After French class on Friday I headed straight to Charles de Gaulle airport and jumped on my flight to Budapest. I was quite nervous about arriving there alone because of the language barrier, but somehow I managed to exchange some Euros for Hungarian Forint and found my way onto the metro, and then asked some French people if I could look at their map in order to find the hotel.
It wasn't too far and by 7pm I had arrived, where I met up with my friends Michelle and Charlotte. It sounds lame but I immediately realised that this city was completely different to anything I had ever experienced. The strange language and harsh architecture are striking.
The three of us then headed out to dinner at a restaurant under the Vajdahunyad Castle (see what I mean about the language, try and pronounce that).
The food was amazing and so cheap! Michelle and I both had chicken stuffed with roquefort cheese served with mashed potato and cherry ragout. The waiter was also really nice and told us where to go and where not to go (lots of bad men!).
By the time we had finished and I had eaten desert (apple strudel and ice cream) it was quite late and freezing cold so we caught a taxi back to the hotel. Soon after the last member of our party arrived, my friend Belle. We then went to bed in preparation for a massive day of sight-seeing.
Saturday morning we got up, had breakfast at the hotel and headed to 'Buda'. Before arriving I did not actually realise that one side of the Danube river is 'Buda' and the other side is 'Pest'. I'm not entirely sure when the name was formed, as the history is extremely complicated. Anyway we left the hotel and walked down Dohany St, past a beautiful church.
We then came across the Great Synagogue, which is the second largest synagogue in the world after the one in New York. During the war the synagogue marked the border of the Budapest Ghetto. It was absolutely incredible.
After that we continued along to St Stephen's Basilica, another amazing building.
The interior reminded me a lot of the Vatican, and I have to say my favourite part was probably this sign...
We then headed down to the river, past a friendly soldier.
To cross the river we walked over the Széchenyi Chain Bridge. When it was built in 1849, the bridge's centre span was the largest in the world.
Finally we had arrived in Buda and took the funicular up to the castle.
The view from the top was beautiful and we could see the enormous parliament building.
We then walked over to the castle for coffee, but decided not to go through the whole inside as it was actually an art gallery.
By this time our stomachs were rumbling so we headed to a cute restaurant for a traditional lunch. We had goulash soup, followed by paprika chicken with Hungarian dumplings and finally a coffee flavoured cake for dessert. Yum. We then caught the metro back down to Pest and walked up Andrássy Avenue, one of the main streets in Budapest.
It was here that we stumbled on a 'fake' Moulin Rouge. Strange.
Our next stop was the House of Terror, an exhibition located at the former headquarters of the Arrow Cross and other dictatorial regimes that gripped Hungary. This was probably one of the highlights of the trip and there is no way I can do it justice in words. I learnt so much and we ended up staying until it closed. You even go down into the basement where the torture chambers and execution room have been reconstructed.
It was then time to head back to the hotel before dinner, and we picked up some Hungarian champagne on the way to lighten the mood. For dinner we went to a delicious restaurant called Fresco, where I had honey ginger chicken and noodles. We had planned to go out, but by the time we finished dinner it was after midnight so we decided to go home to bed after our huge day out!
Sunday morning we woke up, ate brekkie at the hotel and headed to the Széchenyi thermal baths. It was really nice to relax and float around in the giant spa.
After the baths we wandered through Heroes' Square.
For lunch we headed to the shopping district, however we were all feeling a little bit funny from the heavy Hungarian food so we all chose to stick to salads. There was then time for a little peek in Zara before heading back to the hotel to get ready for the opera!
After getting all dressed up we walked to the New York Palace, a luxury hotel, which has a famous cafe where intellectuals and journalists used to meet and debate. We each had a cocktail and shared some Hungarian salami in the stunning surroundings. The pina colada I had was so good!
After that we caught a taxi and headed to the Opera House to see 'Norma'. The Opera House itself was beautiful, and I enjoyed watching everyone come in all dressed up, however the opera itself just wasn't my thing. I don't particularly enjoy watching them sing at absurdly high pitches, in Italian, with Hungarian subtitles. The ballet is definitely more my scene.
After the opera we went and had pizza for dinner, before heading home for bed.
