Our next stop on the trip was Budapest. It was our first experience using our Euro-rail passes and we were a little nervous about everything going smoothly. We got to the Zagreb train station, activated our passes and reflected on how easy it ended up being. Also, while waiting for our train, a Croatian beer company was shooting a commercial with a lot of crazy costumes through the station, which was pretty good entertainment for the early morning wait. After our seven hour train ride, we had finally arrived in Budapest. After attempting to find the metro stations, we finally gave up and hailed a cab to get to our hostel. After having good luck in Croatia, we were happy to find our hostel as cute and hospitable as the last one. For our first night, we decided to walk towards the city center, looking for a restaurant. While looking, we found an outdoor festival with live music, food and drink. We had some amazing bratwurst sausages with onions, ketchup and mayo. After being really full, we went to sit at a bar for a little bit and then eventually, we walked home and passed out at our hostel.
Hungarian sausages.
The next day, we took a free walking tour through the city to learn about the historical monuments and the history of the city, in general. Although I was ill-prepared, clothing-wise, the tour was really insightful to the culture of Hungary. We learned about the Nazi occupation, the Communist occupation and the transition into a 'traditional' democratic nation. It was obvious by their economic situation that they weren't used to the concept of working harder than your neighbor and reaping the benefits. According to our tour guide, it has been hard for the nation to transition from the Communist point of view to a different mind set. During the tour, we saw the largest basilica in Budapest, Saint Stephen's. It was very impressive, right in the heart of the city, which I may add, is broken up into two sections: Buda and Pest (pronounced pesht). They are separated by a river. Saint Stephen's was in the Pest side, along with the Parliament building which looks very similar to the Parliament in London. On the Buda side lies the Royal Palace, Matthias Church and Fishermen's Bastion. A lot of Buda was built more recent than Pest because most of it was destroyed in World War II. We spent the rest of the day walking around and went to a place called Heroes' Square, in memory of the seven founders of the city. It's a massive square with massive statues, leading into a huge park with palaces and castles inside.
The love lockdown.
Saint Stephen's Basilica.
Matthias Church.
The view of Parliament from Buda.
Fishermen's Bastion.
Heroes' Square.
Willie and I looking over the river.
For our last morning, we went to a museum called the House of Terror. The building was the original headquarters for the secret police of the Nazis and then also the Communists. It went through the history of the two different occupations and the massacres that ensued during them. In the basement of the building were actual holding cells and execution rooms for the prisoners kept there. Needless to say, it was a very eerie museum visit but also helped improve our knowledge of recent Hungarian history.
The House of Terror Museum.
Hungarian Chimney cake, a.k.a. the best food in the world!
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