November 8-11
Michelle had a long weekend in honor of Veterans Day so we used this time to venture as far into Eastern Europe as we'll go during our time in Europe. We would never have selected Budapest as a city to visit without Michelle's urging, and we are now very glad that we listened to her!
We took our first overnight train trip, leaving Freihung at 8:30pm and arriving in Budapest at 9:00am on Saturday. We had a sleeping compartment for 3 people, very tight quarters but much better than sitting in a seat overnight! And we arrived to a clear sky, ready to explore the city.
Our building. 4th floor apt.
The apt. was huge, complete with a balcony and this incredible view of Parliament.
And a nearby park to take the dog to play.
Budapest is divided by the Danube River into two parts: Buda on one side, Pest on the other. The two cities became Budapest in 1873.
St. Stephens Church (every city has one!)
While we had the sun on our side, we took off to start exploring the city. Budapest wasn't occupied by the Nazis in WWII until 1944 so many the buildings fared better than other German cities. Unfortunately, the Hungarian Jews and Romas were not so lucky. After being protected during the early years of the war, once Hitler occupied the city, over 1 million people were deported.
The Jewish Memorial... every city has one.
Jews were lined up along the Danube and chained together.
To save bullets, the first one was shot and then the rest of the chain was pulled into the water.
Rick Steves provides a nice walking tour of every major city in Europe, and we've found it to be a good way to get oriented to a new place. By the time we were done with the tour on the Pest side of the river, the cold north wind had blown in the clouds. Since Saturday was predicted to have warmer weather than Sunday, we decided to do the majority of our walking today and spend Sunday in the famous Budapest hot springs where we wouldn't have to worry about the cold!
Looking across the river to Castle Hill (fitting name) on the Buda side.
The Chain Bridge over the Danube River.
View of Parliament Building from the Buda side - the hilly side.
We seldom plan where we're going to stop for lunch -- usually it's an impulsive choice -- as in "let's stop now because I'm cold ..." Our first bowl of 'real' Hungarian goulash which convinced us that shopping for Hungarian paprika was our mission for the weekend.
The roof of this church is a giant tile mosaic.
Unlike many cities we've visited, Budapest used a lot of color in it's buildings. Yellow was dominant, followed by burnt orange (paprika?)
Paprika shopping ....sweet and spicy ... dry and paste.
How much is enough?
Castle Hill
Kinda like Disneyland, right?
We made it back to the apt before the light rain started to fall. From there, we bought a bottle of wine and enjoyed the best part of the apt ...sinking into those comfy leather chairs with a glass of wine and kicking off the boots ... ahhhhh.
sooooo comfortable.
Fully stocked kitchen and dining area ... but who eats in? Not us ...
Before going to bed, Michelle checked the weather forecast for Sunday, and boy, had things changed! Gone were the predicted clouds and back was the sun and blue sky. Don't you just hate spending a whole day taking pictures of beautiful places under a dark grey sky? Well, we do! So the decision was quickly made to get up at 7:00am and retrace our steps! Yes, indeed, we were going to do the exact same thing, only just take photos of our favorite places, lit up with sun and clear skies!
Oh, what a difference the sun makes!
Parliament
Our apt building
Castle Hill
Chain Bridge
City view from the hill.
Castle Hill -- 7 spires
By 2pm, we took Molly back to the apt, got our swimsuits and towels and headed off to the baths.
Hungary is famous for its hot springs, and the baths are huge, with a variety of different pools to cater to different temps. Saunas and steam rooms included.
We finished off the visit to the baths with a massage .... ahhhhh.....how do you spell "ahhhhhh"?
Next to the baths, there was this cool castle structure carved out of the mountain.
End of the day!
We got reservations at one of top 5 Hungarian restaurants in Budapest ... and just around the corner from our apartment. We were scrubbed and massaged and ready to eat the night away! Starting with Hungarian wine, we tried something from each section of the menu. Hungarian goulash, chicken crepes, spicy sausage with mustard, langois (a Hungarian specialty that defies an adequate description), cucumber salad, cabbage rolls, pork tenderloin with paprika sauce ... and yes, we did have dessert! Followed by several shots of Hungarian liquor since our server had figured out by then that she could talk us into anything! Good thing the portions were small because we finished everything (except the desserts which we figured could do double-duty as "fancy cakes" with our morning coffee).
Great time in a great city.
Back on the train for the 9 hr ride to Freihung. So much better than driving!
We finished off the weekend in great form by popping a pizza in the oven and watching the Vikings vs Redskins football game from last Thursday.
(Thanks to NFL Game Day Pass subscription).
Vikings 34 - Redskins 27!
___________________________________________________________________________
November 11, 2013
Thank you American Veterans for your service to our country.
Especially our favorite Captain America.
You are missed..
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