In mid July, we had a four day weekend because of Belgian National Day. We decided to make the most of it and make a trip to Budapest, Hungary. July and August are the summer vacation months for schools in Belgium. Europeans take their summer vacations seriously so we were excited to at least have a small break considering all of our colleagues have been going on two to three week long adventures. For the first time, we flew out of Eindhoven, a small city in the Netherlands that has a few budget airlines. It is very close to where we work so we were able to head straight to the airport after work on Wednesday. We took Wizz Air, a Hungarian airline. We made it to Budapest around 8 and headed to our AirBnb. Our host gave us a suggestion of a small Italian place close by for dinner so we didn't have to venture too far that evening. The apartment was pretty nice aside from a slightly uncomfortable bed. The BEST part was that the couple who owned the Airbnb also owned a cafe in Budapest. Each morning we had a coupon for a free croissant with jam and a cappuccino. There were also many other good items on the menu and we always added a little something to our croissant meal. It was a delicious way to start each day.
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| Our morning coffee |
We started out our first full day in Budapest with a free walking tour. Apparently, all the other tourists thought that was a good idea as well, so we had a small wait while they split the tour group into three. Budapest is split into two sides across the river from each other. The Buda side is a bit more hilly and rocky, while the Pest side is flat. The tour started on the Pest side where we learned some of the tumultuous history of Hungary as well as attempted to learn the language (HA!). They took us through Pest and across the famous Chain Bridge to the Buda side. Most of the famous Buda tourist stops are at the top of Castle Hill. We climbed to the top to see the view of the city below and a few of the top sites. The tour ended here, and we headed to find lunch. It was a little touristy in this area but we were able to find a spot for typical Hungarian food, including stuffed cabbage. After that we headed to Matthias Church and the Fisherman's Bastion, both of which are on the top of the hill. Molly made a rookie mistake and wore a spaghetti strap dress without a cover-up and was required to wear a paper napkin shawl throughout the church. We think it might be the next biggest thing in fashion. After our tour of the church and a climb to the top of the bell tower, we were pretty exhausted, so we found a terrace to overlook the city and enjoy a drink. Our Airbnb host had mentioned a restaurant on the Pest side of the river that served craft beers that he thought we might like. We decided to walk that way as we continued to enjoy the sites. It was a perfect suggestion for us because their main fair was BBQ!!! Tyler had ribs and Molly had chicken wings and the beer was pretty good too! After dinner, we headed to a nearby ice cream shop that serves their cones with the ice cream designed in a rose shape. Super touristy, but a must-do!
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| Matthias Church |
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| Sporting a paper napkin shawl |
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| The Fisherman's Bastion |
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| A peak at the parliament building |
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| Chain Bridge |
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| Rose shaped ice cream |
On Friday, after our breakfast, we headed to St. Stephen's Basilica on the Pest side. The namesake of the church, St, Stephen, was the first king of Hungary. The most interesting, if not bizarre, thing in the church is St. Stephen's mummified hand that is kept in the chapel. We made sure to view his hand before climbing this dome as well. It was 364 steps to the top and we were able to view from the Pest side. After the climb, we were a bit hungry so we headed to the Market. It is a giant indoor market that sells various produce and meats. They also had small restaurant stalls on the second level. We actually weren't able to eat there because it was so crowded, but we looked around and headed elsewhere for lunch. After lunch, we had a scheduled tour of the parliament building. The Hungarian Parliament is one of the most amazing buildings we have ever seen from the exterior. The interior presented much of the same grandeur as well as the crown jewels. After the tour we made a stop by the river to see the shoes on the Danube memorial and explored the waterside before heading to dinner. We went to a wonderful Italian place for dinner that we were so lucky to get a table at. We walked in pretty early and they gave us the last non-reservation table. We witnessed so many people get turned away being told there were no openings for three weeks. The meal was delicious and included all kinds of gifts from the chef. We thoroughly enjoyed the meal as well as the service. It isn't common you get that kind of experience with the acceptable price tag! After our dinner, we headed to the sunset boat tour that we had scheduled. The boat tour was extremely touristy but one of our favorite things we did on this trip. They drove us up and down the Danube and spoke about the history and the various buildings we were passing. We were mesmerized by the sight of the skyline at sunset and were so glad we chose to go on the cruise.
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| St. Stephens |
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| The Castle in the distance |
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| Ready for our Parliament tour |
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| The Market |
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| The Parliament at night |
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| Castle and Chain bridge at night |
On Saturday, we headed to the Varosliget park, the big city park of Budapest, were the Szechenyi Thermal Baths are located. The thermal baths were incredible, with over 20 different baths in the facility. We stuck mainly to the outdoor baths as the weather was too warm to be interested in hot indoor baths but we could imagine the appeal in the dead of winter. We spent a few hours soaking in the water and soaking up the sun until it looked like it might rain. We headed to lunch and explored the park and Vajdahunyad Castle within the park. As we were leaving the park, a major rain storm started and we ended up running home in the rain. We were soaking wet! After the rain cleared up and we had showered and put on new dry clothes, we headed to the Jewish Quarter to experience the Ruin Bars. Ruin bars started becoming popular about 10 years ago and are set up in old cellars or abandoned buildings. They don't really spruce them up, and they are filled with interesting artwork and old things. We thought it was really cool. The one we spent the most time in, had a wonderful court yard and lots happening. We stayed for a few drinks and some good people watching before heading to enjoy a food truck dinner. Our favorite food choice was a langos, a Budapest special of fried pizza-like dough with garlicy sour cream and shredded cheese on top. It surely isn't too healthy but it was soooo good!
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| Heroes square |
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| The baths |
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| A quick cake snack |
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| Ruin bar |
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| Food truck dinner! |
We didn't have much time on Sunday but we wandered the city a bit and picked up a few souvenirs before heading to the airport to head back to Antwerp. We had heard a lot of good things about Budapest and all were true. It was an amazing city and we would definitely go back for another visit!
