Girls' weekend in Budapest with our sweet, Budapest friend Anna-Maria as tour guide. She counted us as we got on and off trams and trains, making sure not to lose anyone! Anna-Maria is proud of her country and heritage so I feel a huge responsibility to relate all that makes Budapest so wonderful!
We packed a lot into two days so I'll cover details of our adventures in separate blog posts.
First full day...
Central Market
Gellért Baths
Gundel for dinner
Day two...
New York Cafe
Pest
Chain Bridge
Shoes on the Danube
Buda
Hungarikum Bistro
The Hungarian currency is forint and comes with a lot of zeroes... 100,000 forint = $400 U.S. Coming from Stockholm where most prices are at a premium we were giddy! After two hours at the Gellert Baths - two glasses of wine, two bottles of water and a sandwich to share = $7... can't get one grande, mocha frappacino lite for that in Stockholm!
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A quick history lesson, skipping ancient history, focusing on the past 100 years or so... As North Americans (U.S. and Canada) we cannot comprehend what it means to live through a world war or live under communist rule. Businesses were taken over or destroyed by the military or communist party and used as offices, storage, horse stables, etc. Budapest is full of history.
Budapest...
- largest city and capital of Hungary, one of the largest cities in the European Union
- since the 1980's home of many World Heritage Sites (Danube, Buda Castle Quarter, Heroe's Square, the second oldest metro line in the world, to name a few)
- approx. 80 geothermal springs
- largest synagogue in Europe and second largest synagogue in the world. Dohány Street Synagogue (1859) - bombed in 1939, used as a base for German Radio and a stable during World War II, restored from 1991-1998.
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- third largest Parliament building in the world
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| Hungarian Parliament Building |
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| Hungarian Parliament Building |
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| lion in front of parliament |
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- Buda and Pest united in 1873 to form Budapest. The Danube river, locals call it 'Duna', separates Buda and Pest.
- 1918 - Austria-Hungary lost WWI and collapsed, Hungary was declared an independent republic
- 1920 Treaty of Trianon partitioned the country with Hungary losing 2/3 of its territory and population
- 1933 Germany occupies Budapest
- 1944 The Arrow Cross takes part in murdering more than half of Budapest's Jews
- 1944-1945 Battle of Budapest during WWII caused major damage to the cities buildings, all bridges were destroyed including the famous Chain Bridge
- 1949 - Hungary declared a communist People's Republic, the communist government gutted and destroyed the interior of buildings like the Buda Castle
- 1956 - Hungarian Revolution - citizens wanting democracy fighting against the Warsaw Pact, Soviet troops crushed the revolt
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| subway station entrance in honor of the 1956 Revolution |
- 1960-80s WWII damage repaired across the city
- 1989 Fall of the Iron Curtain - liberating Hungary
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| Mary Tyler Moore (the 1970's version)?! |
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| Hungarian State Opera House - 1884 |
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| a glimpse of St. Stephen's Basilica (in honor of the first king of Hungary) |
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| Aquarium Club/Bistro is beneath the water |
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| Pest |
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| slight fascination with manhole covers! |
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| a glimpse of Hero's Square, will have to visit next time! |
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| Cafe Gerbeaud - historical Pest coffeehouse - Pest |
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| Corinthia Hotel, Budapest - doorman |
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