Beautiful Budapest

As we travel, we use a few different resources to find places to visit and stay. When we were planning our way through Romania, we noticed a recurring theme, folks were commenting “that’s really expensive for Romania”. Fuel, parking, campsites, restaurants, groceries, you name it, people were complaining about the prices. Romania was apparently inexpensive at one time, but not any more!

We crossed the border into Hungary on fumes because we wanted to fill up at the drastically lower fuel price we heard we would find once in Hungary. The rumors were true! The cost of a gallon of diesel was about $4.78, whereas in Romania it was around $7.65. That is a massive difference and there is a reason for that, but we didn’t find that out until later in our stay.

Fuel prices in Hungary are exactly the same no matter where you fill up. There is no competition between stations. However, these cheaper prices were meant to be only for Hungarian citizens and not for travelers or those living near borders who just pop over and fill their tanks. At the time we entered Hungary, no one seemed to be enforcing the citizen-only rule, so we got quite the deal! Unfortunately, the very afternoon after we filled up, enforcement went into effect. By the time we left Hungary, we were back to full price again. Bummer!

It wasn’t really too bad, because we had only one destination in Hungary and that was Budapest, so we didn’t do any driving while we were there other than to get settled into our campsite. This city had been on my bucket list for a very long time and I have to tell you, it exceeded my expectations.

I’ve said this before, but the question we always ask ourselves as we travel is “could we live here?” and for me, regarding Budapest, the answer was a resounding yes. Yes, I could happily live in Budapest.

What is it about the city? It is centrally located in Europe and you feel that pull of both the east and the west in the food, culture and politics. Budapest is a beautiful city with Old World charm, a vibrant cafe culture, thriving arts scene, gorgeous architecture, clean and efficient transportation, friendly people and a welcoming expat community. It is an extremely affordable place to live and don’t even get me started on the food. Seriously, we would be here all day!

We made good use of the train and bus system in Budapest. This escalator took us deep underground to the train. It was the steepest stairs I’ve ever been on.
Steven had this sausage and cabbage, which he loved. One thing that is very common with just about all the dishes is sour cream, and there is some really, really delicious sour cream available in Hungary.
I had the schnitzel, a popular dish in Hungary. Not surprising given its proximity to Austria. But I don’t even know who invented schnitzel, I just know I love it.
Chicken paprikash with spΓ€tzle, with sour cream, of course.
We had the chicken paprikash a couple of times, it was so delicious!
We did two walking tours in Budapest. This one was all about the communist history. Fascinating!
And of course I was happy to have my photographer along.
This statue of Ronald Reagan is near the American embassy. The tour guide told a couple of very funny stories about it, but I can’t for the life of me remember what they were. I am going to have to start taking notes!
Bullet holes from the Hungarian Revolution in 1956.
Budapest is actually two cities divided by the fast-flowing Danube river. Here we are on the Pest side looking over at Buda.
The Hungarian National Gallery on the Buda side.
Parliament Building
The gorgeous Parliament building on the Pest side of the river. It is stunning at night when it is all lit up.
A controversial Soviet statue. It is located between the Ronald Reagan statue and the American Embassy. I am not sure what is controversial about it, other than it’s location in front of the Embassy.
Our second walking tour group at Elizabeth Square. The first day we visited here there was a huge festival going on with food and music. The festival was actually going on all over town in different stages and as we did our tour we saw several musicians perform.
The friendliest cop in Budapest. You can tell people like to rub his belly.
St. Stephen’s Basilica.
‘Shoes on the Danube Bank’ This installation was created to commemorate 3,500 people, 800 of them Jews, who were shot into the Danube during World War II.

Although Budapest is an easy city to explore, it is always nice when we meet up with locals who are willing to show us around. In this case, our friends Brad and Oksana introduced us to Chris and Erin, an American couple from Colorado who are now living in Budapest. We met Chris and Erin for lunch and then enjoyed a walking tour by the Danube river and into their neighborhood. It certainly helps to get to know a place when you can get the perspective of locals, and especially, in our case, expats. Not only are Chris and Erin great tour guides, but they are also great fun to pal around with. We thoroughly enjoyed their company!

