Fun in Budapest

Despite our train adventures, we had a great time in Budapest.  After arriving Saturday afternoon, we walked around and enjoyed the city at night.  The Buda side, lying above Pest with it's hills, looks spectacular at night.  The chain bridge connects the two sides and adds to the great atmosphere.

On Sunday, we set out to see the city and make up for lost time.  We started with a tour of the second largest synagogue in the world.  The Dohány Street Synagogue was a place of refuge for many eastern European Jews.  The Nazis used it as a horse stable and radio command post during WWII.  It suffered a lot of damage from the war and the Jewish community in Hungary was one of the most affected by the Nazis.  Men entering the synagogue, which seats around 3,000, are required to wear a Kippah regardless of weather you are Jewish or not.

We then headed off to tour the Hungarian parliament building which is the second largest in Europe and is very interesting architecturally.  Although our tours were all in English, we struggled to understand our guides.  Our fellow German and Spanish tourists seemed completely lost.  They might as well have spoken Hungarian.  Near the parliament is St. Stephen's Basilica.  The church is somewhat reminiscent of St. Paul's in London.  We hiked up to the top of the dome which provided us a spectacular view of the city.

We then headed to the Buda side to explore the Citadel and other various places up on the hill overlooking the Danube.  With the sun setting and darkness setting in, we were provide gorgeous views of the city.  A long walk back and dinner capped of the night.

Before battling the trains on Monday afternoon, we headed off to a Hungarian bath for some relaxation and a fun experience.  There were countless pools indoors and outdoors at different temperatures ranging from Lake Superior cold to as warm as a hot tub.  We tried them all out.  Some contained special natural chemicals that are said to cleanse and heal the body.  At least that's what we thought and told ourselves, but our Hungarian is less than stellar.  We ventured into the sauna but only the coolest one.  The others were made for those with lots of experience.  By noon, we were relaxed as could be and had even gotten a free snack from a self-proclaimed millionaire Hungarian businessman.  The spas are definitely a great experience that I could get used to doing...we'll have to bring them back to Minnesota.

We then headed off to the train station and the rest is history...