Wife in the Fast Lane: BUDAPEST, HUNGARY

Friday, February 15th

I'm still pinching myself that I get to write a blog about my European travel experiences! How cool is this?! On Friday, our friends Corrie and Matt Ott, Liz and Tom Dowd and ourselves headed up to Budapest in the Dowd's van they call Madge. Madge can hold six people fairly comfortably. The guys all sat in the front bench seat and tried to have shop talk, while the girls sat in the back seat and sang Disney songs at the top of our lungs. (Yeah, we're cool!) The drive was a "nice" 6 hours. If you do the math that put us in Budapest at 3am; although, you would have never known it was 3am judging from how many people were out walking around at that hour. The streets were packed with tourists and bar hoppers. We were glad to have made it!
We stayed at the 7 seasons right in the heart of Budapest. We each had our own room in one apartment, and we had our own balcony with a view of the city!

Here's Liz on our balcony with a view of St. Istvan's Cathedral dome in the background.

Saturday, February 16

The next day we had a slow start. We left the apartments around noon and wanted to try some traditional Hungarian food, so we were directed to Sorforras where I ate goulache, chicken paprikas, and a jam crepe. (or pancake as they call it) The food was delicious and hearty! So different from Italian food! I learned very quickly why Hungarians need hearty food; it's SO COLD there! I had never realized how mild our winter was in Italy, until we spent days walking around Hungary.

Our first stop after lunch was St. Istvan's Cathedral. And of course we had to start off by doing a jumping photo in front of it!

We briefly walked inside, but there was a funeral service being held so we didn't stay long. We then headed up to the top of the dome of the church via elevator (Yes, because the stairs were out of order!), and then walked up some stairs to the top. I would highly recommend doing this if you ever visit Budapest. You get a great view of the city! Nick and a few others saw a set of stairs that were blocked off, but they snuck around and climbed to the VERY TOP of the dome. (Scary!) They got some great shots from up there!

Corrie and I were the only ones not brave enough for the narrow staircase that led to the very top. We were perfectly happy with the great view that we got!

This is the view from the VERY top!

We walked a short distance toward the Danube and spotted some great photo ops. The first was the statue of a bronze police man. They say if you rub his belly you'll be sure to return to Budapest.

I love this shot! It cracks me up every time I see it!

As we were walking along the river, I spotted a very Hungarian-looking man basking in the sun along the river. I tried to take a picture without him noticing, but it didn't work. I then asked if it was okay if I took a pic, and he politely agreed. (Phew!)

We walked toward the Parliament House and spotted the "Shoes on the Danube." They are a small memorial for the Jews that were killed there. During WWII several Jews were told to take off their shoes and stand facing the river and were shot. It's hard to avoid the harsh history of Budapest. It's incredible to think that this country was under Communist power in MY lifetime! In 1991, the last communist left Budapest. Budapest has come a long way in the past 22 years. It's now a bustling, touristy city!

Our group then headed to the Chain Bridge. It was the first bridge to connect the Buda side and the Pest side. We didn't stay too long because it was really cold with the breeze.
The girls hopped on the funicular up to the Buda side, while the guys took the stairs. We beat them by a long shot!

View from the Chain Bridge of the Danube

Parliament from the Chain Bridge

Trying to stay warm on Chain Bridge

The short but sweet ride up on the Funicular to Castle Hill.

After taking a few pics, we headed over to an outdoor market where I ran into the big Hungarian man I had taken a picture of on the Danube. He stopped and asked why I had taken a photo of him in broken English. I explained that he looked very happy and peaceful basking in the sun. He laughed, and carried on. (phew!) Maybe I should pick smaller subjects to photo in the future! :)
It was getting late, and very cold at that point, so we took a pit stop in a cafe to defrost. We tried coffee and some of their sweet treats. Budapest is known for their coffee houses and I would say that I was not disappointed by it.
We quickly headed up to the Fisherman's Bastion and Matthias church. These were by far my favorite sites. We took some pics as the sun was quickly setting and headed back down to the Pest Side via a Hop on Hop off bus for some Langos and Chimney Cake at the outdoor market near our hotel. We warmed up inside by playing several card games. Let's just say that Nick and I need to start working on our card game skills. The Otts and Dowds dominated! Or next time, we're bringing some of our games so the DeWulf's can dominate!

Matthias Church

Parliament from up on the Fisherman's Bastion

Chimney Cake. Sweet and delicious!

Cheese Langos. It's sooo good!

Snuggling on the one couch in the apartment.

Sunday, February 17

That morning we hopped on a bus and headed to the House of Terror. On our way, we stopped to find a geocache. Matt found it first in a phone booth. It's so fun searching for them! It's like finding hidden treasure.

Our first geocache!

Afterward we went through the House of Terror. Yes, it is as depressing as it sounds. The building was owned by the Hungarian Nazi's and the Communists at separate times during most of the 20 century. It's now been turned into a museum because no one would rent the space due to it's horrific history.

Next we caught a bus to Hero's square in City Park.

The guys are giving a "Rule Claw." They do this all the time in the squadron.

We then headed to the naturally heated Szechenyi baths; it was a nice change from the House of Terror. The Baths were built in the 1600s. (Don't worry it was not a nude bath house) It was a perfect place to be on a cold day. They have indoor and outdoor baths. We tried the outdoor baths first. The only hard part is running from one pool to the other when it's 35 degrees outside, while using our Turkish towels which are just glorified bed sheets. Once you get them wet, they are cold and stick to you. Brrrr!
The guys then treated the ladies to Thai massages. All three of us ladies had a funny massage experience. My massage was phenomenal, but my masseuse kept belching throughout the massage. Haha!

This bath had a whirl pool in the middle!

Nice and relaxed after hours at the baths.

Outside the baths at night...

We were all craving any sort of ethnic food, since Italy mostly serves Italian food, so we headed to a Thai restaurant for dinner that was DElicious!

It was definitely "yum!"

Monday, February 18

On Monday, we packed up our belongings and headed to the Central Market Hall that's located in an old train station. The market has three floors. The basement is a fish market, the first level is a mostly vegetable and meat market, and the top floor has lots of fun Hungarian souvenirs. Nick and I were starving so we grabbed the first pastry we could find. Liz and Tom held out for Langos. They looked delicious!

We then headed over to the Zoo! I must say that Europe has much better zoo's than the States because they let you get up close and personal with the animals. My favorite part...SLOTHS!

Hehehe! I love Nick's face in this one!

Corrie getting cozy with a llama!

A buck tooth llama!!

Happiest goat I've ever seen!

Hahah! A happy gorilla family! :)

"Me Caveman. Uh."

"Green Hell?!"

SLOOOOTHHHHHHH!!!! Yayyy!!!!

Reachhhhing for the camera :)

Here's one "wild and craaaazy guy!"

Just chillin' by a tiger... no big deal.

Cute!

We then headed back to the Fisherman's bastion to take some photos during the daylight, and to grab a few souvenirs from the outdoor market. Then we headed home for another six hour drive filled with singing!!!