The next destination of our journey was Budapest, Hungary. A 5-hour drive from Prague (a little longer after our brief stop in Slovakia), we arrived into Budapest at early evening. After checking into our hotel, we headed over to the executive lounge to have a few drinks and hors d'oeuvres. The lounge offered a stunning view of the River Danube and the Royal Palace, so all of us were quickly rejuvenated after the long drive.
The warm weather was perfect for a night-time stroll along the promenade where we stopped at Restaurant Dubarry for dinner. We were lucky and got the best seat in the house -- an outdoor table right on the promenade overlooking the river and Royal Palace. It was just simply, perfect. Our meals of traditional Hungarian dishes were wonderful, the service was excellent and it was nice not to feel "taken advantage of" after receiving our bill. We were all starting to fall in love with Budapest. After a leisurely (and late) dinner, we enjoyed the short stroll back to our hotel.
The next day we walked and crossed over the Szechenyi Chain Bridge, which was the first permanent link to connect the cities of Buda and Pest. Completed in 1849, this bridge is the oldest, and arguably, the most beautiful and most photographed of Budapests' bridges (especially when floodlit at night). On it, were a variety of vendors selling food, snacks and hand-made crafts. On the Pest side of the bridge, we stopped to try a Hungarian-style chicken kabob (delish!), which was hard to resist from the wonderful smells eminating from its' shack. By the time we reached the Buda side of the bridge, we stopped for a
Kurtoskalac. This pastry is baked on a round spike, wrapped around in "rings". Topped off with cocoa, cinnamon, nuts or coconut and sugar, it's similar to the Trdelnik that we tried in Prague, but was bigger, better and a deal at 1,000 Forints, or 4Euros! (I think that Uncle Kor would be proud of all the sugar the girls have been consuming!) We opted for the recommended cinnamon snack which brought smiles to all of our faces.
Next stop was the funicular (siklo) which took us to the top of Castle Hill, a 1-kilometer long limestone plateau towering 170 meters above the Danube. While PS napped in her stroller (and Ray volunteering to stay with her), DS and I went off to explore the area. We saw such sights as the Royal Palace, Mathias Church, and Fisherman's Bastion, which offered spectacular views of the city. Interestingly, Castle Hill sits on a 28-kilometer network of caves, formed by thermal springs and used as air-raid shelters during WWII and as a secret military installation during the Cold War. We then walked back down from the Castle District, via a graded slope through the old castle grounds, which turned out to be quite lovely, as we got to see parts of the original castle and beautiful views of the city.
After a late lunch on the Chain Bridge, we went back to our hotel to rest up for yet another evening in the executive lounge! Before dinner, we took the tram to the Hungarian Parliament Building, which is one of Europe's oldest and most beautiful legislative buildings overlooking the banks of the Danube River. It is also currently the largest building in Hungary, the seat of the National Assembly, and the third largest Parliament building in the world. We finished up the evening with another enjoyable dinner at Restaurant Dubarry (as per DS' request).
The following day, we headed to Szentendre, a small riverside art colony located 19 kilometers north of Budapest, where we took the girls to an open-air ethnographical museum. It was on this day that we found how hospitable and friendly that the people of Hungary can be. After getting a little lost, we stopped at a gas station where I asked a young man to point me in the right direction. Instead, he abruptly ended his conversation with his friend, hopped in his car and had us follow him all the way to the museum! How's that for hospitality?!
The museum (still in the making) introduces traditional Magyar culture by bringing together bits and pieces of villages, farms and towns to one site. Although Ray and I were not too impressed with it, the girls loved it here, which made the visit worthwhile. I much preferred the town of Szentendre itself, which consisted of several blocks of quaint shops, churches, cafes and museums to browse through.
That evening, we headed over to my friend Eva's house for dinner. Eva and her family (originally from Vienna) had just moved to Budapest from Belgium two weeks earlier, so it was nice to hook up with her again. We enjoyed the wonderful company, while the children had fun playing with Eva's children. It's a good thing we had extra clothes with us because both girls fell into the pool *after* pool-time was over.
Before retiring to our hotel, we stopped at Hero's Square, located in the Pest side of the city. The central site of the square is the Millenium Memorial. As well as being one of the most famous landmarks in Budapest, it features statues of leaders from the seven tribes that founded Hungary in the 9th century, as well as other historical figures from Hungarian history. At its center is the Angel Gabriel, who is holding the Hungarian crown and a cross. Seeing this monument at night was truly breathtaking and well worth keeping the girls up for.
Prior to coming to Budapest, we had heard mixed reviews of the city from the many people we talked to. However, we found Budapest to be one of our all-time favorites -- a place we will always remember with fond memories.
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