Budapest, Hungary
The city of Budapest is a sum of its western and eastern parts- Buda and Pest respectively, which are separated by the Danube river.
The city of Budapest is a sum of its western and eastern parts- Buda and Pest respectively, which are separated by the Danube river.
The Eastern countries are easily visited from Vienna for a weekend, so I have used all my might to try and get Brandon to come with with me on some trips! Per usual, he doesn't know if he has the weekend off, until a day or two before. When he knew that he would be able to come to Budapest, it was Friday: the day we would be leaving. And of course, too late to book a bus or train online. In a fury, I jumped on the underground metro and headed to the international bus station and to my luck I snagged the last two bus tickets to Budapest. Right there I knew it was going to be a fantastic weekend.
Friday night Brandon and I jumped on a bus to Budapest; the journey is a three hour drive. We stayed at the Carpe Noctem Vitae hostel, which is located on the penthouse level in the heart of the city. This hostel has three sister hostels within the city and together they organize social gatherings many nights of the week. Upon check-in (about midnight), we were informed there was a pub crawl in process. After settling in, we set out to see if we could find the pub-crawl, but stopped at the first bar next to the hostel to people watch and have some beers. From there we ventured to a bar on the pub-crawl list, Kupling, however by the time we made it there it was empty, so we relaxed, enjoyed the jelly-fish lights on the outdoor patio, and had another beer. This led us to a hole-in-the-wall turkish kebab place with pita sandwiches... and they are d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s. I warn you... this was not our last time at this place.
Lights at Kuplung bar
The amazing kebab pita
Saturday in Budapest was one of the best days of my life. It was one of those days where the sun is warm and you are just blissfully relaxed, happy, and know how lucky you are. It was also a day I know my parents would enjoy so much. A day of casual sightseeing, where you make sure to relax and stop and have a beer in between.
We walked the city, heading from our hostel towards the Danube River. Passing the unimpressive Opera house, down what must be the most expensive street of shops, we made it to the very impressive St. Stephen's Basilica church. This Roman Catholic church is named for Stephen I of Hungary - the first king of Hungary. It is one of the two tallest buildings in Budapest: equal in height to the Parliament building. The Neo-classical architecture of the building took 52 years to build and was completed in 1905. The collapse of the dome during construction led to the very long construction period. The church is breath taking inside and out. The inside of the church is accented in gold, and lots of it.
From the church we headed across the chain bridge to the Buda side of the city. After hiking up the hill, you get the most beautiful views looking across the city at the Pest side. Once up on the hill we split sight seeing with a relaxing drink of sorts. By the castle we had traditional sausage. Continuing on, we stopped for a beer and a traditional hungarian pancake. This tasty treat is similar to a crepe, and characteristically filled with cinnamon and nuts. Mathias church might be my favorite church I have seen so far. The white exterior is contrasted by an orange and teal tiled roof, which set again a blue sky is a beautiful sight. Walking around the church, we found a small roof top bar where we snagged the perfect outdoor table, drank hot mulled wine, and looked out on the city.
Budapest is famous for its thermal baths. The Szechenyi bath is probably the most famous, but unfortunately we didn't quite make it to that one. On Saturday night the hostel organized a thermal spa bath party at Lukacs Baths. Here you pay for a drink card you wear around your neck, and then it is basically an indoor pool party with a DJ, smoke machines and lasers. We met some awesome people and it was quite the crazy night. And that night ended in kebab pitas.
Sunday we made a pit stop at Szimpla Kertmozi: an eclectic bar that turns into an amazing Sunday morning hungarian market. I only wish we had more time here to relax at this awesome hole in the wall. Making our way to the bus we stumbled upon the Jewish Museum Synagogue, which in itself is a sight to see!
We walked the city, heading from our hostel towards the Danube River. Passing the unimpressive Opera house, down what must be the most expensive street of shops, we made it to the very impressive St. Stephen's Basilica church. This Roman Catholic church is named for Stephen I of Hungary - the first king of Hungary. It is one of the two tallest buildings in Budapest: equal in height to the Parliament building. The Neo-classical architecture of the building took 52 years to build and was completed in 1905. The collapse of the dome during construction led to the very long construction period. The church is breath taking inside and out. The inside of the church is accented in gold, and lots of it.
From the church we headed across the chain bridge to the Buda side of the city. After hiking up the hill, you get the most beautiful views looking across the city at the Pest side. Once up on the hill we split sight seeing with a relaxing drink of sorts. By the castle we had traditional sausage. Continuing on, we stopped for a beer and a traditional hungarian pancake. This tasty treat is similar to a crepe, and characteristically filled with cinnamon and nuts. Mathias church might be my favorite church I have seen so far. The white exterior is contrasted by an orange and teal tiled roof, which set again a blue sky is a beautiful sight. Walking around the church, we found a small roof top bar where we snagged the perfect outdoor table, drank hot mulled wine, and looked out on the city.
Chain Bridge
The Danube
The Castle
Hungarian food stand in The Castle courtyard
Hungarian pancake
Mathias Church
The Parliament Building
Hot Mulled Wine
Budapest is famous for its thermal baths. The Szechenyi bath is probably the most famous, but unfortunately we didn't quite make it to that one. On Saturday night the hostel organized a thermal spa bath party at Lukacs Baths. Here you pay for a drink card you wear around your neck, and then it is basically an indoor pool party with a DJ, smoke machines and lasers. We met some awesome people and it was quite the crazy night. And that night ended in kebab pitas.
Lukacs Thermal Baths
Lukacs Thermal Bath Party
Sunday we made a pit stop at Szimpla Kertmozi: an eclectic bar that turns into an amazing Sunday morning hungarian market. I only wish we had more time here to relax at this awesome hole in the wall. Making our way to the bus we stumbled upon the Jewish Museum Synagogue, which in itself is a sight to see!
Szimpla Kertmozi market
Paprika from Szimpla Kertmozi
Garden of the Jewish Museum Synagogue
The Jewish Museum Synagogue
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