Budapest — RachiePie

We arrived in Budapest after a very rainy bus ride on Sunday afternoon. Luckily, once we made it to the city the rain had stopped and we were able to get out and about for a few hours. One interesting fact about Budapest I learned from my research is that it is actually made up of two cities, Buda and Pest which are divided by the Danube River. We stayed in an Airbnb on the Pest side of the city, but easily made our way to Buda as they are joined by a number of bridges.

We first visited the Great Synagogue, the largest Jewish house of worship in the world outside New York City and built in 1859.

Next, we walked over to the Hungarian State Opera House built in 1884. Its facade is decorated with statues of muses and opera greats including Puccini, Mozart and Verdi. They were setting up for some outdoor concert while we passed and there was a big screen and chairs outside the entrance.

We then walked over towards the river where we saw the monument, Shoes on the Danube. This monument stands as a reminder of the thousands executed along the riverbank during WWII.

Continuing along the river we walked over to Parliament. It was too late in the day to go inside; however, we were able to walk around and admire this beautiful building.

Lastly for the evening, we took the subway to Kerepesi Cemetery. The cemetery was established in 1847 and holds over 3,000 gravestones and mausoleums.

Before dinner, we checked out one of the Ruin Bars which are basically bars occupying formerly dilapidated buildings and courtyards. We decided to go to Szimplakert which had a number of different rooms with a large outdoor courtyard in the middle. Next door to the ruin bar is Karavan, an alley-way with a variety of local Budapestian food trucks and where we grabbed burgers and beers.

Monday was the nicest day we had weather-wise in Budapest and we made sure to pack in as much as possible while the sun was out! We started early by walking across the Chain Bridge to the Buda side of the city to Matthias Church. The church is over 700 years old and is built at the top of a hill with beautiful views looking towards Pest. The tiled roof is amazing and the colors really popped against the blue sky. The inside of the church was also spectacular as all the walls were painted to look as though fabric was covering it.

We then followed a path along the hill to Buda Castle. The first castle here was built in the 13th century to provide protection from the Mongols and Tartars. The castle presently is a massive 18th century structure with more than 200 rooms. It was badly damaged in WWII; however, the exterior was later restored and now holds several museums and galleries.

From the castle, we continued along the hill to the Citadella and Liberty Monument. It was a bit of a hike to get there, but again the views of the city were well worth it. The Liberty Moment was raised in 1947 as a tribute to Soviet soldiers who died liberating Budapest in 1945. You can see the monument from other parts of the city as it jets out from Gellért Hill.

The momunment at the top of the hill is where we are headed!

At the bottom of the hill is Sziklatemplom, a small cave with a large cross above it. The cave today is a church now run by the Pauline Monks. It was very interesting inside (sorry no pictures!), as the altar was built directly into the cave walls.

We then walked back across the bridge (this time the Liberty Bridge) to the Basilica of St. Stephen. The cathedral was built over half a century and completed in 1905. Construction spanned such a long time due to the dome collapsing in 1868 in a storm and the church had to be demolished and rebuilt from the ground up!

Our last stop of the day had us taking the subway to Heroes Square and Vajdahunyad Castle. Heroes Square contains the Millenary Monument which was designed in 1896 to mark the 1000th anniversary of the Magyar conquest of the Carpathian Basin.

Vajdahunyad Castle was built in 1896 for the Millennial Exhibition in Hungary. The structure was supposed to be demolished after the exhibition; however, it proved to be so popular the government decided to keep it!

On our last day in Budapest, we took the bus to the Veli Bej Baths. Budapest sits on almost 125 thermal springs, so there are various bathhouses around the city. Veli Bej Baths date back to the 16th century; however, it was recently modernized and there are multiple pools with water of varying temperatures. The largest, in the middle, is the warmest. After a week of traveling, it was nice being able to relax in the water for a couple hours.

We ended our time in Budapest by visiting The House of Terror. This museum is located in the former headquarters of the Nazi and later the Soviet secret police and provides detailed information about the fascist and communist dictatorial regimes as well as a memorial to the victims.

It has been a whirlwind trip and I'm glad we made the decision to visit Prague, Vienna and Budapest. I will say I'm a bit exhausted as we averaged over 8 miles per day of walking!! We only have about a week and a half left in London before we take off for Portugal and we've made a list of restaurants and places we are going to try to get too before leaving.

Food:

Breakfast: Á Table, Szimply, and Á la Maison Grand
Lunch: Kiosk
Dinner: Karavan, Spíler, and Doblo Wine & Bar
Drinks: Boutiq Bar