Budapest had not really ever interested me, and maybe because I didn’t know anything of the culture.

For those who don’t know, I am part-Hungarian. I grew up thinking I was 25% (my dad’s father is Hungarian), it wasn’t until I took the Ancestry.com test that I found that I was more like 14% (but found out I had other ethnic ancestors).

My dad grew up in the United States and my sister and I didn’t have much exposure to that side of our ancestry.

The Hungarian Parliament building kept popping up on my Pinterest feed for long enough for me to start becoming curious about the city of Budapest. In 2018, I finally decided that I wanted to go, and that was where I was going to use my passport for the year.

This is the first country I have visited where I did not know the language or customs, and I was a little nervous (and excited about it). My friend Jorge had visited central Europe a few weeks before my trip, and told me that the city was beautiful and that everyone spoke English so I didn’t need to worry. I wasn’t worried…

After my two nights in Madrid, I arrived in Budapest just past midnight. My AirBnB host had arranged to have his co-host and friend David pick me up from the airport, for which I was very grateful that late at night. David drove me to the loft and walked me to the door, showing me how to access the building and room.

I got a steal on my AirBnB. The flat that I rented was really reasonably priced and had great views. The studio had an amazing view of St. Stephen’s Basilica, but also the Citadel and Palace, both on the other side of the Danube River.

The loft was considerably quieter than Madrid, and it didn’t take me long to fall asleep at all.

Day One

I started my morning by walking down to the hop-on-hop-off bus station to purchase a 3-day pass to help me get around town and get a feel for the layout of the land. My timing was pretty good because as soon as I received my tickets, the bus I needed had just pulled up.

I hopped on the double-decker bus and crossed the Danube river into Buda. It dropped me off right at the Buda Castle Funicular, which shuttled you up Castle Hill.

I was kind of surprised to walk past some shops/apartments on the way to Matthias Church; it reminded me of the village Belle lived in.

The crowds at Matthias Church initially stunned me. In addition to the multiple tour buses there, there was also apparently a graduation ceremony going on. At least that’s the impression I got from the number of people carrying bouquet of flowers and balloons with graduation cap smilies.

Fisherman’s Bastion surprised me in that it wasn’t what I expected it to be. When I saw pictures of it on Pinterest, I imagined it to be another building or complex of buildings to explore. As it turns out, it’s actually a viewing terrace to the Danube below and Pest on the other side. You could pay a few euro to get up to the top of the terrace, or you could just walk down to one of the ends for free.

Once I had my fill of the panoramic views, I decided to head the other direction towards Buda Castle. I hadn’t eaten breakfast, hoping that I would cross some pastry shop or street food vendor, but I hadn’t. So when I walked past a restaurant with a gulyas special, I dropped in for lunch.

I can only imagine how beautiful the interior of Buda Castle must have been in its day. Unlike Madrid’s Royal Palace, Buda Castle has been renovated into a series of museums, which I opted not to tour.

I took the long way home, opting to walk down series of stairs and ramps and crossing the Liberty Chain Bridge, and walking up the street leading up to St. Stephen’s Basilica.

Restaurants surround the plaza in front of the giant basilica. Stopping at Gelato Rosa for a gelato rose, I headed back to the flat to cool off from the heat and take a short nap.

I headed back out after my nap to grab dinner and maybe take a walk down on the Danube. I found a restaurant serving chicken paprikash, another item on my Hungarian food bucket list (though I’ve had it before; my mom makes it once in a while and my aunt Caroline made some when I visited Seattle). I was a little disappointed to find that this restaurant made their paprikash with noodles instead of homemade dumplings, but nonetheless, it was tasty!

Once I finished eating, I continued walking down the street and noticed a sign advertising a Hungarian folk dancing and music concert. A gentleman happened to be standing next to the sign with brochures and approached me about the show. There wasn’t any sales talk needed here; I knew this was something I wanted to do while in Budapest.

I went in to purchase tickets, and he let me go into the theater to “try out” the different seats to make sure I was happy with my seating selection. It was really nice knowing what I was getting into and paying for. The theater was tiny, but beautifully decorated.

Ten musicians performed in the concert.The dancers were also really entertaining, the entire concert being folk music and dance.

After the concert, I rushed down to the river to see if I could catch the night cruise that my 3-day bus pass included. I got there with about 5-minutes to spare, and for the next hour, just got to relax, taking in the nighttime views of the Danube, Hungarian Parliament Building, and Castle Hill.

Day Two

The next morning, I took the bus in the opposite direction from the day before to Heroes Square. A monument stands in the square, depicting the seven chieftains of the Magyar (Hungarian ancestors). Above them, the archangel Gabriel holds a crown to give to Saint Stephen, the first king of Hungary.

A colonnade flanks the monument, with various statues, including Kings who have made lasting impacts to the Hungarian state.

A short walk from Heroes square is Vajdahunyad Castle, which I learned was actually built as part of an exhibition celebrating Hungary’s 1,000th birthday, and not actually a castle anyone lived in.

Ready for breakfast, I hopped back onto the bus to New York Cafe, famously being known as “the most beautiful cafe in the world.” It was a popular location for writers and editors back in the day. I enjoyed a latte macchiato and some pastries and took in the splendor of the beautiful cafe.

Getting back on the bus, I headed back towards the river to the Great Market Hall. Two stories high, the market serves all kinds of meats and produce on the first floor. There are souvenir items on the second. I grabbed a few things to gift and headed back to the room for a nap.

Upon waking, I took a walk down to see the parliament by day. The ticketing offices were closed, so I didn’t get to go inside. So I strolled into a nearby coffee shop. I sat outside and people watched while sipping my latte and eating my cheesecake.

A short walk away on the river are the Shoes on the Danube memorial. In the winter of 1944/1945, the Nazi party had taken as many as 20,000 Jews and executed them. Nazis ordered the Jews to remove their shoes. The Jews were then shot and fell into the river to be carried away. The bronze Shoes on the Danube stands as a memorial.

Day Three

After going through the “check out” routine for my AirBnB flat, and dropping my suitcase off at a luggage storage, I hopped on the bus toward the Jewish quarter and found Karavan.

I knew Karavan was an alley with various kinds of street food. Food trucks and trailers lined the alley, providing the food. Hence the name Karavan (Caravan)! It was a little crowded, but I was able to snag a seat and tried a Hungarian snack called Langos.

Langos is a flat bread with cream cheese and topped with shredded cheese. It had a nice mix of sweet and savory and I loved every bite!

A short walk away was the Great Synagogue, the biggest synagogue in Europe (second largest in the world). I wish I had time to go tour the interior. But time was pretty short, and I had flight to catch back home.

I loved Budapest. My AirBnB host and flat were great, the food was delicious, the architecture beautiful, and people friendly. I can’t wait to go back.