Journal #48 - Hungary

Jó napot from Hungary! 

This visit has been a beautiful adventure and served as the place we rang in the New Year! Basing ourselves in Budapest we had plenty of opportunity to thoroughly explore the city and take in both sides of the river (what were originally Buda and Pest). One of our first notes was how beautiful the architecture is. Hungarian Parliament alone almost made the whole visit worth it for its beauty nestled along the river.

The second major installation that took our breath away was St. Stephen's Basilica. This has got to be one of the most beautiful churches I have ever set foot in. The whole inside was stunningly coordinated between the woods and the marbles. They aligned with the art styles of the portraits and altar carvings. It was not just that each individual piece was exquisite, but more so it was how cohesive each wall, inlay, and tile worked with the others. Even the poinsettias, evergreens, and wreaths, installed for the holiday season, felt like they were intentionally chosen to be there. We loved this church and would highly recommend visiting for anyone who appreciates captivating things.

The church was a high point in our stay. One low for us was an experience we did not get to do which was take a boat tour along the Danube. Unfortunately, the water levels were so high that the riverbank was flooded. It was visually fun for us to see the city across the water reflected in the rippling surface, but it did deny us a floating experience. Thankfully, we got plenty of other views of and around the river to try and make up for it. 

One of the best sights was the view looking out over the river from the Buda Castle. On the external side of this structure, it made you feel regal to walk along its walls and look down at the city. Due to the time of year, there was an installation around the ramparts that included big posters of the traditional Hungarian holiday foods. Some were a classic bread loaf others broke down the meats or desserts one could expect at a typical table. Since we love to learn about the food in any place we visit, and Mr. Wanderer puts a lot of energy into making sure that we try as much of the regional cuisine as possible when we travel, this was a super delightful and unexpected resource. It provided much-appreciated insight into the holidays in Hungary.  

That was not the only castle we got to explore, we also found some real beauty at the Vajdahunyad Castle. It is set inside a delightful park, has a stellar reflection off of the lake it rested beside, and a Dracula statue. What more could you want? Well, ice skating, obviously; because, in the winter when we visited that was exactly what had been set up in the lake running alongside the castle walls. Beside this gothic-style Transylvania-inspired castle sat a giant rink that opened around dusk for twilight ice skating.  

Another one of our favorite parts about visiting Budapest was their cafes. Not just the street cafes, but their fancy tea-room-style cafes. There was a whimsical one nearby to the Vajdahunyad Castle that had live musicians serenading us throughout the dining experience. We did another fancy one specifically on New Year's Eve – ringing in the festivities with twinkling lights and decadent desserts.  

Before midnight on the 31st, we took the Christmas Tram (a car covered in flashing string lights) down to the river to watch fireworks shoot off over the Danube River. Since there was not any state-sponsored show, the fireworks came from all directions and lasted well over an hour. We were back in our hotel room hanging out the window to keep watching them and their reflections against the glass buildings around us.  

We had a blast jumpstarting our new year in Budapest. We made sure to think back on all the amazing adventures the past year brought us. There are so many more things on our itinerary coming up and we cannot wait to share; but for now, we are packing our bags and taking off for the first new country of the year. This nation is known as the Land of 1,000 Hills (“Le Pays de Mille Collines”). Any guesses where we are off to next?