Touring Budapest - Day 1

WOW! In a word, that describes what we saw today, touring Buda and Pest.

Our day started with a trip to the bank to get some Florints. I didn’t realize that although Hungary is in the EU, it is not in the Eurozone! It still uses its own currency. We then caught a bus that brought us near to where we were to meet with our guide, Boulash, at 10:30 to begin a “free”walking tour of Pest. We found him to be very knowledgeable, with a good sense of humour and a voice loud enough to be heard. He took us to see a whole bunch of attractions and gave us insights that we would never have discovered on our own. The nearly two hour tour was worth every penny it cost us. Absolutely beautiful buildings, sculptures, fountains … views

Following the tour we went looking for a place that serves lunch. We ended up choosing a vegan restaurant with a nice selection of light meals on their menu at reason prices. I had a pasta dish that was served with a spicy, cauliflower sauce. I quite like it. Laura had quesadillas, which she liked. It was then time to catch the metro to the starting point for our next tour.

The next tour was with the same guide, but this time we would tour Buda, on the opposite side of the Danube. This is the hilly side where the Budapest Castle and the cities oldest building are located. More Spectacular buildings, sculptures , fountains … views! Following the tour we stopped at a cafe near the Budapest Palace for a cold drink and then walked around a bit more to take in the beautiful sights.

I think what impressed me most on the tours was seeing the incredible amount of work that has gone into restoring and replacing these centuries old buildings. Other cities may have similar structures, but I’ve never seen so many that are in pristine condition with none of the usual black and dark grey coatings caused by years and years of exposure to air pollution. As well, the amount of work underway to restore or reconstruct entire buildings completely from the ground up is amazing!

After returning to our apartment and getting cleaned up we went to the restaurant in our building for dinner. Laura ordered spaghetti with a tomato based meat sauce. It was huge and she could only eat 1/2 of it. I ordered Hungarian pizza. It was very tasty and had Hungarian sausage, onions, hot peppers and mushrooms on it. We got a 40% discount because we’re staying in the same building and I think the restaurant is owned by the same people that own our apartment. Dinner for two with drinks for about $20!Read more