Hungary

April 2014: Lisa has a friend who was living in Budapest for medical school, so we made a last minute decision to see the city and hang out with a friend for about 5 days. We stayed at Nova Aparthotels, which was within walking distance to everything we wanted to see, and it was a great "IKEA" studio apartment with lots of space. Budapest is right on the Danube River. We stayed on the "Pest" side, which is recommended (most attractions are on this side), and took a walk to the "Buda" side, where there's a castle and citadel on a hill (great views).

highlights

. St. Stephen's Cathedral . Dohany St. Synagogue . Parliament . Ruin Bars . Outdoor Market

lowlights

. Buda .

pest

chain bridge parliament

The parliament building in Budapest is spectacular. It's huge, symmetrical, and I could just stare at it all day. The picture above is straight on from the "Buda" side of the Danube, but make sure you take a look at it all lit up at night. Incredible.

On our first night we met up with Lisa's friend and walked across Chain Bridge. It is beautifully lit up at night, and the views of both sides of the Danube were pretty terrific. Unlike the walking bridge in Prague, there were less people, and it felt incredibly peaceful wandering across.

heroes square

This is a beautiful park to walk around. There are water features, lots of green space, restaurants, a museum, and a Turkish bath that I regret not going to. It was actually quite a long walk from our apartment, but it was a beautiful day and easy to find, so we didn't mind it so much.

st. stephen's basilica

I don't have many words for this, so just look at the picture and make sure you go here. Absolutely breathtaking.

*View of the synagogue from the outside.*

Dohany street synagogue

This is the largest synagogue in Europe. The synagogue is in the Jewish Quarter of Budapest, which was part of the ghetto during WWII. Within the walls of the synagogue, there is a cemetery where over 2,000 Hungarian Jews were buried during the war, and in the back there is also a Jewish memorial. This is a weeping willow tree, and the leaves have names of all of the Hungarian Jews killed during the Holocaust. The synagogue is a must-see in Budapest.

shoes on the danube

This is a pretty powerful memorial in Budapest. These shoes represent all of the Hungarians who were asked to remove their shoes before being shot into the river during the Holocaust. You will likely come across these while walking along the Danube. If not, seek them out. Some of the shoes will have flowers laid in or beside them.

buda

gellert hill

We spent one evening walking up Gellert Hill. There are buses (I think hop-on-hop-off buses) that can take you right up the hill to the citadel. But if you prefer a little more adventure or exercise, then walk on up. It's not too long or difficult, and not hard to navigate (I believe there are signs, paths, and maybe even play structures along the way if I remember correctly). It didn't take us very long. The views from the top are pretty spectacular, and there is a nice restaurant up there. We ended up sitting for a bit and watching the sunset. We walked down the hill in the dark, which I'm not sure I would recommend, but it was a nice day.

buda castle

We walked back across the Danube and up to Buda Castle. We didn't go inside, so I don't have much information about it, but there are great views around the castle, and on the other side there are souvenir booths lining the road. Nothing too impressive, but worth it for the views.

other things to do

margaret island

Margaret Island is right in the middle of the Danube. It is a beautiful park with walking paths, gardens, a little zoo, pools, and I think they have live music there in the summer. It is a great space to get away from the city a bit, and enjoy some nature, as well as some peace and quiet.

ruin bars

I do not have any pictures, but while in Budapest make sure you head to District 7, where there are a bunch of "ruin bars." These are abandoned buildings turned into bars. They are massive spaces, some with multiple floors and quirky furniture. In the one we went to, there were people walking around selling carrots (I was pretty excited about that). The blogger Nomadic Matt has a page on ruin bars, describing many of them in more detail. www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/the-ruin-bars-of-budapest/

outdoor market

In one of the main squares near the Danube, there is an outdoor market space with tons of booths with souvenirs, interesting homemade wooden trinkets, and lots of paprika to bring back! I'm sure you can also get some palinka bottles to send home as well (Hungarian brandy).

if we were to go again

Bike Rentals/Tours: Our friend in Budapest recommended renting bikes. Apparently there's a great biking route that takes you over to another town, and I think the path runs right along the Danube. We looked into it and I think it would've been an entire day trip, so we decided to pass on it, as we only had a limited time there.
Turkish Baths: I mentioned in Heroes Square there is a large Turkish Bath in a beautiful dome structure. Next time I would for sure try it out.