Brilliant Budapest, Hungary

I left Vienna from the Wein Hauptbahnhof train station and arrived in Budapest about 2.5 hours later. It was a nice, uneventful ride! I quickly changed to a local train and rode to the Deli station, leaving me a 15 minute walk of the apartment I booked in Buda. Of course, as my luck goes, the walk was really a stair climb! I don’t know how I keep finding these places…ha! At least I’m getting my exercise and also constantly reminding myself why I’m going to find a way to pack much lighter next time! My first impression entering the building and going down the first flight of stairs wasn’t great, as the old doors reminded me of a prison, but when I opened the door to my apartment, all good! It was one of the nicest places I’ve had and super reasonable. Just a reminder not to judge anything or anyone by your first impression!

Excited to be able to cook again, I went out for some groceries, had a nice dinner and a good rest so I could wake up and start exploring. I walked down to the Danube to see what was happening on the river and then made my way up to the famous castle hill to get a glimpse of Buda Castle, the Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest History Museum, Fisherman’s Bastion, Matthias Church, Trinity Square, and many other historic buildings.

The following day I took my first e-bike tour, mainly so I could get another look at Castle Hill and learn a bit more about the history. We met at the bike shop in Madach Square in the heart of the Jewish District in Pest. From here we rode down Andrassy Avenue, passing the Opera and the House of Terror, a museum focused on the era of the fascist and communist regimes. Next, we made a quick stop at Hero’s Square for some commentary from the guide.

We then rode to Vajdahunyad Castle, the “fake” castle. It is a copy of the actual Hunyad (Corvin Castle) in Transylvania (now part of Romania). Vajdahunyad was built in 1896 as part of the Millennial Exhibition, to celebrate 1,000 years of Hungary since the Conquest of the Carpathian Basin. It was originally built from cardboard and wood, but due to its popularity, rebuilt in the early 1900’s with stone and brick.

The castle is in Városliget (City Park), also home to the Széchenyi Medicinal Baths and a beautiful church.

Later, we made a stop at St. Stephen’s Square & the Basilica before coasting down to the Danube to get a view of the impressive Parliament building.

Finally, we kicked in the e-function to cruise up castle hill. We visited Trinity Square and Nagy Zsinagoga (The Dohány Street Synagogue) before descending to the Rock Chapel. This part of the tour was a bit disappointing as I was hoping to see more, but was happy I made my own visit the day before.

For the last day, I did a bit more sightseeing during the day to get a look at the Parliament building up close as well as see the memorial for the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. On October 25, the country had an uprising against the government of the Hungarian People’s Republic and it’s policies caused by the subordination to the USSR. This lasted 12 days before Soviet tanks and troops crushed the demonstration. Thousands of people were killed and nearly a quarter million Hungarians fled the country. It was traumatic just to see this small piece of the damage done, I can’t even imagine what it did to the people who lived through it, many of whom are still dealing with the pain. Unfortunately, this is just one small example of the horrible events that have taken place in this part of the world.

Later in the evening, to cheer things up, I took a cruise to catch blue hour on the Danube. The timing was perfect as I was able to capture some great pics of the Parliament building as well as a couple of the other beauties! On the walk back, I got the nights final photos in pure darkness. It was the perfect way to complete my stay in Budapest!

Thank you for your continued support and for all the nice comments. It really means a lot to hear from you!

Peace, love, and hugs!

Michelle