Budapest, Hungary

Recently, our good friend Mike came to visit us. His family had planned a European vacation and they decided to come to Munich for the final days of their trip. On Friday and Saturday, we showed them around the city and took them to dinner at two of our favorite restaurants. On Sunday morning, Mike’s family returned to the States, but he stayed a few extra days so that the three of us could travel to Budapest, Hungary. We rented a (teeny, tiny purple) car and made the 6.5 hour drive to Budapest.

Budapest is the capital city of Hungry. It is also the country's largest city. Its population is approximately 1.74M people. The Danube river runs through the city, separating the two areas -- Buda and Pest. This city has a complicated past, with invasions and settlements by various different empires. The variety of cultural influences is obvious everywhere you turn. There are a variety of different architectural styles, all coming together to create a stunning and unique cityscape.

We were immediately impressed by the city from the time we arrived. The architecture was really stunning and many buildings reminded me of Paris. The style of the streetlights also seemed similar to those found in Paris. There are many beautiful squares scattered throughout Budapest, with colorful flowers and interesting fountains and statues. This city is crazy about statues! There were so many and all of them are believed to bring you some kind of luck or good fortune when you rub them. Anyways, eventually we made it to the beautiful park, where the picturesque Vajdahunyad Castle is located. It was stunning! After exploring and snapping some photos, we headed back to the hotel to shower and change. For our first meal in Budapest, we tried a small restaurant that had amazing reviews online. Unfortunately, we got to the restaurant around 9 PM, which gave us only about an hour until they closed. So the menu was a bit limited, but we all really enjoyed our dishes. The boys both tried goulash, which is a traditional Hungarian dish, and I tried the grilled duck. We were really impressed! We also stayed for dessert and enjoyed some delicious cheesecake, yum! On the way home, we got a round of drinks at an outdoor bar. It reminded me a lot of the biergartens in Munich. We were all pretty tired after a long drive and a lot of sightseeing in almost 100 degree heat, so we headed back to the hotel shortly after.

The next day, we spent a few hours on a walking tour of the city. Our guide was a young girl who had grown up in Budapest. She told us a lot about the city’s history and showed us some of the famous sites. I had no idea how many different countries and empires had invaded and ruled in Hungary. From the Austrians to the Turks to the Russians – all of these groups conquered and invaded Hungary, and then stayed for many years thereafter. We talked a lot about the different influence that each of these groups had on Hungary, and specifically, Budapest. It was really interesting. We try to do walking tours like this in all of the cities we visit – it’s a great way to learn more about the city. We definitely enjoyed this one. After the tour, we did some more exploring on our own. We went inside St. Stephen’s Basilica. This is a Roman Catholic basilica that is located in the city center. It is named for the first king of Hungary. It is one of the two tallest buildings in the city -- the other being the Parliament building. Both are exactly the same height, a nod to the belief that church and state have equal importance. This is a pretty progressive stance when compared to many other European cities where religion ruled for many years. For example, in Munich for a very long time, no buildings could be taller than the church. But back to St. Stephen's...Interestingly enough, the city kept the hand of St. Stephen after he died. It is kept in a box in the back of the church and tourists can pay a couple of Euros to see it in all of its glory. A bit strange!

We also walked through the main city center and ended up at the city’s market hall. This place is huge. It reminded us a lot of Reading Terminal Market, which is the large market located in Philly.

Market Hall

Later in the evening, we explored the Jewish Quarter of the city, which is home to many “hip” restaurants, bars, and cafes. Budapest is especially famous for “ruin bars.” The concept for a ruin bar is to take a formerly abandoned building that is in terrible shape and "renovate" it into several bars. We use the term "renovate" lightly, since it's not your typical fix-up. These bars are filled with antiques, old furniture, graffiti, interesting artwork, etc. Before dinner, we stopped in the original and most famous ruin bar, Szimpla. There were various tiny rooms and “lounges” with different decorations. There was also a huge “garden” in the back. It was filled with antiques and interesting items – an old car, colorful old chairs hanging from the ceiling, garden gnomes on swings, disco balls, etc. It was really cool. There were also more rooms upstairs, filled with old couches and easy chairs and graffitied walls. I had never seen anything like it. We also visited another one after dinner, just to see what it was like. It was similar in that there were many different rooms filled with antiques and old furniture, but it was a little more club-like than Szimpla. There were more strobe lights, colored lights, modern artwork, etc. We didn’t stay for a drink, but it was interesting to see.

Since it was our final night in the city, we walked along the Danube before heading back to the hotel. The city’s skyline and bridges look absolutely magical when lit up at night. It was a special way to end the day.

We spent our final morning in Budapest touring the Dohany Street Synagogue. This synagogue, also known as "The Great Synagogue," is the largest in Europe and the fifth largest in the world. It seats 3,000 people! It was built around 1854, based on the Moorish style of design, so there are a lot of similarities to Middle Eastern mosques (like the ones we saw in Istanbul). The synagogue grounds now include a Jewish museum, a cemetary, and a memorial to the lives lost during the Holocaust. It’s always humbling to visit places that were so largely affected by WWII and the Holocaust. It really makes you appreciate what you have.

We finished our time in Budapest with lunch at a burrito place and then hit the road. We really enjoyed all three days here. The city is both very similar and very different to other European cities that we have visited. On the surface, it is a beautiful city with great food and drinks, lots of shopping, and cool restaurants, bars, and cafes. The city has been conquered and ruled by so many different countries, and you really see the resulting diversity and mix of cultures. If you dig a little deeper, it’s a city with a somewhat painful history and a still somewhat tense present. I must admit, I knew relatively nothing about Budapest or Hungary before this trip. But after visiting, I am really intrigued to learn more about this beautiful city’s complicated past and hopeful future. It is definitely a place where I would like to return to some day.

And here are some more photos...

Vajdahunyad Castle

St. Matthias

Bis Später,
Kristin and Matt