The following morning we all ate breakfast and then I headed back to the airport and caught my flight back to Paris. This has been one of the most interesting weekends yet; I would definitely recommend going to Budapest!!!
It wasn't too far and by 7pm I had arrived, where I met up with my friends Michelle and Charlotte. It sounds lame but I immediately realised that this city was completely different to anything I had ever experienced. The strange language and harsh architecture are striking.
The three of us then headed out to dinner at a restaurant under the Vajdahunyad Castle (see what I mean about the language, try and pronounce that).
The food was amazing and so cheap! Michelle and I both had chicken stuffed with roquefort cheese served with mashed potato and cherry ragout. The waiter was also really nice and told us where to go and where not to go (lots of bad men!).
By the time we had finished and I had eaten desert (apple strudel and ice cream) it was quite late and freezing cold so we caught a taxi back to the hotel. Soon after the last member of our party arrived, my friend Belle. We then went to bed in preparation for a massive day of sight-seeing.
Saturday morning we got up, had breakfast at the hotel and headed to 'Buda'. Before arriving I did not actually realise that one side of the Danube river is 'Buda' and the other side is 'Pest'. I'm not entirely sure when the name was formed, as the history is extremely complicated. Anyway we left the hotel and walked down Dohany St, past a beautiful church.
We then came across the Great Synagogue, which is the second largest synagogue in the world after the one in New York. During the war the synagogue marked the border of the Budapest Ghetto. It was absolutely incredible.
After that we continued along to St Stephen's Basilica, another amazing building.
The interior reminded me a lot of the Vatican, and I have to say my favourite part was probably this sign...
We then headed down to the river, past a friendly soldier.
To cross the river we walked over the Széchenyi Chain Bridge. When it was built in 1849, the bridge's centre span was the largest in the world.
Finally we had arrived in Buda and took the funicular up to the castle.
The view from the top was beautiful and we could see the enormous parliament building.
We then walked over to the castle for coffee, but decided not to go through the whole inside as it was actually an art gallery.
By this time our stomachs were rumbling so we headed to a cute restaurant for a traditional lunch. We had goulash soup, followed by paprika chicken with Hungarian dumplings and finally a coffee flavoured cake for dessert. Yum. We then caught the metro back down to Pest and walked up Andrássy Avenue, one of the main streets in Budapest.
It was here that we stumbled on a 'fake' Moulin Rouge. Strange.
Our next stop was the House of Terror, an exhibition located at the former headquarters of the Arrow Cross and other dictatorial regimes that gripped Hungary. This was probably one of the highlights of the trip and there is no way I can do it justice in words. I learnt so much and we ended up staying until it closed. You even go down into the basement where the torture chambers and execution room have been reconstructed.
It was then time to head back to the hotel before dinner, and we picked up some Hungarian champagne on the way to lighten the mood. For dinner we went to a delicious restaurant called Fresco, where I had honey ginger chicken and noodles. We had planned to go out, but by the time we finished dinner it was after midnight so we decided to go home to bed after our huge day out!
Sunday morning we woke up, ate brekkie at the hotel and headed to the Széchenyi thermal baths. It was really nice to relax and float around in the giant spa.
After the baths we wandered through Heroes' Square.
For lunch we headed to the shopping district, however we were all feeling a little bit funny from the heavy Hungarian food so we all chose to stick to salads. There was then time for a little peek in Zara before heading back to the hotel to get ready for the opera!
After getting all dressed up we walked to the New York Palace, a luxury hotel, which has a famous cafe where intellectuals and journalists used to meet and debate. We each had a cocktail and shared some Hungarian salami in the stunning surroundings. The pina colada I had was so good!
After that we caught a taxi and headed to the Opera House to see 'Norma'. The Opera House itself was beautiful, and I enjoyed watching everyone come in all dressed up, however the opera itself just wasn't my thing. I don't particularly enjoy watching them sing at absurdly high pitches, in Italian, with Hungarian subtitles. The ballet is definitely more my scene.
After the opera we went and had pizza for dinner, before heading home for bed.
The following morning we all ate breakfast and then I headed back to the airport and caught my flight back to Paris. This has been one of the most interesting weekends yet; I would definitely recommend going to Budapest!!!
