Budapest Day 2 and 3

We're in a McDonalds near the train station, waiting for our train to Bratislava. It's pretty cold and gray outside, although nothing compared to what the weather must be like in Minnesota. I've got to tell you, I don't miss the snow one bit. Not one bit. 

I must say we could have spent another couple of days in this city. There's so much to do, and the apartment we rented was so nice and comfortable. We felt very at home in our JanosApartment flat, which we rented off Craigslist from Janos and Jozsef. This is the second time we've rented off Craigslist and we've always had such positive experiences. Each time we've been welcomed with such hospitality and generosity. Janos and Jozsef gave us a list of there favorite restaurants and cafes, as well as must see sites. It's so nice when you feel safe and welcomed in an unknown land.

We were pretty tired yesterday after our non-stop first day in Budapest, and since we had seen a lot of the city already, we didn't do all that much. After a breakfast of chocolate croissants and coffee, we went out to visit a bit more of the city.

Daniel really liked Andrassy Street, so we went back there to have a look at all the embassies and beautiful old restored mansions. On our way we stopped in the St. Stephen's Cathedral, the most famous church in Hungary. It's named after Hungary's Patron Saint, St. Stephen, and they even have the mummified right hand of St. Stephen displayed in one of the rooms of the church. Yikes. 

We then kept walking towards the shopping district of the city, where I forced Daniel to buy some new shoes since the ones on his feet were bothering his heel. Better to spend money on some new shoes and enjoy the rest of our trip, than to save and have Daniel get plantar fasciatis or something like that. Neither of us were all that excited about buying a new pair of shoes in a foreign country where everything costs a little bit more than at home, but we found a pair that weren't to expensive, and thankfully we were able to continue on our way, without Dan complaining from pain in his heel. 

We had lunch at a fancy, but not so tasty restaurant on the shopping district, and then took the street car back home for a quick nap before our evening plans. After a brief but much needed rest, we went out again, this time to a coffee shop down the street from out apartment, where we checked email and wrote our first post from Hungary. That post actually took much longer than expected, as downloading and uploading the photos can be a pain in the butt on blogger. 

Afterwards we walked down to a main boulevard in our neighborhood for some very good pasta at an Italian restaurant, and then headed home for more sleep. 

Ok, we're off to Bratislava. Hope you are enjoying the posts. We miss all of you and can't wait to see you when we get home. 

Love, 

Deborah and Daniel

Budapest Day 1

We've been in Budapest now for two days. Unfortunately the internet in the apartment we rented is a bit spotty, so we haven't been able to post until now. We've also been quite busy, so we haven't had a whole lot of time to share. 

Yesterday was a completely full day of exploring Budapest. We woke up at around 9 and walked down the street to a cute little cafe where we had cappuccinos and delightful pastries that rival the ones I was eating in Paris. I may break out from all the butter we ingested yesterday but I don't care. The chocolate croissants were so good! 

After breakfast we walked over to the Parliament building but were denied access by the guard at the gate. Apparently you have to sign up a day in advance for guided tours, so we decided we'd move on down the Danube. 

We walked along the river to the most famous and beautiful bridge in the city called the Chain Bridge.

Here we crossed over to the Buda side of the city where we took a vernicular up the huge hill to the enormous castle that overlooks the city. 

Once on top we took in the amazing view and walked around the area for a bit. We stopped at a confectioner's cafe that is famous for creating the Linzer Tart, though we decided to just have a coffee. 

The castle hill is one of the only attractions on the Buda side of Budapest, so we crossed back over the Danube and made our way towards the famous Great Synagogue in Pest.  The Dohany Street Synagogue is the largest synagogue in Europe and is a beautiful example of Byzantine-inspired architecture. We were both eager to learn more about Hungarian jewish history, but first we had to find some food. With the chocolate croissant level at zero we were running on empty, and stopped at the first place we walked into, a cafeteria type restaurant across the street from the synagogue. 

After a healthy and comforting meal of chicken and mashed potatoes, we made our way out again and over to the synagogue for a tour of the building and grounds. Our tour of the synagogue was lead by a Hungarian Jew who's Catholic father hid 200 Jews (including her mother) in the Budapest ghetto during WWII.  She was quite proud that her father was honored this same day by the Hungarian government for his bravery and righteousness.  

The Synagogue was like no other temple we'd ever seen. First of all, it was enormous, only a bit smaller than the Emanuel Temple in New York. Back before WWII almost 1,000 people came to pray here every Shabbat. Second, the architecture of the building was truly stunning. Whereas most Synagogues we've seen are quite simple, this one was so ornate it could have been a Cathedral or Basilica. Apparently the Hungarian Jews who built the building 1854 tried to assimilate as much as possible while still retaining their Judaism, and the Synagogue was built to resemble a Hungarian Church. 

After visiting the Synagogue we made our way to the Szechenyi Baths via the famous Andrassy Avenue. By the time we reached the largest thermal baths in Europe we were exhausted, and ready to get our soak on. 

We tried out several different natural hot tubs, including one that had an artificial swirling vortex. It was so cool. The water would pull you in like a merry go round and swing you around endlessly until you wanted out. 

After a couple of hours in the hot tubs, we dried off and began our quest for dinner. A Hungarian classmate of Deborah's had given us some dining recommendations and we made our way towards the Oktogon square. 

We eyed a nice looking pizzeria, but next door several hundred Hungarians dressed in suites and dresses were congregating in front of a beautiful building.  We found out that the Dohnanyi Orchestra was about to perform, and a man offered to sell us his tickets.  On the spur of the moment we suppressed our food urges and exhaustion for a bit of Beethoven and Brahms.  The concert was amazing, and definitely a cultural experience for us. After each piece the audience would clap in rhythmic unity that was quite strange to us.

Well, after the concert we ran back to the pizzeria with hopes that it would still be open at 10:30 pm. Luckily we were welcomed in and each had a pizza and a beer for dinner. Afterwards, we boarded the tram back to our place and collapsed in bed.