A bit of Buda and a bit of Pest

Hi Everyone!

Today we got to explore a little bit of both sides of the Danube river, aka Buda and Pest. Did you know that Budapest was originally two independent cities (Buda and Pest). Buda on the west is known for being more hilly and aristocratic, with the royal capital and castle district. While Pest on the east side is known for being more artsy, urban, and commercial. It wasn't until 1873, when both sides were unified, that this city became what we now know of today as Budapest. 

After crossing the Erzsebet bridge we got to the other side and were greeted by this beautiful green hill, aptly named Gellert Hill. The statute at the top is the Hungarian statue of liberty. and to get to it you have to take a million stairs and pass by this waterfall. Mom and I enjoyed the views quite contently from the park below whilst we ate our snacks. 

Then we crossed the bridge back to the Pest side and explored the Palace District. The buildings all around us were quite fancy and palatial but were basically apartments, boutique shops, and restaurants. I really wanted to go check out the library but they were closed for the entire  month of July! Europeans and their holidays. So instead we stopped for some coffee and cake and just enjoyed our surroundings. I even found a really cute watercolor for mom and a pink and purple pen print of the parliament for myself. 

Mom and I then stopped by the National Hungarian Museum to check out their gardens and have a little picnic. It was so peaceful and breezy we spent quite a bit of time on the bench before we realized it was already 4:30 pm! Since it was much later than we intended, we decided to head back into the upper part of town to do some shopping and maybe go to a concert. instead of going into the museum like we had originally planned 

The buildings here are quite spectacular and fantastical. Our walks always take us longer than the gps says because I keep stopping to admire all the artwork on them. They are also usually full of random creatures, like this satyr holding the street lights. 

As we walked home this restaurant called Vak Varyu cuaght my eye. Thankfully it was a bit early for dinner for Europeans so we were able to walk right in and snag a table. And by early I mean 6 pm, I was starving! I have no clue how people here don’t eat dinner until 9 pm or so. I’m so glad we took a chance walking into a random place because this was seriously the most amazing dinner we've had in town. The whole restaurant is farm to table and we ordered dishes that were 100% from Hungarian farms. Mom said these were the best tomatoes she's ever had. We left the restaurant totally satisfied and headed home for the night. 

Stay tuned for tomorrow's updates on Castle Hill. 

Sending lots of love, 

Carolyn