hungary - budapest

Budapest is one of the most beautiful cities we have visited.  Located right on the Danube River, with a mix of the old and the new all in place, this city has just about anything you could ever want to do, and we tried to squeeze in some of the best highlights during the week we were here.

Here are some of the things we experienced in Budapest:

 

A tour of the "Pest" side of the city, where we saw the Opera House, the Jewish Quarter, the Great Synagogue, a few of the main squares, a "ruin pub," and famous Andrassy Avenue.

A stop at the Central Market to look at the huge selection of fruits, vegetables, local crafts and delicious Hungarian food...and of course we had to sample some for lunch.

Hungarian foods we tried include: goulash, langos (fried bread smothered in sour cream and cheese), "pancakes" (more like crepes filled with jam), as well as falafel and gyros.  At the Hungarian market we enjoyed some potato/beef hash as well as rice balls and some sort of meat/cheese/corn layered item (how's that for an eloquent description?).  Our favorite place we ate wasn't typical Hungarian, but "Stone Soup" provided us with some scrumptious meals as well as homemade hot chocolate that tasted like a melted candy bar.  Mmmm....

 

Wandered through St. Stephen's Basilica - absolutely stunning!

Walked down Andrassy Avenue to look at Heroes Square and City Park, but mostly to visit Szechnyi Baths.  In this magnificent setting we spent 4 hours soaking in 3 outdoor and 15 indoor thermal baths.  

An essential Budapest experience!

Went to a performance of Don Pasquale at the Opera House.  I am NOT an opera fan, but the tickets here are VERY cheap (the cheapest is 2 dollars!) and Guy had never been, so off we went.  Beautiful building and not too bad...for an opera.

Walked to the "Buda" side of the city were we crossed the Chain Bridge, and took in views of the Buda Castle, Matthias Church, Parliament and Fisherman's Bastion (the most magical looking place EVER).

(Parliament, Above)

(Fisherman's Bation, Above)

As we sipped our mulled wine by Buda Castle, we watched the sunset over the Danube River and slowly the lights came on the bridge and surrounding buildings.  Breath-taking!