Chris and Erin are great tour guides. Originally from Colorado, they live in Budapest when they are not traveling in their van with their dog, Mr. Cool. They are no strangers to travel. Chris and Erin are in the Guinness Book of World Records for having circumnavigated the globe on motorcycles! Over a four year period, they traveled over 101,000 miles. Thus far, they have visited over 100 countries and are still going!
Mr. Cool is no slouch in the travel department, this summer he visited his 29th country since 2020!
This is the courtyard at Chris and Erin’s apartment. It is in ruins, but of course the apartments are very nice. Kind of a fun and unique feature to have your own ruins, which are a feature in some areas. Budapest is known for its ruin bars.

In total we spent 10 days in Budapest and had made plans to see Chris and Erin again, but a few days into our stay Steven got very sick with a high fever and diarrhea. Of course the first thing we thought was that he had gotten Covid. Although we both tested negative, over the next few days he didn’t improve much, but I never did become sick at all. Given that, and a couple more negative tests, we decided it must have been food poisoning. We pretty much eat the same things, so I think it must have been some leftover chicken that we purposefully undercooked so it could withstand reheating. I think my portion got fully cooked through in the reheating and his did not. At least, that’s my theory and we haven’t really come up with anything else, so food poisoning it is!

I did not let Steven’s illness deter me from exploring Budapest. I had a fabulous day out on my own visiting some of the best sights on both the Buda and the Pest sides of the river. I came home raving about everything and exclaiming how sorry I was that he had missed it all. I guess that means we will have to return for another visit! The saddest part of not having Steven with me is that I had to take my own photos.

This is looking at the Parliament Building from Fisherman’s Bastion on the Buda side of the Danube.
The Chain Bridge, one of the major routes to get from one side to the other. It is temporarily out of commission, though, and will be for quite some time as they repair and refurbish it.
The Buda side is quite hilly and once you get beyond the first hill it is a whole other city. This park is on the back side of the hill you see from the Pest side, if that makes sense. The whole area reminded me a bit of Seattle.
Another look at the Parliament Building.
One of the things I loved about Budapest is the Danube river. We have seen so many major rivers looking quite pathetic due to lack of water. In fact, when we walked the via Francigena we crossed the Po river, Italy’s largest and most important river, by boat. Just a few weeks later, the water levels fell so dangerously low that pilgrims can no longer cross as we did. But the Danube was high and fast-flowing. On my day trip I saw a few river cruises floating by. I am not much of a cruising fan, but it might be fun to see a few major European cities from the water.
This church has a few names, but it is commonly known as the Mattias Church. It is located in the Holy Trinity Square, which is in front of the Fisherman’s Bastion.
Fisherman’s Bastion at the heart of Buda’s castle district. This was such a beautiful area and just to the right of this photo, it looks out across the Danube to the Parliament building.
And this is that view! So gorgeous!
The Hungarian National Gallery grounds. This area reminded me a lot of castles I’ve seen in Austria.
A colorful mural down in the Jewish Quarter.
This is a busy street near the food market. I did go into the food market, but honestly I was really tired at that point and was kind of overwhelmed. I’ll need to revisit but my first impression was that it is just like every other food market in every other city we have visited. Am I getting jaded? I hope not.

Our campground was great, although we parked under some kind of tree that the berry-eating birds just loved. Each evening they would fly into the tree and the next morning we always had a big poopy surprise on our front window. And getting it off was like removing tar, nearly impossible. After a few days of that chore we finally moved to another spot!

We were really bummed when we had to cancel lunch with Chris and Erin due to Steven’s illness, but they surprised us and came riding up to our site on their motorcycle! I wish I had a photo of Mr. Cool riding in his basket wearing his doggie goggles. He was super cute.

