Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Budapest, Hungary

The week after Andy left for training in the states, I signed up to go on a trip to Budapest for 3 days with a couple other gals in the squadron. I can't believe it only took an hour and a half and I was in Hungary! Eastern Europe is different from Germany (or the Western part in general). It felt much darker, the language obviously different, much more stiff, there wasnt much color or character to the architecture outside the city and there was a ton of grafitti. Don't get me wrong...it was beautiful, but we mostly stayed in the city...I would love to venture out into the countryside to see if my depiction is true. We had a fun trip and got to see all the major sights of the city. Here's a link to the city's history if you care to read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest Tyler had his girlfriend Alana with him for the weekend...they were so cute together :)
We all pitched in to get 2 apartments...basically when you travel in Europe there are apartments that they turn into hotels since travelers may need to use a kitchen, wash clothes, etc...Budapest was cheaper than where we are at in Germany so it wasnt too expensive but really nice!!

Exchanging toys :)

They restored their subway system so it was real clean and looked like it did as if it were in the 50's. It is the second oldest underground railway in the world!

There was a famous place to eat that our guide books suggested that had real good Hungarian food...
Some kind of chicken and spaetzle...mmmmm

Touring a castle near the city center...it had a moat around it (no water in the winter) and they turned part of it into a museum.

The museum...it was a museum of dead animals...weird...we didnt go in...


The chapel

Apparently the inscription of the sculpture meant death...creeeepy
I took a picture of a picture of this so you can see what it looks like overhead...in the summer :)
Don't be fooled...he was only like this for 5% of our trip :) haha!
One of the Roman baths


Our main mode of transportation...
The famous Chain bridge over the Danube River...the city used to be two cities "Buda" and "Pest" and merged into one city in 1873. A little interesting fact: In 1944, towards the end of World War II, Budapest was partly destroyed by British and American air raids. From 24 December 1944 to 13 February 1945, the city was besieged during the Battle of Budapest. Budapest suffered major damage caused by the attacking Soviet troops and the defending German and Hungarian troops. All bridges were destroyed by the Germans. More than 38,000 civilians lost their lives during the conflict.
It's such a privelage to be standing in the midst of history!!
Taking the tram up to the other side to see parliment

Overview of the Danube and Chain Bridge










Although it was cold (mid 20's low 30s) and rainy these streets were beautiful :)

An old church that is no longer in use but was restored after being bombed during the War

Parliment at night
Having dinner on the Danube!

They kissed about 15 times in a row...so cute!!

"The Mommys"



St. Stephen's Cathedral...it was beautiful and huge holding 8,500 people!

They had a traditional demonstration and dance out in the church square...I got a good video of this but its not uploading..sorry :(





One last coffee stop (of many!) before heading back to Germany!
This was such a beautiful city; I would LOVE to come back in the summer...I've heard that Prauge is the next London or Paris of Europe so I think I will try that next for my eastern Europe excursion!


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