Catching up... looking back at Hungary (then Croatia, then London)

So... it has been awhile since this blog has been updated so here is my feeble attempt to recollect the experiences I had in Hungary and in Croatia before arriving in London. Thankfully, I have a journal and some pictures to rely upon to recollect my memories. So here comes Hungary... (Croatia will follow in separate posts).

My last blog (besides the photo's) was composed on the train en route to Budapest from Vienna. After three days of rain in Vienna, arriving to a sunny Budapest was quite a relief. We arrived to the train station and took a metro line to our hostel, the Budapest Bubble. I have yet to share much about our accommodation's as hostel's vary in experiences, people, amenities, etc. but the Bubble was something special. Our host, Olga, whom recently opened the hostel greeted us upon our arrival and showed us around. From the other travelers who had been at the Bubble for a few days, it was apparent the "family" atmosphere in the main room watching football was a common characteristic of the hostel. It was nice to be in a friendly place with individuals from all over the world who were interested and welcome to share stories, suggestions, and experiences. I blogged a bit before about the first evening so I will skip now to the second day.

Our second day in Budapest we set out to explore the city. Our travel allowed us one day to walk "aimlessly" around a location and one day to explore the museums and sights we had seen on the first day. Thus, today was the day of aimless wandering. We began with a quick metro ride to the Hungarian houses of Parliament. The buildings were beautiful although quite touristy, we decided not to go on the guided tour. From Parliament we wandered through a park and found lunch at a very quaint coffee bar/cafe. After lunch we made our way to St. Stephen's Basilica. St. Stephen's is in a beautiful location in the city with a large street opening leading to the front of the building. As we have done in every European city, St. Stephen's provided the prefect "high" vantage point for seeing Budapest. A quick walk up some stairs and we were 100 m above ground, able to walk around the crown of the building, exploring the beautiful sights of the city and the River.

Below is a view of St. Stephen's and a view of Budapest from our vantage point.


Back inside St. Stephen's we made our way to an exhibit detailing the construction and various development phases of the building. I was amazed that original plans and development lasted nearly 15 years prior to construction. Additionally, the building was only completed approximately 100 years prior. Matt and I both commented on how we are not certain that today's "modern" society could complete a construction as ornate and specific as many of the older buildings, monuments, and locations we had seen - St. Stephen's was no exception.

Leaving St. Stephen's we headed towards the Dohany Street Synagogue, the second largest synagogue in the world. The synagogue was a central component of the Hungarian Jew's refuge from persecution during the second world war. Only in post communist Hungary has the synagogue been restored to its original splendor and is currently used by the Hungarian community. In remembrance of the Hungarian Jew's who perished during the second world war and during communist reign of the country, a portion of the grounds has been dedicated as a memorial park. Overhearing an English tour guide speak of the terrible chambers of death and destruction against the property and disregard for human life towards the Jewish population of the area was moving (we overheard a tour group).

Below is a photo of the memorial dedicated to those lives lost in Hungary during WWII.



From the synagogue we returned to our hostel to gather our belongings to move down the street a few block's to a new hostel sadly leaving the Bubble (we had a mix up with the booking system online and the hostel was overbooked so we offered our spot). Olga arranged us accommodation at the Aboriginal Hostel but was sad to see us go. After settling in we headed to dinner before beginning to retire early for the evening. On our way back to the Aboriginal we crossed paths with a group from the Bubble (all the residents of the hostel and our host Olga, whom can only go out when everyone does since she does not hire a staff). We could not pass up the opportunity to spend time with our Bubble "family" and headed to a local bar / club in an abandoned building nearby. The character of the location and the company with travelers from Spain, Ireland, Australia, Brussels, and beyond made this one of the most memorable evenings of our trip.

Day two in Budapest in the next post either tonight or tomorrow... (this was getting a little long)