Our European Adventure 2018

Budapest Day 2

After a wonderful night of rest and catching up with sleep, laundry and blogging, we enjoyed a light ensuite breakfast of croissants, coffee and fresh fruit we pick up at the Great Hall Market. Constructed in 1897, the market is enormous and you can find just about anything you would need.

We found cheese, fresh fruit and a few other delectable items to get us through the morning.

Today, we enjoyed a tour with a guide hired through a company called Gyde&Seek.com. Our guides name Kata (she pronounced her name as Kati) and she was invaluable for us with the little amount of time we had to immerse ourselves into Budapest. She was invaluable to us for learning about the history of Hungary’s development from 896 AD through to today’s political scene. She was also extremely knowledgeable about the early classic architectural styles that abound throughout the city. Neo-this and neo-that, Renaissance to Art Deco to Art Nouveau to…well you get the idea. Hungary’s central appeal brought every style of architectural design one could want in a city.

Our guide showing the areas of Pest that was flooded at the turn of the 19th century.

We stopped in to see the oldest standing catholic church in Pest.

Built around the beginning of the 10th century, it was recently renovated.

After walking around the older district of Pest, our guide lead us across the Chain Bridge over into the Palace area of Buda. Luckily, a bus was available to wisk us up the steep hillside to the Palace grounds. There we took in the awesome views of the city below while strolling around the Renaissance streets of Pest including Matthius Church (named for Budapest’s favorit King), Fishermans Bastion and Buda’s Castle.

Walking across the Chain Bridge towards Buda.

Our touristing ended with a tour of the Hungary Parliament Building which was set up prior to leaving on our trip. I highly recommend booking a visit early since the tours are limited to small groups. You can book them according to your preferred language.

To end the day, we booked a river cruise dinner. The cruise was amazing and the glass roof made it feel as though we were outside without the wind and slight rain effect. We booked through a company called Legenda but there are many to choose from. All have indoor dining and professional staff who speak a wide variety of languages including English, Spanish, Italian and French…besides Hungarian, naturally! My advise would to book early to reserve a table and don’t be late!

As for the menu, we chose the 4 course complete experience. The meal was excellant and my duck breast was cooked to perfection.