Budapest!

So, this is long awaited, and I will try my best to include as much detail as possible. This will mostly be a picture tour though, because they speak for themselves. The name Budapest is actually a connection of Buda, and Pest, which are on opposite sides of the Danube River. Bet you didn't know that. (Ok, Dad, maybe you did, but humor me, ok?)

So this is the inside of the train station. The train ride was relatively painless, but I hadn't gotten to sleep until 3:30 the night before, so getting on a train at 8am was not really my idea of a good time. However, the people that I went to Budapest with were great. It was Jenny (Germany) Raffael (Germany) Nadja (Germany) Robert (Netherlands) and me (America!!!). It was a great group to travel with. Small enough to move quickly, but large enough to have a variety of personalities, interests, and senses of humor. Plus, it was lots of fun listening to "Germlish", a mixture of German and English conversations that my Deutsch friends were having.

This is the outside facade of the train station. I thought it was pretty. Definitely better than Hlavna Stanica in Bratislava. (it's kind of a dump)

I guess this is the Hungarian's idea of a muscle car. These were everywhere. They date back to before the Berlin Wall came down. I can't believe they still run!

This is the mascot of an Italian restaurant. It reminded me of the guitars in Cleveland, and the horses in South Carolina...just not as symbolic. haha.
I'm not sure what this statue is called, but note how far away it is. We were on the Pest side of the city. The statue is on the Buda side. Commit that to memory.
This is after we crossed one of the many bridges to get to the Buda side of the city. There was really intricate architecture built into the side of this hill. Fascinating. If you look to the top-left, you'll see an opening into the hill. Guess what is in there?!?

A CHURCH OF COURSE!!!! Have you ever seen a church in a cave? I don't think I have...so I was excited. Apparently they hold mass in there every day.

This is a normal church. Definitely not as cool as the church in the cave. Good color though. It says "God is everywhere, even in the pigmentation of our paint choice!"

Nadja and I like to take serious pictures first, and then silly ones. I like the silly one better, so that is the one that I posted. This was a part of our trek up to the high points of the Buda side.

Another restaurant mascot. It looked like Hooters...and I thought that was funny. That one is for you, Miss Sarah Canales.


Libraries always have the coolest architecture.

I took this photo because I think it is interesting to see old and new buildings juxtaposed. It shows the long history of the city, and how important it is to preserve culture.

Yet another restaurant mascot. I just thought the broken English was classic "Fast Food Taste Good". Really? Well, I'm glad you were here to tell me that. Also, it is spelled "dinner", so all in all, your marketing is not very convincing. I think I will dine elsewhere.

This is what I think about your "Fast Food Taste Good" mentality. Just because I am from America DOES NOT mean that I frequent the BK Lounge.

A scenic view of a cute German girl and the Fisherman's Bastion.

Remember how far away that statue was? NOT ANYMORE!!!!!!!

I can't lie to you. Climbing up that hill was awful. Lots of stairs and make-shift dirt pathways. I'm not sure how long it took, but we were REALLY high up. Therefore, we had to enjoy ourselves afterwards by taking off our coats so that we would stop sweating. I know. TMI.

No Nadja! I swear I didn't take your man!

"Fly me to the moon..." or if you prefer "Oh no! If the Olympic Torch goes out, they'll never forgive me!!!"

Fashion Street. Dangerous. I did not go down that road, for fear of a financial crisis.

We found this great restaurant back on the Pest side of the city. Look how they serve the Goulash! Amazing!! Keeps it warm, and is aesthetically pleasing! Multi-functional!

This is what I ate. Smoked Salmon with pumpkin creme sauce, spinach pancakes, and veggies. YUM. And the best part, I got a drink, starter, and main course, for under $15.

Raffael stole my camera when I went to the bathroom. I don't know what happened here, but it looks as though Robert and Nadja are deep in some sort of debate about dikes. The kind that keep the water out...just incase any of you needed clarification.

Time to go :(. We had a great time though. I will definitely go back, especially since I still have some Hungarian money, which is called Forint.