Road Trip: Budapest

I admit. I was a bit nervous about all the driving since I was the only driver for this trip. I purchased the required vignettes (road fees) for each country in advance and knew I would just need to watch for gas stations to stop at since they seem to be much more infrequent than what I am used to in the US. One thing we noticed right away when we entered Hungary were billboards for McDonalds! I really don’t see those here in Germany and we didn’t see them in Austria either. And the gas stations we stopped at were really nice compared to Germany and Austria too with really fresh food being grilled and served onsite, and really clean bathrooms. It was a big plus that the bathrooms took credit cards too, rather than just coins.

Driving into Budapest was a little nerve wracking, like any big city driving. We crossed the Liberty Bridge (the green one) and quickly found our little hotel that was an absolute dream. The host was the owner and was the kindest woman. They live there and host a lot of events there as well. The building dates back to 1896, and was right in the heart of the Jewish district.

I’m so glad I drove our smaller car! The door ahead is what I drove through to come in off the street. Straight through there was a small open lot for just a few cars.

This was the small parking area, and such a good example of who there’s a whole different world behind what you see on the street. The building next to our hotel, also from 1896, was going through a complete renovation.

Our hotel courtyard! We had a one bedroom apartment with a small kitchen and large bathroom, three single beds.

We spend two days in Budapest and I have so many pictures! I really love the energy of this city. It’s beautiful and bustling, has a fascinating history, and the people were all so nice.

Here are some of my favorite experiences and sites:

Budapest is known for its Ruin Bars and Szimpla Kert was the first, and most well-known. There was so much destruction to the city after WWII and restoring and rebuilding took a lot of money. Someone decided to just embrace it how it was and ruin bars were born. They are now an eclectic mix of kitsch and junk and oddities and are known for their friendly atmosphere and bar life.

I’ll never forget seeing the DJ, sitting straight ahead and on the right in this photo. He was just a basic-looking middle aged man with glasses, wearing khakis and a plaid shirt, and he was loving what he was doing on a Friday afternoon. It was such a unique place!

Right next to Szimpla Kert is a great boutique/gift shop filled with a lot of local creations. I totally bought this set of Addams Family dolls because the kids have been obsessed with them since as long as I can remember. We’ve dressed up as the whole Addams family for several Halloweens and always watch their movies for Halloween and Thanksgiving. The kids thought these were an amazing find!

The other great thing next to Szimpla Kert is this alley of food trucks with Hungarian foods like Langos, Goulash, and chimney cakes! The prices were really good too and we thought this was a much better place to eat than the famous food market we went to later (it was way too touristy and the food was too expensive…but we were starving so the cabbages and cabbage roll we got there was delicious).

The walk through the Jewish quarter was special to see. It is the most lively part of the city now with great restaurants and young people. This is the world’s second largest synagogue (the largest is in New York City). It was amazing to see and learn about the history of a desire to modernize how they worshipped. The interior had many familiar elements to a cathedral because of this.

There was a cemetery and memorials next to the synagogue because this area was part of the Jewish ghetto during WWII. The sculpture commemorates the at least 400,000 Hungarian Jews murdered by the Nazis and their Hungarian collaborators.

We hiked up Gellért Hill at the end of our first day to see the lights turn on. There were so many young people and couples there to see it too, and it was pretty sweet. A memory I will never forget.

Day 2 started early with a walk to Fishermans’ Bastion and the Buda Castle mount which is a must just for the views.

One of these guys looks like the actor, Woody Harrelson.

We also saw SO much of this in Budapest! Lots of social media modeling happening.

St. Matthias church was worth the visit. This is where Empress Sisi was crowned queen of Hungary. She is beloved here. The interior was really beautifully restored and unique. While we were there, some foreign dignitaries arrived in an extensive motorcade and were being given special access to things.

The carved stone depicting two figures pointing to a book is the oldest stone known in Budapest, made around 1260 and still in its original place.

We probably weren’t supposed to do this but when we needed a bathroom we would just walk into a bigger hotel right through the lobby like we were staying there and there was always a really nice bathroom at the back somewhere. This trick saved us because I truly never saw public toilets.

The back side of the castle mount is a dreamy walkway lined with trees and cute apartments. The view of the city below is beautiful too.

The pink blossoms were at their peak!

The castle mount is very much in use with museums and government buildings. It’s worth the climb for the views for sure.

I am so glad we booked the tour of the beautiful parliament building.

Showstopper! The entire building was amazing and I loved learning about their government and traditions. Fun Fact: 40kg of gold were used in decorating the interior of this building.

In another room, each statue on the pillars represented a different profession or art of the people of Hungary.

Hungarian has the oldest crown jewels in all of Europe. While we were in this room the foreign dignitaries we had seen earlier that morning at St. Mathias church came with special guards on their own tour of Parliament. I really wanted to know where they were from and we scoured the Hungarian news later that night to see if we could find anything. They looked very Eastern European.

I had to grab a picture of the cigar holders outside the House floor. There was no smoking allowed on the floor when in session so the representatives would leave their cigars, still lit, in these holders in the hallways outside. If someone had a really good speech, they would say it was worth a Cuban cigar to stay in to listen.

After our tour of the Parliament building we sat outside at a cafe for some lunch and cake, of course. This Dobos cake was a winner! Light sponge, chocolate mousse, with a creme brulée topping we had to crack.

We wandered the streets some more, admiring the buildings and loving the history of this vibrant city. There was one more thing I had to see before we left. Near the Parliament building, on the Danube, is a moving and heart wrenching memorial to the Jews who were murdered there at the beginning of 1945 by the Arrow Cross Party of Hungary who were aligned with the Nazis during WWII.

The memorial is 60 pairs of bronze shoes, similar in style to shoes worn in the 1940s. Some are women’s, some children’s, some men’s. Thousands of Jews were being murdered all over the city and the Danube provided an easy way to carry away bodies. The Arrow Cross began to force Jews to the banks of the river, had them remove their clothing, and all belongings, shot them and pushed their bodies into the river. Some were tied together so they drowned even if they weren’t shot. The water was freezing that time of year and death was inevitable. Their bodies were used for target practice as they floated away.

I couldn’t help but cry to sit there at the peaceful edge of the water. This is the most powerful monument I have seen to victims of the Holocaust and WWII.

Many of the shoes were filled with a candle or flowers.

I really loved Budapest. There is a depth to the city that I haven’t felt elsewhere, and there is so much we didn’t get to see and do. A friend of mine recently took the overnight train from where we live to Budapest and that sounds like a perfect idea to go back and experience more of this city. I’ll never forget our days there.