Budapest: The Fairytale City of Lights

Well, I stayed true to my word and returned to Budapest (see previous post here). But this time, I brought along one husband and two friends : )

Budapest is a fairytale city - there's history, romance, grandeur and culture. One of my favorite things is the way the city lights up at night: deep golden hues contrasted against the dark shadows of the massive, stately buildings. But this time, the city was taken to a whole new level. It snowed while we were there, and it was pure magic.

We arrived Saturday mid-day and checked into our B&B. Our first stop after that was grabbing lunch at the Central Market Hall: a huge two-level indoor market with cheese and meat stalls on the first level, and souvenirs/grab-and-go lunch places on the second level. We had Langos, a deep fried Hungarian flat-bread dough topped with sour cream, cheese, thinly sliced ham and veggies. It was delicious!

Afterwards we walked along the river to Parliament. There are two sides of Budapest - Buda (the castle district) and Pest (the city and government buildings). We saw the Shoes on the Danube Bank, a simple but powerful memorial honoring Jews who were killed by the fascist Arrow Cross militiamen during WWII. They were ordered to remove their shoes and then were shot at the edge of the Danube so their bodies were carried away by the river. Today, bronze shoes of all sizes line the edge creating a stark reminder.

We continued on to the Parliament building where we did an afternoon tour. It's impact on the city skyline is evident as it is the highest and largest building in Budapest. We walked through the hallways some covered in gold and saw the Holy Crown of Hungary used during the coronations. The building was massive and beautiful.

We finished with the tour just as it started to snow outside. Soon we were walking in a slight covering of fresh white powder with flakes still falling from the sky. I even found a street called October 6th (my birthday street!). We ducked into a craft beer bar for some drinks then headed to dinner.

Aaron and I have been trying to find a house in Seattle now that we know we are coming home, so we had to sneak away for a few FaceTime tours. It's really difficult looking for a house while you are so far away... but that is a whole other post for another day!

After dinner, we stopped into a ruin bar and it was just as amazing as I remembered it. Eclectic furniture, multi-colored lights, a swarm of tourists and Hungarians drinking near the heaters in a ruined building.

The next morning, we headed out and went to the Dohány Street Synagogue, the largest synagogue in Europe. The synagogue was part of the Jewish ghetto during WWII, and around 8,000 to 10,000 people died in the ghetto from cold and hunger. Over 2,000 of them are buried in the courtyard of the synagogue, so this area was turned into a cemetery and beautiful memorial.

Just a short walk away is St. Stephen's Basilica. This is actually the same height as Parliament - symbolizing that worldly and spiritual thinking have the same importance. We climbed the 364 stairs to the top for a 360 degree view of Budapest. After taking some photos and throwing a few snowballs, we climbed the stairs back down.

Then it was to the castle district. We stopped into a restaurant to warm up with some hot goulash soup... it was so cold outside! Buda is a historical castle and palace area built on a hill across the river overlooking Pest. It was once the royal residences of the Hungarian kings. We got mulled wine and wandered around the area exploring. After a few more snowball fights and competitions, we headed to a cave-like restaurant for a Hungarian wine tasting. We sipped wines from different regions, had cheesy bread and talked amongst the candle-lit dark cave. From there, we headed back to our B&B and watched the NFL games while drinking more wine and talking.

We left the next morning to head back to London. It was an amazing weekend in a magical city with great company... I love Budapest!