Budapest: This Looks like a Good Place for a Statue!

 I had zero expectations for Hungary.  I knew very little about the country, and Budapest was probably the city I was least excited to see.  It shouldn't surprise you, then, that Budapest was my favorite city we visited, and the only one that could potentially feel like home.  Hungary feeds a lot of central Europe, and many of thier fields are now converting to soy, so the countryside started off very similar to home... and gradually turned into lovely little mountains with tiny villages nestled at thier feet.

And then there's Budapest.

 We stopped at our hotel, which was old but ideally located on the Buda side just a quick walk away from the historic castle district.  This was the view from our hotel window!  Husband and I were feeling energetic, so while the others took naps and used the internet, we went on a walk.

 This area of Budapest included lovely gardens and lots of families taking walks and enjoying the perfect weather.

Climbing up stairs... so many stairs!

 Little did we know that walking to the castle district would end up being a magical adventure similar to walking in to Disneyland, in large part because of beautiful Matthias Church.  Built in the 1300s, it was extensively renovated in the 1800's and cleaned and spruced up just last year!

This crow is not real, as I first thought.

 The church is located right at Fisherman's bastion, which has an amazing view of Pest (the other half of the city... Buda and Pest.  Yep.)

 After taking in a few of the sights, we were in a hurry to get back to the hotel and dressed for our Hungarian Gypsy Night.

 The restaurant was located in a less populated, woodsy part of the city.  The location was ideal, and we walked in to be greeted with an apertif in a strange little man cup.  I believe this drink is called Palinka, and it is CRAZY strong.

Brother downs his Palinka.

Hungarian Goulash and fresh wet paprika - SO GOOD!

Dancing in Hungary is VERY athletic, almost jock-ish.

 Needless to say, this was a night to remember with great food, talented entertainment, and drink.  Kind of a lot of drink.  We were pretty silly on the bus ride home, actually, and at one point the driver kept going around a turnabout (that used to have a big communist star in it, but now just has flowers), which we found EXTREMELY entertaining.

The next morning we were up bright and early for our bus tour of Budapest.  Our tour guide (Paul?) was an older man who was very passionate about Hungarian history, and very entertaining in his methods of speech. I was so engrossed with his stories that I didn't take many pictures here, I am afraid.

Hero's Square... Hungarians LOVE statues.

Synagogue

 I missed getting a picture of the "Shoes on the Danube" monument, which commemorates the place where dozens of Jewish citizens were lined up at the river, told to take off thier shoes, and shot into the water during WWII.  Paul said "It commemorates a time when shoes were more valuable then people."  Hungary has a very sad history of always being occupied by one group or the other - many of the monuments were of fallen heroes and martyrs, not successful revolutionaries.  When the Nazis came in WWII, Hitler promised that he would free Hungary from the Habsburgs, so they joined him.  When Hitler's anti-semitic agenda reached them partway through the war, Hungary tried to back out (they were historically very tolerant of Jews, and their large Jewish Quarter is beautiful, as you can see from the Synagogue.)  When they attempted to stop Hitler from establishing concentration camps, he started bombing Hungary.  At one point, they were being attacked by the Axis and the Allies.

We headed back to Buda to visit the castle district...

 The central part of this district is beautifully renovated and kept up, but under the Communist regime many of the old buildings were left untouched and in ruins.  This is an interesting dichotomy as you wander the streets.  For example:

 These are bullet holes left in the side of this building from the siege of Budapest by the Communists/Nazis in 1945.

The Parents took off and had thier own Hungarian adventure involving a mad search for a waterfall, climbing up and down a mountain, and some apparently amazing Apple Streudel.  Meanwhile, we went back to Pest and wandered around the newer part of the city.

 We stopped at a streetside restaurant for some delicious modern Hungarian food.

The best dessert wine.

Yum!

We wandered down Andrassy Street and took in the sights of this amazing city.

At the Opera House

Terror Museum

This building was the location for the Nazi SS, and later the Communist KGB in Budapest.  Paul's mother and many other people of her time refuse to walk past this building, and remember the days when women would rummage through the garbage outside for news of loved ones who went in and never came out.  It was made into a museum in their honor.

 The area behind Hero's Square is full of exciting things to do, and there was also an open air market up where Husband and I got a marvelous homemade Raspberry Strudel from an old woman.  After I ate it I wondered if it was maybe poisoned like in Snow White, but since I survived it looks like it was just fine!

Vajdahunyad Castle was built in the 1800s as a tourist attraction.

After going to the zoo, we looked at the walk back and it was WAY too long.  We decided to brave the subway system, even though Hungarian (all of the signs and labels) looks unrecognizable to anyone who knows English, Germanic, or Romance languages.  We figured it out, though, and enjoyed a ride on a very clean subway back to the Chain Bridge.

Built with English materials in the English Style.

 We made it back to our hotel, but I was doubtful for a bit there.  That was a crazy amount of walking.  Next time, we would definitely rent a bike.  After resting in the hotel for a bit, we got ready for our evening excursion - a nighttime cruise along the Danube!

The Parents enjoying dinner with their new Indian friends.

Communist monument in the background of the Liberty Bridge.

Buda Castle at night!

Ultimately, I loved everything about Budapest.  Even though it was probably the most "Foreign," it still felt a little like home.  There was plenty to do, and the history of the country is so beautiful and sad.  If I were to return to this area of Europe, I would definitely want to do it here!