My visit to Budapest (Part I)

What can I say about Budapest other than I absolutely adore it! Andy and I were fortunate enough to visit Budapest over the holidays and I was even more fortunate to be able to go back for one more visit at the end of my South African travels.

Probably our favorite thing about Budapest is the fact that our fabulous friends, Greg and Erica, have been living there for a little under two years. We had such a great visit with them over New Years, and have been counting down their return to the states (just a couple more months!) ever since!

Erica was able to get a few days off from work and Greg snuck out a bit early and snuck in a bit late on occassion, so there was plenty of time to visit, relax and sight see. As you can imagine, the weather in Budapest when Andy and I visited was cold and snowy, and that was just what we had hoped for during the holidays. The weather this time around was sunny and warm, which made the experience seem almost brand new as everything was green and flowery.

My first two days in Budapest we did a lot of just walking around taking in the sites, and snapping some pictures. Here are some shots from City Park (where just a few months ago we had an all out snowball fight war...now people were sunbathing!). I was lucky to see a new addition to City Park, a statue of Ronald Reagan who is honored by the Hungarians for his efforts in ending the Cold War which affected Hungary greatly.

I also saw a memorial that was dedicated in 2006 that honors the Hungarians who revolted against the Soviets in 1956. It is a great monument that illustrates how one by one the Hungarians bonded together to try and win back their country, a battle that they sadly did not win. So you can see why the end of the Cold War was so important to this country.

I also got to see the Buda Castle and the fantastic views along the Danube River made even more fantastic by how plush and green everything was.

It was great to do so much walking, something we did a lot of in January, but due to the chilly temperatures were often tempted to hop on the metro or trams. With temperatures in the 70's and sunny skies walking from place to place tended to be the way to go.

Of course all that walking required some rewards, so one afternoon we stopped at a little Wine Cafe' and munched on some antipasti and sipped on some great Hungarian wine.