A little much, right? The inside of Hungarian Parliament is absolutely beautiful. Also, it looks like Ganondorf's Castle. I still couldn't help think that they could have used the money put into buildings like this for better purposes though...

These guys guard the original crown, sceptar, and orb of St. Stephen. Seems necessary...

I got a kick out of this: Cigar holders for the Parliament members. You can't smoke in the voting chamber, but right outside, go for it!

This is the main Parliament chamber. Each desk has a voting computer in it. I wonder if Hungary has C-SPAN? This is at least a little more interesting to look at...

After Parliament, Katie and I trekked across the city to the Szechenyi Baths, hot springs of soothing water for your enjoyment. It was quite relaxing, especially after a long walk!

A few different pools of different types of water. There was also a sauna and massage place (which we skipped because you had to pay a lot more). Not a bad way to relax! We followed up a fun day with a nice evening of meeting up with Katie's long-time friend, Lia, for drinks later - she was also in Budapest traveling with a group of friends. Small world!

 

Budapest Keleti, our portal to Munich. Under construction, as a lot of places in city.
Katie and I spent 3 nights in Budapest, but I think we both wish we maybe spent 2, as we ended up enjoying Munich and Prague much much more. Outside of the sights and meals, there isn't a whole lot to do and the city is pretty bland to walk around outside of the immediate center. Unfortunately, walking is the best option as taxis aren't to be trusted (high-risk scam/extortion) according to many - even Hungarian - sources. Perhaps it was the heat that got to us on long walks to sights - we dressed for colder weather but were surprised with temperatures in 80s. Also, there were many drunks out and about even in the early evening due to the dirt-cheap price that you can get beer for - nothing dangerous and we did always feel safe, but it does make you feel uncomfortable and on-guard more than you would like. I think I would like to go back to Budapest many years from now, when they are in a stronger position economically and are a little more removed from detrimental Communist domination. Our tour guide implied that people feel bad about the country and its history and economy for whatever reasons during the day and thus drink away/cut loose a little too much at night as a result. Hopefully that is something that will eventually change, as Budapest currently can be a depressing place at times. Nonetheless, I am happy to have gone and have learned about this part of the world. I did have fun, despite this last, more critical, paragraph - good food and drink always helps.

Our next stop: Munich. Stay tuned!