I arrived Friday afternoon after enduring a 2 and a half hour flight full of men and stag parties. I'm willing to bet some of the guys spent more money on alcohol than their own flights. It was Ryanair after all. After checking into my hostel, I headed down the main avenue where I eventually crossed the iconic Chain Bridge over to the "Buda" side. Just walking across the bridge, I was already captivated by the city's beauty. Once across, I climbed the hill to get to the Buda Castle. The view from here was amazing and with the sun setting, the parliament building in view had a golden tinge to it. Without any real idea where I was going, I decided to stroll along the castle grounds for a solid half hour taking in the sights and appreciating the sun that I never get to see in London. I soon stumbled upon the Fisherman's Bastion and Matthias Church which is sort of what I was looking for. The view from here was even better so I stayed a while until the sun set.
Fisherman's Bastion
Matthias Church
I headed back down the hill and crossed the bridge again over to the "Pest" side and started looking for somewhere to eat. While looking, I stumbled upon this cool market. Because there wasn't a whole lot written in English, it took me a while to figure out what it was for. Turns out it was a festival for this spirit that they make in Hungary, called Pálinka. It was only on for 3 days so I was lucky to be in Budapest! One my favourite things about travelling is stumbling upon random markets. I decided I would come back later as I should probably eat first. I must not have been looking in the right areas because it was pretty difficult to find somewhere but eventually I did, and it was well worth the time I had spent looking. It was this bistro that seemed a bit more upper class but I ate like a king, let me tell you. I had a couple glasses of wine and a fancy spare rib dish and in total, I paid maybe £15 (that might seem like a lot to some but for me, it was reasonable). Afterwards, I of course headed back to the Pálinka festival where I tried a couple tasters of this spirit. They do different flavours like sour cherry and apricot but the stuff is strong! They range from 40-55%. A couple of tasters was enough for me as I called it a night. I also took some shots of the stunning parliament building on the way back.
The weather for day two was awesome. For the first time in a long while, I didn't need my jacket. I have to admit, weather can sometimes make all the difference in a trip (see Iceland post) and I was a very happy camper today. I went off on a walking tour today where I got to learn about some of the history of Budapest and see a few more sights like St Stephens Basilica.
While doing the tour, I got one of their funnel cakes freshly made and still hot and it was sooooooo good. After the tour was done, I went and got a snap of the shoes on the Danube, a memorial for the Hungarian Jews killed during World War II.
After grabbing a bite to eat, I headed over to the Heroes Square and city park before having a relaxing evening at the Széchenyi Thermal Bath. Supposedly, there's a system you should follow when you visit one of Budapest's baths. I think it went something like Shower > Thermal Bath > Cold pool > Sauna > Cold Shower > Steam Room > Cold Shower > various baths. I tried to do as much as I could but it was very hard to stay away from the thermal pool outside since it was such a nice day out.
After spending a few hours there, I finished off the evening the same way I did last night. Went to the same bistro place because I couldn't be bothered to search for another place. This time I got some Hungarian goulash and a burger. All amazing again. Then of course I went back to the Pálinka festival to spend the rest of my Hungarian cash.
Next: Bratislava & Vienna
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