Buda + Pest = Budapest!!!

HFun fact: Budapest is actually pronounced "BudaPESHT" :)

After two hour train rides, we were happy to discover that we all had the same connecting train to Budapest! We arrived into the city late in the afternoon, so we decided to scope out a restaurant as soon as we dropped our bags off at our Airbnb. We found a cute little restaurant and had delicious food and wine. Another fun fact: Hungarians LOVE wine! Since the famous Chain Bridge wasn't too far away, we decided to take a walk down to the bridge and what a beautiful sight it was! Since it was dark out, the lights on the bridge made even more beautiful! For those that don't know, Budapest is separated by the Danube River with Buda on one side and Pest on the other. We decided to walk across he bridge from Pest over to Buda. During our walk, we looked over and saw the gorgeous Parliament building! We decided to head back into town (Pest) and on our way back, we stopped at a Tiki bar where we each had unique cups for our drinks. Since it was late, we decided to head back to our Airbnb and call it a night. 

The next day was a rainy one, but that didn't stop us! We started off our day early and ate breakfast at a nice restaurant. We crossed the Chain Bridge and headed in the direction of the Buda Castle to find a Flea Market. Unfortunately, the flea market no longer existed. But, we were able to explore the castle which was HUGE! We wanted to get out of the rain for a while and stumbled across a WWI Propaganda Museum was it was very interesting. We stepped back out of the museum to have mini photoshoots in front of the castle, with Buda, Pest, and the Danube River on the background. We went back across the Chain Bridge to visit the famous Central Market Hall. The lower level sold local produce and wine, and the upper level was filled with local food vendors and lots of kiosk to buy souvenirs. We were there on a Saturday afternoon, and the place was PACKED! We then split up with - Crystal and Sarah went back to the apartment and Charnelle, Danni, and Anne hung out around the Central Market area to check out shops, drink coffee, and eat delicious deserts. We eat ordered different desserts and let's just say...all of the plates were cleared within a few minutes! Later on, we all met back up by the dock for an evening boat tour down the Danube. Since the boat was full, we had to wait another hour & 30 minutes for the next tour. In between that time, we found a cute restaurant to have dinner. After eating, we headed back to the docks and boarded our boat which was an amazing experience with such amazing views of historical buildings along the Danube along with complimentary glasses of wine which of course was a plus! It was a great end to our night!

The next day, we again traveled across the Chain Bridge to explore Buda. Crystal and Anne walked around along the Danube and Castle Grounds, and had lunch on the Pest side of town. Charnelle, Sarah, and Danni went to the Budapest History Museum where we learned more interesting facts about the city. Charnelle and Sarah also tried a traditional Hungarian desert called a "lango" fresh out of the fryer. A lango is a deep fried piece of flatbread that typically have sour cream and cheese toppings. We opted for a chocolate topping and it was soooo delicious! We ate it so fast that we forgot to take pictures. We then all met at the historic Hungarian Opera House to buy tour tickets. We then split once again to venture out to grab lunch, visit the Hungarian Parliment, and to see the Shoes on the Danube, which is a memorial to the Jews who lost their lives during the World Wars. Later on that night, we visited a bar called Szimpla Kert, which is a Jewish Ruin pub and it was a great expereince. It was a two story building that had approximately 6 separate bars. Fun fact: The location of the ruin pub used to be the homes of Jews, but they were taken away from them during WWII. The buildings were abdondoned for YEARS, and some genius came up with the idea to turn the space into a bar back in ~2006.

We truly enjoyed all that Budapest had to offer. Can't wait to share our Spring Break adventures!!!