A Rainy Day in Budapest

It's been another long day, and the rainy weather did not stop us from having a great time. We began the day at our hotel with some complimentary breakfast. I must say, it was the best hotel breakfast I have ever had. The bacon and sausage were delicious, as were the pastries. The variety was vast, and I can't wait to try more new things tomorrow.

After the huge breakfast, we met with a crowd of people at the main square near our hotel and began our "free" walking tour of Budapest. Taking 2.5 hours, we walked throughout the city, learning some Hungarian history, some basic Hungarian, and why Hungary is so important. We began in the Pest side of city in the east, and saw the chain bridge and St. Stephen's Basilica. I also learned some basic Hungarian. Apparently, people greet each other with a phrase pronounced "see ya," and say goodbye with a word pronounced "hello." Very confusing, but interesting nonetheless. I then learned about some Hungarian inventions. Without Hungary, we apparently wouldn't have refrigerators or computers.

Next, we crossed the famed Chain Bridge to the Buda side of the river, the west. This side is home to the famous Buda Castle Hill, so we took a short hike to the top. On our way, we stopped to learn about the history of Hungary from its foudning to today. Originally, Hungarians came as nomadic from the Ural Mountains in Central Russia, and Mongolia. They settled in the Carpathian region in Europe at around 1000 AD, and were then unified by St. Stephen as one Christian nation. Hungary prospered for many years, and eventually joined the Austro-Hungarian empire. This is where a majority of Hungary's architecture comes from. In the 20th century however, Hungary's history only went downhill. The empire lost in World War I, and also lost World War II when allied with Germany. After the war, Soviets occupied the country with totalitarian socialism, causing terror throughout the country. It was only in 1990 when Russians left the country and Hungary could start to recover from a century of "being a loser." Hungary did join the EU in 2004, but they still have some economic issues to solve before adopting the Euro.

After our history lesson, we took in the view from Castle Hill, and it was simply spectacular. We could see the entire Danube river, the chain bridge, and the beautiful parliament building (shown above in the picture). The view itself is actually a UNESCO World Heritage site. After this view, we walked around the Buda side of the city until concluding the tour at the Matthias church where the tour guides gave us a quick orientation about the city and let us go. Before leaving, we gave them a generous tip.

After our tour, we took a bus back to the Pest side of the city to the House of Terror, a museum devoted to showing life during the reign of the Soviets in Hungary. It was not a very happy museum, but I learned a lot about what it was like living in an oppressed communist state. Even though there wasn't too much English in the museum, I understood very well what was being shown, and from what I did understand, life was miserable and drove people mad. After checking out the jail cells at the museum, we returned to the hotel to rest for a little bit.

For late lunch/early dinner, we decided to follow the tour guide's advice and search for a local restaurant, away from touristy areas to avoid traps. We were very successful, and I had a delicious meal of fried pork and potatoes, while my father had some traditional beef goulash. The restaurant, if anyone ever visits Budapest, is called Ferenc Josef, and I highly recommend it. Before going to the hotel to rest again, we took a stroll down Andrassy Ut, Budapest's "Champs-Ulysess," to the City Park. On the way we saw the Hero's Square and the Castle in the Park.

At around 9PM, after spending an hour at the hotel pool and spa, we went out for one last time to check out the river view at night and were amazed with how spectacular the castle and chain bridge were lit. We crossed the Danube and came back to a quick Gyro meal before finally returning to the hotel.

Tomorrow, we'll be taking another tour, centered around communist history, as well as check out some more of the city's famous sights. Be sure to check back for more!