Budapest, Hungary

We decided to fly to Budapest, Hungary for Columbus Day weekend. It was such a cool city and so worth it! After we arrived Friday evening, we were starving and went searching for food. Having pizza late at night is always especially delicious!

Unfortunately, right before we left for the airplane, Danny sprained his ankle on the stairs. He was definitely in pain while we walked around Budapest, but he refused to miss out!

The next morning we started exploring and the beautiful St. Stephen's Basilica was right outside of our hotel.

We started walking towards the Vaci Utca shopping street and enjoyed a bunch of stops along the way.

I thought this was a hilarious picture!

I had to take a picture of the Hungarian money before I spent it!

We found a fountain that had been on a video we had watched of Budapest. We knew to turn the wheel to make the water run.

This is a picture of the Buda side with the Liberty Statue to represent freedom.

We tried boba/bubble tea for the first time..and we found purple pocky sticks!

We really enjoyed being in Market Hall. Budapest is known for paprika, so we made sure to buy some along with some other treats.

We then headed to the Palatinus baths on Margaret Island. We met up with our friends, the Turners, and had an awesome time! The most famous baths in Budapest (Szechenyi) did not allow children.

We went into the freezing cold bath (ice even shoots into it). We can see which person hated it the most!

Before we left, we dried out in the sauna.

We then hopped onto the metro and went to the City Park and Heroes Square.

We viewed the old castle at the park from the distance and then went and searched for dinner.

It was chilly and we had to sit outside at the restaurant we found, but at least we could enjoy dinner with the Turners!

We then walked to the Szechenyi baths to just see what it looked like. They wouldn't let us inside the bath area, but we enjoyed the outside and the lobby.

Our walk home was beautiful with the buildings lit up. The Turners also sent me a picture of the Buda Castle all lit up.

The next morning it was raining, but it didn't stop us from viewing more of the city!

We went and viewed the shoe memorial of the Jews who lost their lives in WWII.

We then headed to parliament. It was breathtaking!

We hopped on the metro to go under water to the Buda side and man did we go deep down in the ground!

It was a really pretty sight seeing parliament from the other side!

We also watched the marathon runners and the people cheering them on!

We then hiked up to see Fisherman's Bastion, St. Matthias Church and the Buda Castle.

We had some great views!

St. Matthias Church had a stunning roof! It wasn't open yet, so we kept going to see more things and came back to see inside later.

We found a small bakery and tried a Hungarian langos for the first time.

We found the hospital in the rock that was built for the WWII.

We found a labirintus which they were calling Dracula's chamber.

...and a VW bus :).

I went and walked the grounds of the Buda Castle while Danny and the kids enjoyed the House of Houdini which was a tour of a museum and a magic show.

I then came across this Confectionary Cafe and had to warm up with some Mexican coffee and Hungarian goulash. Once Danny and the kids joined me, we tried three different desserts.

We then headed back to the church and toured inside. It was so interesting that all of the walls were painted with a design. I had never seen that in a church in Europe.

These are just like the tiles on the roof.

Danny's ankle was killing him, so he and Embry took a bus back to the hotel while the boys and I headed to the Jewish quarter to see the large Jewish Synagogue and the Ruin Pubs. I was bummed that the synagogue was closed (by 12 minutes), but we still got to see the willow tree memorial at least! I didn't like that I couldn't get a good angle of the synagogue either.

We saw some neat buildings too.

I liked this little nook of street vendors.

We had to check out the popular Szimpla Ruin Pub. There was a jeep you could sit in, bath tubs to lounge in, and other weird and exotic things. Ruin pubs are made from old Jewish buildings that were in ruins (abandoned and run down) after the war.

While walking, we came across another memorial to the Jews that lost their lives.

..and we found a Poo bar!

The boys thought I went insane when I rented an electric scooter. Eli was concerned because we didn't have helmets and was worried we were going to die. We had a few good laughs and some fun rides! 

We found a glow-golf man on the way back.

For dinner, we met up with the Turners again and found a pretty cool restaurant!

...and then the kids begged for gelato. We finally got flower gelato!

This morning we woke up early and flew home. Every great once in awhile, Evan shows that he loves his sister by putting up with her. On the way to the airport he was in a good mood.

Peace out, Budapest! You were so good to us!