Budapest, Hungary

It's been awhile since we've posted but we've had a lot of trips and visitors the past couple of months so we're hoping to get all of our updates in!  On January 15th, we took a quick 2-day trip to Budapest.  We definitely could have used a few more days there but it was one of our favorite cities and probably the most beautiful city we've ever seen at night.

For those of you who don't know (because well, Molly did not), Budapest occupies both sides of the river Danube and at one time was divided as two separate cities - Buda and Pest - until its unification in 1873.  We stayed on the Pest side and spent the weekend running across the city's various bridges (Chain Bridge being the first to connect the two cities) to make sure we saw both sides.  The weather was not great - it rained a bit and was chilly and because we went in January in Europe, the sun set before 4:30pm! 

We hit the ground running when we arrived and started at St. Stephen's Basilica which is named for the first King of Hungary (who began his rule in 975!) and houses his mummified fist (yes, seriously).  It was one of the most stunning churches we have ever seen.  We then made our way over the Parliament, on the bank of the Danube, which was built based off of London's Parliament (which we love).  Hungary's Parliament was not established until after the city's unification and built in 1885.  The Holy Crown of Hungary, which was once worn by St. Stephen, is displayed in the central hall of the building.  We had the privilege of going into one of the chambers of Parliament too.

Hero's Square is the main square in Budapest and its statues make up the leaders of the 7 tribes who founded Hungary in the 9th century.  We spent a lot of time in the square, just taking in the entire city and Molly trying to climb the statues (not a pretty site).  From there, we made our way to Vajdahunyad Castle which has pretty amazing architecture but apparently it houses the Agricultural Museum so we stayed on the outside (so cultured, we are!).  Across the way is one of the most famous Hungarian baths in Budapest.  We did not have the time to go in but there were plenty of locals in the baths in the freezing cold in some skimpy bathing suits. 

That evening, we decided to have after dinner drinks at the Four Seasons.  After the pianist left the bar area, Matt (after 2 or 3 scotches) bet Mols $1000 to play the piano for 4 minutes straight.....and that she did (after 2 or 3 cosmos).  It was a stunning rendition of "Those Were the Days" from All in the Family.  And if anyone is familiar with the song, they know that it contains all of about 5 black keys.  Thanks to Molly's brother Michael for teaching her that song at age 8!  After Molly's success (which Matt has yet to pay), we went to one of the locals......an American sports bar to watch the NFL Playoffs, of course!

The next day we were up and out early to finish off our sightseeing.  We decided to explore the Buda side.  We hiked up Gellert Hill which was tough regardless of the multiple drinks we consumed the previous night and took in Buda Castle and Matthias church.  After a few hours, we stopped for some traditional Hungarian food where Molly witnessed Matt scarfing down a HUGE plate of weinerschnitzel....there were no words.

It was an exhausting trip but one of the most fun!  We headed back to London in the evening to prepare for our next trip.  Here are some (ok, a lot!) of pictures from Budapest. 

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