Budapest

A bright airy place overcoming darkness is how I would describe Budapest. From the friendly airport information attendant who introduced us to the Hop on, Hop off bus service that carried us around town for two days to the smiling and and subservient waiter where we ate our first meal, it felt good to be there. While I could still see remainders of a darker time - the cheaply made government housing, the aging Metro trains and stations with graffiti-ridden walls alongside the transit - most people were open and happy. One possible reason for the happiness was the Sunday evening game of the Eurocup finals, in which Hungary was playing against Belgium.
The plane ride to Budapest went smoothly with few wait lines and crowds at the Milan airport. Beautiful views of the town of Lugano, where Rachel resided for the past six weeks, greeted us, along with the gorgeous Swiss alps. An unusual neon green water peered up from the landscape, from a large lake and smaller waterways tha appeared to be holding tanks.

We were excited to arrive, despite the early departure hour of 8 am on a Sunday morning. We arrived downtown by 11 am and were starved while also exhausted from our early morning departure at 6 am to take a cab to the Milan airport. From the airport, we took a bus to the train station, and then the Metro into town. We did not think of possibly leaving our heavy backpacks at the airport, Metro station or hotel, but carried them around all day. Please think of this when you hear about the beer and wine we drank. We climbed possibly 300 stairs and came back down, to see the city from the top on the Buda side, and travailed down a switchback of steps and ramps on the Pest side, of at least 300 feet in elevation.


On to the schedule. We had picked up a snack at the airport, and purchased much too expensive juice on the  plane, not knowing that it wasn't free as it is on American planes. Thus, we were hungry, but didn't want to eat at the first place we encountered. The beautiful tulip shape applied gelato was certainly attractive, but our palates were craving a sandwich, soup or something more substantial. We picked a place called Platz and ordered a beer and wine right off the bat. We had remarkable sandwiches, that may not have actually been so incredible, but it was our memorable first meal in Hungary, when our appetites were strong.


We decided to jump right in to the church, St. Stephen's across the platz, and before we even explored the church, we were paying the fee in Forints to climb to the tower (reminder: With backpacks). Of course, the view was incredible, and exposed us to most of what we would see on our visit to Budapest. We rewarded ourselves with our first gelato of the trip, with at least one gelato a day! It was the cool tulip shape that attracted us, but the taste was sincerely rewarding. Rachel noted the best way to choose a gelato shop, since there is typically one shop on every block, is to determine if too many flavors exist, and is it visually attractive.


We were very thankful to Rachel's friend, Larren, for her suggestion to buy a 48 hour pass to Hop On, Hop Off bus service in the rather large city that is split by the Danube River. Two lines, one traveling East West and the other North South offered double decker buses with the top open, with headphones giving a verbal description of the sights we passed, and regular stops at the primary attractions of the city. Each bus had about 20 stops/points of interest, and we took advantage of almost the entire tour on both the red and yellow lines. And yes, ew, we put the yucky headphones to our head, hoping that the previous user did not have lice and had showered in the past week. But really, by late afternoon, we were so sweaty and stinky that we probably contributed to the sweat factor.
An awesome benefit of the Hop system was the free boat ride along the Danube. After touring the church, seeing a little of the city, we climbed off the bus at the boat stop, and while waiting for the bus, had a delightful Hungarian beer. That boat ride was delightful, passing in front of gorgeous buildings and castles, including the Parliament building, a lovely city park, and an ancient bathhouse. Budapest is famous for its healing waters, and was certainly a stop on our trip to the city that I described as romantic, with the beautiful architecture, parks and statues.


After the bus ride, we walked to the bridge where we saw a man walking on the uprights, and where Rachel wanted to climb herself. We took a few shots and hopped back on the bus, realizing that it would be our last tour, as the buses stopped running at 6:00 pm. We made it over to the other side, feeling exhausted, and rode the tram to the top. We barely wandered around, I purchased a couple postcards and a refrigerator magnet, took photos and made our way down the hill, slightly painful with those dang bags on our backs. We crossed the beautiful chain bridge back to the other side, and dragged ourselves to a street off of St. Michael's Platz, plopped down at an artificial grass signed restaurant and ordered a drink. Rachel had her first cosmopolitan, while I had a specialty vodka cranberry line drink from the menu.  I ordered an incredible vissischouis soup, while Rachel had tasty fish and chips.


We were rewarded for our lateness in the city by the celebration and preparation on the square for Hungary's participation in the Eurocup Futbol finals. Men and women, children and adults converged on the main platz, wearing red, white and green, with the flag painted on their cheeks, shouting and cheering as they were carried along by the crowd. We hung with the group a little while and then made our way back to the airport via Metro, then bus, then took a cab to our quaint hotel. Our legs and backs were tired, so we rested and ate the snacks we purchased at the train station and retired early.