Hola! Mi nombre es Emily y soy la mamá de Elizabeth. En este blog voy a escribir sobre nuestros días de vacaciones en Budapest.
Saturday 12/24/22
After an early morning flight from London, we arrived in Budapest and made our way to the AirBnB. Dropped off our luggage, ate lunch at a yummy Middle Eastern restaurant and then grabbed a few groceries since it was Christmas Eve and we weren't sure many restaurants would be open for dinner.
We ended the day cramped around the kitchen table watching Spirited. I love love love Christmas movies but this one was a flop. I had high hopes because I really like Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell. But... two thumbs down. I'd be willing to bet that Liam won't even admit he watched it with us. Because Liam doesn't even like Star Wars now--sometimes it feels like we don't even know him anymore...
Sunday 12/25/22
Off to the CHRISTMAS MARKETS!!! And you should know that I love Christmas markets even more than Christmas movies.
First stop- Deak Ferenc Street, AKA "Fashion Street", where we enjoyed our first chimney cake (more about that later). In addition to a sprinkling of market stalls and street food vendors, Fashion Street is known for its Christmas lights and decorations.
Next up was Vorosmarty Square, considered to be the best Christmas market in the city. There were so many artisans selling their handicrafts- everything from handmade cards and journals to pottery and ornaments . And there were tons of choices for food too.
Once Erik joined us that afternoon we made our way to the Danube for a river cruise. It was advertised as "unlimited prosecco" and they were NOT joking. Had a great time and loved seeing the city from that vantage point. (*Fun fact: Óbuda, Buda and Pest used to be 3 different cities but were unified into 1 single city in 1837.)
Monday 12/26/22
This is Istvan. He was the guide on our 2.5 hour walking tour and he was amazing. We hit all the highlights: St. Stephen's Basilica, Liberty Square, Parliament (one of my favorite buildings in the whole world), Shoes on the Danube, Freedom Square, the Soviet War Memorial, and the Palace of Justice, to name a few. We've done several walking tours over the years and Istvan was seriously one of the best- full of interesting stories and little-known facts. He's in the GOAT conversation for sure.
Once it was dark we made our way to Margaret Island for an event called Lumina Park, advertised as "a walk in a fairy-tale world created by special light and sound effects". It was neat, but their marketing people may want to take it down a notch.
Liam was hungry so he grabbed a snack from the food truck. Moments later...
Pobrecito Liam😂 (This is Elizabeth--I don't remember how exactly but him dropping his hotdog was my fault. I either bumped his hand or jumped on his back something. Sorry Liam.)
Fun story--we took the tram back from the park and there was some confusion on what stop to get off on, and Ryan got off a stop before the rest of us. We were reunited within 10 minutes, no one worry.
Tuesday 12/27/22
The highlight today was a tour inside the Hungarian Parliament. Just take a look at this building! It's magnificent! At one point Freddie Mercury wanted to purchase it. At least that's what Istvan told us.
Here's a nighttime picture from the cruise on Christmas.
Trays where the politicians would store their lit cigars during the day between sessions.
Next up- the opera, which we stumbled upon as we were walking back home for the day. And if you're reading this then you already know a specific somebody who is obsessed with the opera. So we had to go in.
Wednesday 12/28/22
First stop- St. Stephens Basilica, named in honor of Stephen, the first king of Hungary, who was born in 970ish and crowned in 1000. There was another Christmas market (woot woot!) in the plaza right in front of this church.
Inside the basilica you can see the "Holy Right", which is Stephen's mummified right hand. Why? Who knows. But each year on August 20 it's removed from the church and paraded through the streets. To quote Elizabeth--"Europe is whack."
Views from the top of St. Stephens Basilica:
Now it's time to talk about one of Hungary's national treasures- the chimney cake. It's a pastry that's wrapped around a wooden spool and slowly turned over an open fire and then dusted with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon. (Or chocolate powder or coconut flakes if preferred.) Served piping hot. Pure deliciousness. I wanted to share a video but it wouldn't upload. (This is Elizabeth--sorry to the readers. I'd have to pay to upgrade my site for videos now. Maybe intern Liam can get me on Youtube or something?)
Next up was a walking tour of Buda (just across the river). The Buda side is said to be the more ritzy, upscale section of the city. The tour guide showed us all the highlights including Matthias Church, Fisherman's Bastion, Buda Castle, the Royal Palace, and the President's Palace.
Legend has it that the horse's balls on this statue are good luck, so students will come touch them before exams.
St. Stephen.
But the MVP of this tour was Ruszwurm Confectionary, a nearly 200 year old pastry shop known for its amaaaaaaazing cream cake. It's said that Empress Sisi would travel from Vienna for a piece. And OH. MY. GOSH- I can see why! Soooooooooo good! (This is Elizabeth--they're obsessed with Sisi here. And I get it, she's a baddie fs. There was so much stuff named after her--bridges, streets, stores. Fun for me as a fellow Elizabeth.)
Thursday 12/29/22
Day trip time! We took a train about 45 minutes north to a cute little town called Szentendre. It's known for its architecture, colorful houses and cobblestone streets. There are art galleries, museums, and shops galore. We wandered all around this charming town. Ideal setting for a Hallmark movie.
Once back in Budapest we opted for Indian food for dinner and it hit the spot. Our waitress had recently moved from India to Budapest a couple years prior after watching a Hungarian movie and deciding she wanted to learn the Hungarian language. Kinda random.
Our final stop of the day was New York Cafe, which was right around the corner from our AirBnB. This building was once the site of New York Life Insurance Company's European headquarters back in 1894. Coffee houses had become quite popular at this point so the company wanted to have their own on the premises. Today this building is home to a luxury hotel and `the "most beautiful cafe" in the world. Even though the reviews are consistently subpar- rude wait staff, mediocre food, and overpriced- we were curious to see what all the fuss was about so thought we'd just grab dessert. There's normally a line out the door and around the corner. Not tonight- we were seated within 20 minutes or so. Waited another 20-30 minutes and nobody ever came to take our orders. Joke's on them... we got the pics without even needing to pay for a crappy piece of cake.
Friday 12/30/22
Last day in Budapest!!!
The kids wanted to go ice skating to we headed over to City Park, home of the largest and one of the oldest ice rinks in Europe. In the first picture, that's Vajdahunyad Castle in the background.
Vajdahunyad Castle from the other side:
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