The LONG Way Around the World: Budapest (& the Countryside)

The manhole covers in Europe are fancy

I had heard from someone that Budapest is like what Prague was about 25 years ago - That it hasn't hit the normal tourist routes, yet has a ton of stuff to see and do. Prague was a highlight of my post college romp around Europe, so I figured if Budapest is like that, we've got to see it. (Pop Quiz, without looking at your atlas, what country is Budapest in? If you think it's Spain, you'd be right there with Zane. Now he knows it's in Hungary. Central Europe... not Eastern Europe)

We landed pretty late, which means there is always a sense of trepidation in wandering a new city in the dark, through dark alleys and past "creepy" looking parks (which turned out to be a kindergarten playground). In fact, Budapest seemed quite safe at all times. The apartment Nicole found was great. Huge. Clean. Comfortable. And most importantly, in a quiet neighborhood.

While sleep for all was a bit better, we're still struggling to find a deep sleep. Still jet lag? Lack of rhythm? Different beds?

As usual, my morning brain kicked on early, and I went for a morning run (after saying good morning to Bryce. He also has a morning routine that knows no boundaries). I like my runs as it takes care of my urge to see things, while the family is still getting their day going. I used to get frustrated when I wanted to get my exploration going and the family (except Nicole... She wants to get at it early too) took their time waking up. My runs turn into quick city tours and scouting efforts.

View from atop Gellert Hill (the other main hill in Buda)

Cool statue of eight key religious figures

Freedom Bridge

Today was about exploring Castle Hill. It sits atop a hill overlooking the Danube. It is on the Buda side (Budapest was actually once two cities, Buda and Pest. Didn't take much imagination to see how they came up with the combined city name). After a leisurely walk through the Central Market and across the Freedom Bridge from our Apartment, we made it to the base of the hill where the famous Castle Hill Funicular does all the work to get you to the top. As it turns out, it is closed every other Monday for maintenance. Guess what day it was? Yep, Monday. Instead, we got suckered into the hop on hop off golf cart service. Saved a lot of energy though. Upon further research, it looks like there was a standard bus that does the exact same route and was covered by our all access public transit pass. Oh well. Castle Hill is pretty cool, with plenty of old timey buildings to visit and cool views overlooking Pest.

By the time we got to the final stop of the loop, we were exhausted. Time for a nap... We had to power up for something special that night.

Central Market. Huge open space with tons of food and trinket vendors

Don't forget your falcon when you go out!

Hungarian Parliament Building seen from Fisherman's Bastion. It's an impressive building.

About four months ago, I was watching a 60 minutes (yep, I'm that old now that I really enjoy 60 minutes) episode with a feature on Hans Zimmer, the music savant that has scored hundreds of movies. Movies we all know. His latest adventure in sound is to do a world tour to play his music live. As it turns out, he was in Budapest on June 5. About five years ago, during our stop in Milan; Nicole, Autumn, and I went to the Macklemore concert. So it must be that we see concerts in foreign lands. Hans' music is intense. Made more so by turning the volume up to 11, and blasting streams of lights all over the place. Imagine Rock & Roll and Classical Music had a baby with amplifiers.

The following morning, while the others were sleeping off the concert, Nicole and I went off for a morning bath, Szechenyi Bath to be exact. When you look up Budapest, good chance you'll see a picture of it. Budapest is famous for sitting on top of some kind of thermal pocket that warms the many baths spread around town. Yep, that was fun. It's like waterworld for adults. There are pools everywhere, inside and out. I particularly enjoyed the cold plunge followed by the hot plunge (in case you were wondering, Nicole does not indulge in such torture). Nicole loved the swirly circle thing that jetted you around. I wish the states had more of these kinds of places.

This water cannon beat the heck out of your back. No need for a paid massage.

The Parliament Building is far more elaborate than is necessary for this size country. But it makes for a great tour.

We were enamored by the cigar trays just outside the main chamber. Each slot numbered so as not to suck on someone else's property.

Along the banks of the Danube is probably one of the most moving monuments I have seen. During the waning moments of the holocaust, the Nazis lined up Jewish people along the banks, asked them to remove their shoes, and executed everyone, letting the river take them away. The boots are a reminder of this atrocity. It's moving.

Our final night was spent wandering around the Jewish Quarter with Lena, a local guide. This area is known for it's "Ruin" Bars, makeshift bars that cropped up in the aftermath of the fall of communism in the early 90s. Many buildings were left unoccupied and in shambles, and the locals took them over for little to no rent, creating a place for people to go and socialize. Decades later, this area is a mecca for late night revelry. If I were in my post college years, this is where I'd be.

Part of the walk took us to a hole in the wall shop that sold Langosh (the best savory funnel cake treat you could imagine. America needs these!), and to another hold in the wall bar that only sells one drink, the drunken cherry (a local Ukrainian drink that is run by people that fled the current invasion). Both yummy.

We like these kinds of personalized tours as we can find out more about the current affairs and culture of the area. As I've come to expect, people are not all that excited about their politicians, and Lena is worried that Viktor Orban, the Prime Minister of Hungary, is too far right and becoming a dictator. The Turkish gal that was part of our group shared in her concerns with the Turkish leader. It's always interesting to me how local economies just do their best to make do with the politics of the day. While Budapest was less expensive, it's not crazy less.

Spread throughout town are the tiny statues in random places.

The Jewish Quarter is the home of Erno Rubik. Apparently he still lives in the area. He invented something cool

Cool Place run by Ukrainian refugees serving the Drunken Cherry drink. It's called that because they put cherries soaked in alcohol in there, and you eat them while you drink. The cherries are like little alcohol balls. Yikes. (And no, Nicole is not being rude... It's tradition to take the first drink with your hands behind your back)

Cool Street Art everywhere....

Langosh is FANTASTIC!!!!

Some final Budapest thoughts:

We found it to be quite clean and safe for a reasonable sized city. It has a good amount of experiences and the city looks like a classic European town with four story buildings lining vaguely curved cobbled roadways. Having said that, we probably wouldn't come back, but glad we had a visit.

To Bratislava...

Our initial thought on this trip was to start in Budapest, rent a car and drive from city to city and end up in Prague for our flight out. We love exploring the places in between spaces. Yet in the end, we opted for the traditional train option between cities to avoid the hassles of having a car in the city. My research on getting a family from Budapest to Bratislava revealed another option that offered the best of both worlds, hire a one way private tour through a company called SideTrips. It was a bit more expensive, but scratched a lot of itches.

Pop Quiz #2: Where is Bratislava?

Martina, our driver, arrived promptly at our door in Budapest and shuttled us through a handful of stops on our way to Bratislava. As with Lena, we had 6 hours to connect on all manner of topics. She was a journalist until recently as she found it too isolating and enjoys the ability to meet so many new people. We talked about her time growing up in Slovakia and the struggle people had with moving from Communism to Capitalism, but now that they are decades into a new way of living, going back would likely never happen.

Here is a photo journey through the Hungarian Countryside to Bratislava:

First Stop: Szentendre, a quaint little town along the Danube. Very picturesque.