Budapest

Tuesday night, Matt, Savannah, and I took a nearly 12 hour overnight train to Budapest. We shared a car with a lot of people over the course of the night, but no talkative Finns. Matt has a Hungarian friend named Gabor, who was nice enough to host us while in Budapest. Here's a picture in his tiny apartment that Gabor claims once slept 11 people. I'd actually believe that since he just kept unfolding couches and pulling bedding out of all sorts of compartments. The gas had been turned off because of a leak, so he had no hot water while we were there. Matt and Savannah almost came to Dad's hotel room once he got there to take showers, but they ended up toughing it out.
Gabor was awesome--he picked us up from the train station, and then he wasn't even there most of the time, but he gave us a key so we could come and go as we pleased, and he gave us lots of advice on where to go. Also, he looks like a leprechaun (Matt's description, not mine, but it's accurate).

View from Gabor's studio. The house was divided up into 15 or so apartments by the communists in the 50s

After planning for a bit and persuading Matt that he really didn't need to take a nap, we headed over to Great Market Hall, also known as Central Market Hall. Pretty comparable to the other markets we'd visited except of course that it was indoor.
Nobody needed anything, but we walked around for a bit and then went to get lunch.
Place across the street recommended by Gabor
You can't really tell from the picture, but the bowls of goulash were gigantic. Matt told us later that there was a note on the menu warning women and children to order smaller portions. Savannah and I missed that and ordered vegetables to share too. It was all really delicious.
The walls were decorated with receipts and pictures; the floor was covered with straw; and they were playing techno music. Gabor said the only thing he likes about it is the food.
Budapest used to be two cities--Buda and Pest, imagine that--Buda is the older, hillier side.
We stumbled across another church...that was in a cave, and is in fact called Cave Church, so we wandered around in there. It was so strange because the space isn't at all suited for a congregation. They've got screens in a couple of places so people in each cove can see the pulpit. Apparently, a hermit monk used to cure the sick there, and when he died, they expanded his cave into a church.
Liberty Bridge, looking toward Pest. Very blue skies. We lucked out with good weather for nearly the entire trip.
Statue at the Citadel on top of Gellert Hill. We climbed quite a few hills, towers, monuments, etc on this trip, but this one was definitely the highest.
and had the best view. I think that's the Chain Bridge, not entirely sure though
Glimpse of Buda Castle on our way back down


Buda Castle. We were expecting a palace, but this is actually just a reconstruction that now houses several museums, including the National Gallery, which we visited. There have been several versions of palaces there since (and during) the Hapsburgs' reign since it's been destroyed several times. We took so many paths and finally found a tram that took us up to the top. You'd think that since it's been attacked so many times it wouldn't be so hard to find.
Next we went to St. Stephen's Basilica, which was really incredible. I was worried I was getting a little cathedral-ed out and was losing appreciation for them, so I was glad to realize I hadn't and I wasn't
I wish my pictures had turned out better, but it was very dark inside. Budapest is also home to Europe's largest synagogue (second largest in the world), but we didn't go since Gabor told us it was a rip-off. He hasn't ever been, but so he's heard.
Saint Stephen's holy right hand, preserved and on display in one of the chapels. It cost 2 euro to turn on the light in the box for a few minutes. I thought the hand and the way it was displayed was unsettling in more ways than one, but to each his own.

After the Basilica, we were exhausted even though it was about 6. We headed back to Gabor's and only left a little later when he came back to walk to the Chinese restaurant around the corner for take-out.
Hero's Square. There are several big sights along Andrassy Ut, including the Opera, which runs almost all the way from the river to the square. It's the one street I knew how to find and navigate in Budapest. The Museum of Fine Arts is here too. We didn't have time to go, but it's supposed to be cool.
Front of the baths--apparently this is what we really missed out on while in Budapest. Gabor told us it'd be worth buying swimsuits to go to the baths, but none of us wanted to make the investment. Admission is pretty pricey too.
We did manage to get a glimpse of them by going around to the back entrance. I had the image of the Turkish bath from Misalliance in my head the whole time, even though that's the wrong country and the wrong time period, but I was still surprised that the baths looked like swimming pools and not tiled spas.

After the baths, I split off from Matt and Savannah to meet up with Dad. I wandered in a couple of stores and ate a pastry on the way to the Marriott along the river. It was very easy to find. We checked in and had lunch and then we went went to the House of Terror museum.
This building was used by the Nazis and the Soviets to house prisoners, and it's now a museum (although only since 2002, according to my guidebook). Some of the rooms are recreations of the interrogation rooms, some of them are lined with screens playing testimonies of victims, and the gallows are in the basement. There was so much information, and I knew very, very little of this history beforehand, so it was overwhelming but really interesting. Dad was a trooper even though he'd had long flight the night before.
Back in the hotel, Dad made calls while I read (Elegance of the Hedgehog, merci à Caroline), and then we enjoyed this view from the lounge upstairs and called grandparents. Matt and Savannah met us at the hotel with my bag, and then we went to dinner at a cool place with live music and very good food and wine. They brought us this weird cherry liqueur at the end of the meal that none of us could even drink except Matt, and then he was sorry that he did.
The next day was pretty low-key. I slept "late" for the first time on the trip, and we had brunch before walking along the river to see the Parliament, pictured above. My friends took a tour of it and said the building's really incredible inside. It's the second-largest Parliament in Europe. As long as I'm listing facts like a guidebook, Budapest had the first underground transportation system in Europe.
View of the river. There's not a rail alongside the sharp drop, which made Dad a little nervous. I had to walk on the inside.
We saw these shoes and weren't sure what they were about at the time..."Shoes on the Danube is a memorial to the Budapest Jews who fell victim to the Arrow Cross militiamen in Budapest and depicts their shoes left behind on the bank when they fell into the river after having been shot during World War II" (wikipedia).
We took a boat tour along the river that dropped us off at Margaret Island. Formerly called Island of Rabbits, the island was renamed after the daughter of Béla IV. Everything I read/heard about this island talked about it being a green haven in a busy city, which was funny to me because I thought Budapest seemed so calm, and there are a lot of wide sidewalks lined with trees and areas of green space within the city.
There's no traffic on the island except for one bus to transport people to and from the city and some pedal carts that must be hard to control because they nearly ran over a few of our group members...
Dad making a wish
Some branches that were perfect for bouncing
Remains of the convent where Margaret lived. There was a small hut sort of thing outside the convent where her father the king could stay when he visited her since men weren't allowed inside.
There's also a theater on the island where they have open-air concerts in the summer. We couldn't see it, but here's a photo of the Water Tower
Another view of the Parliament on the way back
The boat tour took a little longer than expected, but I was able to make it to the opera just in time for the last tour of the day. Here's a photo of the space inside complete with set. I can't remember what they were doing that night because they perform in repertory. The building is beautiful though, and the Hungarian Opera ranks somewhere in the top 5 as far as acoustics go.
After the tour, Dad and I went to an Italian restaurant for dinner since we had been authentic the night before. Then we took a cab to the other side of the river by Matthias Church, which was closed for renovation while we were there, to see the view at night from the other side.
I don't know if this is a legit instrument or not. Somebody help me out? This guy was playing "La Vie en Rose" and the theme from Romeo and Juliet in the pavilion by the church.
Final shot of Budapest at night. The next morning Dad and I had flights around the same time, so we went to the airport together, and then I took a train from Paris to Marseille. I got back to Aix in time to see my housemates heading out with their faces entirely painted black and red for Halloween, which was a nice homecoming.