Hungary is a landlocked country located in central Europe, just north of the Balkan states. The capital city of Hungary is Budapest, and the official language is Hungarian, which is one of the few languages in Europe outside of the Indo-European language family.
Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, was the last stop along my train ride through parts of Central Europe. Coming from Vienna, we arrived at the train station in Budapest in the evening. To our surprise, we were met with a beautiful sunset on the horizon. We grabbed a quick meal, tried some local beer, and headed off to bed.
The next day, we started walking around the city to see some of the main attractions the city had to offer. On our way, we stopped by the Hungarian State Opera House, which was quite nice on the inside. After, we made our way over to St. Stephen's Basilica, which towered over the surrounding buildings and landscape. For a small fee, we climbed up the dome of the basilica to the top, where we were met with 360 degree views out over both sides of the city.
After, we headed down toward the river, passing by the iconic Hungarian Parliament Building, and eventually crossing over into the west side of town. Along the river bank, we noticed dozens of metal shoes lined up at the edge of the wall, a memorial to the Hungarian Jews who were shot and dumped into the river during the Holocaust.
Once across the river, we explored parts of the Fisherman's Bastion, a large stone fortress that offers panoramic views out over the Danube river and the vast city behind it. We took photos at some picturesque arches, sifted through the gift shop selections, and eventually made our way back down to the river bank to find something to eat.
We ended our time in Budapest with an evening river cruise down the Danube, passing by local historical landmarks and enjoying unlimited prosecco aboard the boat. I only had a few glasses, but it's safe to say my friends definitely got their money's worth by the end of it. We were originally scheduled for a later departure, in hopes of seeing the parliament building lit up at a darker hour, but due to some unforeseen torrential downpour, we managed to hitch a ride with the earlier departure group.
Fresh off the buzz of unlimited prosecco, we thought it'd be a fun idea to continue the night at a wine bar in the city. However, when we got there, it was closed. Fortunate timing led a Hungarian couple on their first date to the same spot soon after us, and after some small talk, the man offered us a bottle of his family's own wine brand. After parting ways, we stopped in a pub across the street for some drinks and food. I just had a local beer and some Hungarian goulash.
On our walk back to the hostel, we once again passed by the Hungarian Parliament Building, which was now fully lit up in the night, and stopped to take some photos. A long night out was soon met with an early morning, as we had a 6am Ryanair flight out of Budapest back to Toulouse. I will definitely have to return one day, as there was still so much we just didn't have the time to see.
Fun fact: I learned that the city was actually comprised of two components, Buda west of the river and Pest east of it, which date back to medieval times. Eventually, the two cities were brought together to form the modern day capital city, Budapest. I also learned that in Hungarian, they pronounce the name of the city more like Budapesht, with an "sh" sound toward the end of the word.
