Travel Stop: Hungary Part 1, Budapest

On our walking tour we learned that Attila the Hun came to this area in the 5th Century. Hungarians are not Huns, but perhaps that's where they get their name, Hungary. Hungarians were traditionally pagan until 1000AD when St Stephan became the first king and the area was introduced to Christianity. It's important to know that Budapest is made up of the Buda side and the Pest side, split by the river. We will start on the Pest side.


To the left there is St Stephan's Basilica. It is the largest in Budapest. The largest in Hungary is in Esztergom, which I will show you later. It had three different architects while it was being built, so actually there are three different architectural styles; neoclassical, romantic, and baroque.

It says, "I am the way, the truth and the light." When St. Stephan died they chopped off his right arm and sent the parts to different churches. Part of it is in Vienna, part in Lamberg, Ukraine, part in Australia, in Dubrovnik, Croatia, and here in Budapest they have his fist.

As we continued walking, we came across this man. It is a general belief that if you rub a statue it will bring you good luck. As you can see on this man's belly, it's a different color. The idea is if you rub his belly you will find the best meal in town. I forget what we ate that night, but I'm pretty sure it was delicious.

Speaking of statues, here is another one. This statue is called Little Princess. It looks like a boy, but apparently the sculptor didn't have any female models. It was the first non-communist statue in Budapest, and therefore gets its special nature from that. On this statue if you rub her knees, it'll bring you good luck. I felt a little weird doing that, so here is someone else. Wonder if his wish came true...

And another statue. This woman is Lady Liberty. She was erected when the Russians "liberated" Budapest. After the fall of communism, the people of Budapest wanted to keep her. So they put a big, white sheet over her and covered her with fake blood to clean her of her communist sins. True story. 

On our first night we did a pub crawl. Budapest has some bars know as ruin bars. They're bars built in old run down buildings or schools and the design on the inside is pretty sweet. Our tour guide said if you see a place that looks abandoned, it's probably a ruin pub.

Holler.

Moving on. This is a picture of the royal palace, known as Buda Palace. (on the Buda side) It's hard to explain or show how massive these buildings really are. It was first completed in 1265. It's part of a World Heritage Site.

Mulled wine and pastries!

Naturally I'm eating and drinking.

We made our way across the Chain Bridge to the Buda side. This picture is taken from the Buda Castle. The lights at night in Budapest are a thing to see. Apparently, it cost the taxpayers millions of dollars to have all these lights installed, but it was worth it. 

Up in Buda around the Buda Castle we saw this building. It has the original bullet holes from WWII. They're in the process of restoring it now. 

Next we have the Matthias Church. When the Turks took over Hungary it was turned into a mosque and the tower was used as a minaret. Originally it was built in Romanesque style in 1015 but then was restored in the 14th Century in the Gothic style seen now.

In the picture to the right you can see the colorful tiles that are used. You can see these tiles on St Stephen's church in Vienna and in Mexico. These tiles are manufactured in Hungary.

We also saw the Parliament. It is absolutely beautiful. My picture doesn't really do it justice. It is the largest building in Hungary and is in the Gothic Revival style. Inside you can find the crown jewels.

Inside the Parliament. I jacked these photos because we weren't able to take the tour. But this gives you an idea.

That dog is having the ride of his life.

Having a Rolls is hard work.

Budapest has a cat cafe. Cats roam free and you can drink tea and pet them. Kind of a cool idea.

While we were walking around we came across this little demonstration. Apparently this is an ultraconservative church, basically Neo Nazis, who were revealing a statue of a man they consider a hero of Hungary. He was around during WWII. Naturally, the Jews who were protesting did not agree he was a hero. Here's the link to the news story if you are interested.  http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/03/21297246-hungarian-far-right-sparks-protests-as-it-commemorates-nazi-collaborator?lite

Ronald Reagan statue because why not.

The last thing I'll leave you with here is a Hungarian dessert wine. There is so much to see in Budapest it's really hard to capture it all here. There's a communist history and a Jewish one. There are many more buildings to see and museums. If you're lucky enough to visit the city you will see them too. So cheers!