Budapest, Hungary

Budapest, Hungary is a city of 2 million residents.  Home of the Hungarian Parliament the city was badly damaged in WWII.  The city is the result of the unification in 1873 of Buda, Obuda and Pest.  Buda and Obuda are on the hilly side of the Danube and Pest is on the plains side.  We stayed in the Bristol Hotel on the Pest side not far from the Keleti train station.    We found the hotel to be very comfortable and the breakfast was plentiful and delicious.

David in front of the Elizabeth Bridge

There are several bridges across the Danube connecting Buda to Pest.  During WWII the Germans blew up all the bridges to hamper the progress of the Soviet army.   The Soviets and Communist party were in power until 1989 when revolutions brought the end of Soviet occupation.

 



We spent two days using the Hop-on Hop-off tourist bus to get around the city.  The bus took us past all the main sites of interest to tourists.  It even allowed us to take a boat ride on the Danube (twice).











In spite of the destruction there are many historic buildings and wonderful architecture to be seen in Budapest.  Many sites have been reconstructed.  The Hungarian Parliament was particularly photogenic.   We found the city full of tourists from all over the world.

Budapest is known for its thermal “baths”.  We enjoyed some time at the Szechenyi bath past Hero Square.  There were several inside pools varying in temperature from 19 deg C, 28 deg C, and 34 deg C.  There were also three outside pools also warmed with thermal waters.   There was even a chess table in the water so the "good old boys" could play chess while they soaked.  I must say I have been feeling particularly healthy since visiting the baths.

We enjoyed eating Hungarian goulash, but then discovered Turkish gyros which were delicious and inexpensive.  There were ice cream shops everywhere, so we had to check them out.  On our last day we did have lunch at Jack’s Burgers where the hamburgers were wonderful!

Now it is back to England we go to visit our friends from Tewkesbury.

If you would like to see more Budapest photos visit the link below.  If you view as a slideshow, you will see captions.
https://plus.google.com/photos/114965289412774881547/albums/5874940012808520129?authkey=CK-m9IGy--vnSg