"When you're Hungary, you're nothing Budapest."

This blog is full of cheesy puns, but the puns that were said while visiting Bupapest, Hungary got out of control.

One of the first stops was to the Parliament building, one of Europe's largest Legislative buildings and one of the oldest.  The best view of the massive building can be seen from across the Danube River (see above), but it is also glorious from up close:

Under protection by the Hungarian police

The Hungarian flag below has a hole in it because on October 23, 1956 the revolutionists, those Hungarians who revolted against the Soviet Union, tore out if the foreign coat of arms that symbolized the power of the Soviet Union and Communism.  Since then this flag has symbolized the freedom of the Hungarian nation.  This is a symbolic grave, a memorial to the several hundreds of people (mostly students) that fell dead on the ground due to the killer blow of a firing squad on October 25, 1956.  


"The system of communism has failed in every sense.  However it will be very hard to get rid of communists, for there is nobody as dangerous as the usurper of a failed system, who abandons the system but guards his loot, and power-position."

Walking along the river on back side of the Parliament led to the discovery of the shoes memorial that we were told to see, but didn't know what it entailed.  It was one of the most moving memorials I have seen.  The monument is made up of sixty pairs of iron shoes of different sizes and shapes.

The site commemorates the Jews who were lined up and shot into the river by the fascist Arrow Cross party.  The victims had to line up and take their shoes off (because shoes were valuable at the time).

I can't pinpoint exactly what made this memorial especially powerful.  Maybe it was because you can walk right up to the ledge and stand in between the shoes, and see the river flowing below. The shoes were so detailed and proportionately sized.. it led me to really consider the lives of the people who lost their lives here.  There was even a little pair of children's shoes:

Stumbling upon this Christmas market was one of the best things that happened.  The atmosphere was absolutely wonderful - so many twinkling lights, intricately decorated gingerbread creations, hot mulled wine, and artists selling their works of art.

cookin' for a crowd

Decided to eat what everyone else there was eating - a heavy plateful of roasted chicken with vegetables, sausage, and potatoes.  (Enough food for days)

Lots of meat (Central European standard)

?!?!?!?!

Some cities are impressive by both day and night.  Budapest definitely falls into this category.  The prominent buildings and bridges are well lit up, which is a good thing since it started getting dark at 3:30 PM.  

 Michelle & I in front of Széchenyi Chain Bridge, the suspension bridge that connects Buda and Pest (the western and eastern sides of the city).  It is the prettiest of the several bridges that span the Danube, and also the oldest (opened in 1849!).  

The pair of lions at the start of the bridge was so cool

Looking up at the Castle District

The climb up the hill to the Castle District was steep, but the views turning around back to the Pest side were more than worth the climb.

Parliament building by night

Fisherman's Bastion is a long terrace with beautiful views of the river and Pest.  It gets its name from the guild of fisherman that protected this stretch of city walls in the Middle Ages.

More beautiful buildings...

It was great to see the bridge and Castle District by night, but we decided to go back the next day and scope it out during daylight.

almost there

The skies were a heavy grey for most of the weekend - luckily it didn't rain till it was time for the baths.

Parliament building, again (can't get enough of its majesty)

The seven towers of Fisherman's Bastion represent the seven Magyar tribes that settled in the Carpathian Basin in 896.

It was fun climbing the staircases and walking along the terrace. A violin student practicing in one of the towers made it especially memorable.

Next to Fisherman's Bastion is Matthias Church.  It was an interesting manifestation of West meets East, because the Turkish occupation had a heavy influence on its exotic decorations.  Check out those colorful roof tiles!





I've never seen a church decorated quite like this.  

The walls were covered in elaborate paintings

Old music stands pushed into a corner

Hungarians are known for their sweets, so it was a purely cultural experience to test them out.  What better way to warm up when sightseeing than stopping in a cafe for a cake break?  This traditionally Hungarian seven layer chocolate and butter-cream cake is known as "Dobosh Torte," and features a crunchy caramel top.  mmmm :)

Matthias Fountain, decorating the Western courtyard of the Palace

One of the managers at the hostel said a trip to "The Great Synagogue," or the "Dohány Street Synagogue" - the second largest Synagogue in the world.  The two onion-shaped domes that sit atop the two towers were beautiful.

I loved how the shadow from the lights was in the shape of the Star of David.

At least 400,000 Hungarian Jews were murdered by the Nazis.  This weeping willow memorial in the courtyard of the Synagogue has the names of victims inscribed in tiny letters on the leaves.  Hanging  out behind a tour (and coincidentally following at the same pace) is the best way to learn about these things.

The last morning was rainy, so it was the perfect time to check out the thermal baths.  There are numerous bath houses open to the public so it was hard to choose which one to explore!  After some help from the pros at the hostel, I headed to the Széchenyi thermal bath house.  It was made up of many pools (indoor and outdoor) of different temperatures.  The outdoor ones were my favorite - they had beautiful fountains and features like jets and whirlpools to play in.  The cool rain sprinkling down made the warm baths extra steamy - it was unreal.  Unfortunately I didn't take any photos here (my camera was safely tucked away from water in a locker), but here's an image to give you an idea of how elegant it was:

The water here in Budapest is supposed to be therapeutic.  Elderly people come from all over with prescriptions from their doctors to spend time in the baths, but all ages of people gathered to enjoy the health benefits as well.  There were games of friendly chess going on in some of the pools.  They also have several steam rooms and saunas.  I tried going into a sauna and didn't even last a minute before feeling like I was going to faint from the heat and brutal smell... I think I'll stick to the pools :)  
It was definitely a relaxing morning.

It was a wonderful weekend, but all the sightseeing really just left me Hungary to see more...

(ok last one I promise).