Budapest

First let me just say that Budapest is underrated.  You hear so much about Prague being the hip must see city in Eastern Europe, but if I had my choice of the two I would choose Budapest every time.  There is so much to see and do here - so much that you could almost get overwhelmed with a checklist if it wasn't just so laid-back and cool.  You have all of the fascinating communist-era recent history (not unlike Prague), PLUS the mysterious past of settlers from the far east and all of the folklore and myths that go along with that.  Because Budapest is pretty spread out, we decided to do a hop on-hop off bus tour to get an overview of the city.  Our kids usually welcome the break from walking, and they even like to listen to the commentary along the way.

We started on the Buda side at Hosok Tere - or Heroes Square 

(fun fact - Hungarian is ranked amongst Estonian, Finnish, Georgian, Mongolian, Thai, & Vietnamese as the most difficult languages for English speakers to learn...so we didn't even try to pronounce anything!)

Heroes square celebrates the 7 chieftains of the Magyars who supposedly came from the far east, namely China, to settle Hungary.  Hence, the people are known as "HUN"garians.

Next, we headed to the Great Market Hall for some browsing and lunch.

Paprika is said to have originated here.  There were so many stands selling dozens of different kinds of paprika.

We had a hard time deciding on a restaurant, so we ended up getting food at various snack stands.  We really wanted to try the traditional Hungarian Goulash and of course the chilled fruit soups...then somehow we ended up with this little number.  A hotdog wrapped in cheese, then wrapped in bacon.  It was our favorite thing!

We got some incredible views of parliament and the chain bridge as we crossed back and forth along the river.

Our walk through the Jewish quarter was also memorable.  The Jewish ghetto was established by the Hungarian government in WWII - it was surrounded by a stone wall and was heavily guarded so no person, contraband, food, or public services could come in or out.  Apparently trash and dead bodies littered the streets.  Over the course of the war, the Jewish population in Budapest was reduced from 200,000 to about 70,000 - mostly due to the deportation and eventual death at concentration camps.  Visiting this area was educational for the kids (as well as the adults), as the synagogues, monuments, and narrative work together to tell a story, not only of facts and figures, but of real people.

Each metal leaf on this tree is inscribed with the name of a Hungarian Jew who died in the war.  It was a really touching tribute. 

One of the few churches we have entered in our travels that Ryan is required to leave his hat on rather than take it off.

Another memorial to the Hungarian holocaust victims - this one with graves and headstones surrounded by several other plaques with names and dates.  Each year more plaques are added as funding allows.

On Day 2 we headed to the Pest side of the river to meet up with our Hungarian friends who are also living in Rotterdam.  They happened to be home for a visit during our trip, so they agreed to show us around Fisherman's Bastion...

I just love the design of this area.

Here our friend Greg was explaining to us that the history regarding the early settlers in Hungary is a much debated topic.  Different theories are often passed off as the true history, but the truth is - no one really knows for sure who their ancestors were or where they came from.  Very "lost tribes of Israel" right?

Family Shot looking back on the Buda side.  You can see Parliament behind us to the left.

C, Milan, A, Chungy, E, Kinsco, Cjenia, & K.  I love their traditional Hungarian names - all pronounced differently from the spelling (and I probably misspelled them all too).

We toured the newly remodeled Mattias Church on Castle Hill...

It was actually very light and colorful inside.

We climbed to the upper level to view some artifacts.  We also (bravely) climbed the bell tower with all the kids.

The roof tiles are also very colorful.  We preferred the looks and color of this church to St. Stephen's Basilica - the other popular cathedral in Budapest.

We walked all around Castle Hill together hearing some stories about what it was like to grow up in Budapest.

I love this friend of mine - Imola.  She has one sister who is much older than she is, so she often felt like an only child.  She always wanted to have a big family so her children would have siblings - I really admire that, especially since it is so unusual for her culture.

We had to try kurtoskalacs - a delicious hungarian pastry.

We said goodbye to our friends.  Tot ziens bij Rotterdam Biros!  We used our tour bus pass to get one more overview of the city.

I took in these sites while stealthily nursing Bennett in the back row of the bus.

We hopped off the bus at the central park of Budapest "Varosliget" park, home to lots of fun playgrounds and Budapest's most famous bath house - the Szecheyni baths.  We didn't go inside, since we already had "bath plans" for the next day, but we were amazed at the outside...

Then we walked across to Vajadahunyad Castle - a replica of the Transylvanian castle of the same name - for a taste of Romania.  The whole area was very scenic...

Our last stop on day 2 was just outside of the city - a quick peak at Memento Park, or statue park.  This area houses many of the communist era statues that once held a prominent place in the city.  I like that they were kept as a reminder of days past, even though they were not happy memories for many.  For us and our children, this was a way to see that history come to life.  Isn't it just as important to learn and experiences pieces of the past that we do NOT want to repeat as those that we would?

We unknowingly arrived just as they were closing, but the attendant was so kind to stay late so we could have a look around - and he even let us in for free since they had already shutdown their till for the day.

Our last day in Budapest was a chance for us to recharge our batteries after a long and busy trip.  Imola recommended Aqua World Budapest as the perfect combination of children's activities and adult pools and baths.  It was a great day...

Look at that chunky monkey!

We were rested and ready for our journey homeward!