We took a bus to Hungary and pulled out our GPS app to help guide us to our hostel. We usually like to walk to our temporary home given were not in a rush and it's a great way to take in some of the neighborhoods you may not otherwise see. The trusty GPS, set to the most direct route, takes us on all kinds of twists and turns before we get to our destination. She even has the gall to tell us that the signal has been lost, several times, leaving us wandering aimlessly for what feels like a few minutes before hearing the sweet " re-acquiring" word. This time she led us into the heart of the Jewish district in Budapest, near the largest synagogue in Europe and amidst funky bars and eateries.
The towns of Buda and Pest, separated by the Danube River became one city in 1873. Buda is on the hilly west side if the river, while Pest lies on the rather flat east side. There are lots of things to see and do so we joined up for a free walking tour to get a good orientation of the place. We lucked out with a pretty good guide who joked around and gave us good tidbits of info on everything. Budapest has so much! It's known for its thermal baths, St. Stephan's Cathedral, the Great Dohany Synagogue and Jewish Museum ( Willow Tree Holocost Memorial), the Buda Castle, the Terror Museum and of course the incredible House of Parliament and so much more.
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| The synagogue at night |
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| House of Parliament view from Buds side of Danube |
Even though Hungary has been under the rule of many different influences (the Ottomans, the Turks, the Hapsburgs, the Soviet Communists and the Nazi occupation), they haven't loss their sense of humour. Now, for those who get offended easily, I beg your pardon, but there is this statue, you see, that is, um, interesting. I've found many stories about it from it being a communist fountain wearing a Turkish turban, a monument to symbolize the unity of the two cities and an ode to Hapsburg royalty. Our guide told us of how the artist was commissioned by the communist government to build a fountain however, the artist was not a great fan and so took his own liberties to build what is locally known as the penis monument. Of course, he cleverly convinced the communists that it was a righteous ode to their rule. The truth lies in there somewhere!
After the tour, we headed down one of the more touristy streets to check things out and came across a lady handing out samples. She handed me and Jamie a deliciously looking thin bright orange sample and began explaining the mineral content of the soap when I glanced at Jamie beside me ..... who had clearly just taken a bite of it. Ohh, even though he wanted to deny it, what he had done was clear. He did however, try to play it cool by not spitting it out in front of the lady, joking that, of course he knew it was soap and not candy. We slowly walked away, but then I remembered the blog and made him go back to pose for a picture. Let's just say, that although Jamie was obviously hungry (in Hungary), he didn't eat for the next few hours and was oddly foaming at the mouth. Ok, maybe not quite foaming...but I think I saw a few bubbles floating by! :-)
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| Mmmm, soap! |
Later that afternoon, we tried a great local Hungarian treat made of a sort of cottage cheese wrapped in chocolate. Sounds weird, but tasted great. Absolutely no comparison to soap!
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| This was a much better snack. |
The area surrounding the synagogue near our hostel was very neat. Many bars and shops in this area are former communist run factory buildings which were left to ruin after they closed. Entrepreneurs and artists later bought and renovated them by using what they could find left in the buildings, resulting in giving the area a unique vibe. We headed out to explore some of the well hidden but funky places we had heard about and found a gem of a bar called Szimpla Kert. It was showing shows on a screen near the entrance and had a great atmosphere in its open courtyard - but there was a second floor and lots of other little rooms and bars, each with their own character. There was even a girl selling carrots from a basket. I like carrots ...why not, I say!?
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| Jamie "horsing" around at Szimpla Kert |
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| Neat car seating area and a lady who volunteered to be in our picture, lol! We could never get a clear shot, so we gave up. |
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| Ahhh, the old bath tub seat |
We had a great time in Budapest and will definitely be back some day.
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| View from Buda of the Chain Bridge and St. Stephan's in the background. |
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| The Terror Museum: Previous fascist and communist headquarters as well as memorial to victims that were tortured here. |
We felt we needed a little change of pace so, after googling small towns in Hungary, set our sights on an area a little more north east for a few days....