So there you have it. I hope my photos have given you a sense of Budapest. It has hands-down been one of my favorite cities in all the lands. If it isn’t yet on your bucket list, it should be!

NEXT UP: Making our way to the UK!

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38 Comments

    1. 2chouters

      Isn’t that interesting? I didn’t know that either until I started researching for our visit. I don’t recall any In Program travels to Budapest from school, but there may have been some. Would have been fun to visit back then!

    1. Dave

      We were there to visit and catch up with a high school buddy a few years back. I think Budapest is one of most beautiful cities in Europe possibly because it wasn’t destroyed in WWII. Still has a lot on 19th century charm. Sorry to hear got Steven got sick…steak rare…chicken not so muchπŸ˜΅β€πŸ’«
      All the photos are fab, even those of the photographer’s apprentice 😎

      1. 2chouters

        Dave, I recall Jeanne mentioning you had visited a friend there and that you had chicken paprikash. I left there with a lifetime supply of paprika so I could make it! Off to find a recipe! πŸ™‚

  1. Laurie+B

    Great tour! Your photos are wonderful. First I couldn’t get over all the pictures of the food you have been eating, then I couldn’t get over all the walking you did while Steven was sick back at home. Such energy! It looks like you really made the most of your time in Budapest. Glad Steven recovered.

    1. 2chouters

      I walked so much on that day by myself I actually got a blister! I slapped a piece of tape on it and kept going. The things you learn while hiking. πŸ™‚ Steven is well recovered now, but it took a while. More on that in the next post.

  2. Kristin Lambert

    Budapest is one of my favorite cities too! I’m so glad you got to see it and take us along. I have so many memories there, all amazing. There’s too much to see in just a short visit! I hope you do go back again.
    Kristin

    1. 2chouters

      Yes, you are right about the visit being short. We have talked about returning for a much longer visit and I hope we are able to make that work. We’ll see, but wouldn’t it be so fun??

  3. I can certainly appreciate what you love about this amazing city!! Between the food, the architecture and living and dining in ruins I think I’d want to live there too. How fun to meet up with such seasoned travelers! You have always been an awesome photographer and your photos here are wonderful. That bunny with the telescope and the mural door are greaaaat :-)) Once you get your own place there we’ll come visit πŸ™‚

    1. 2chouters

      Would you, though, Jodee? Would you come visit? Because I can get an apartment in no time. πŸ™‚ Seriously, you would fall in love with Budapest because there is so much to see and do, and it is kind of chill at the same time. Oh, and they have spas and when all the girls go to the spa it is called a “Sparty”. LOL, let’s meet in Budapest and have a sparty!

  4. Vernon Hauser

    Great blog and photos. What a beautiful and clean looking city. Always great to see you two and I always enjoy Steven’s art on FB. PS this is for steven only (maybe you should look into a food taster)

    1. 2chouters

      haha, he will think twice about leaving that chicken undercooked from the grill! It seemed like a good idea at the time. Good to hear from you, Vern! Hope all is well.

  5. Wow! What an absolutely gorgeous city, and that parliament building is STUNNING!!

    Your travelogue is so fun and your photos are terrific.

    And my favorite part is you will drop your husband like a bad habit for some good sightseeing.

    Nicely done!! LOL!!

    1. 2chouters

      Haha, right? I’m like, here’s some juice, you good? Honestly, I think he was glad to see me go. He needed a bit of alone time to recover and I was chomping at the bit to get out and see the city. It is absolutely stunning. We had plans to go out at night (a rarity for us) and see the Parliament building, but we didn’t make it. Next time. Hope you are settling into your new locale, must be very exciting for you!

      1. Unfortunately, we’re not in Portugal yet. We’ve got about 3 more weeks in the U.S. We’re currently frantically trying to figure out how to get everything else done that needs to get done… which is why I’m screwing off reading blogs rather than doing any of those things.

        πŸ™‚

    1. 2chouters

      Well, I know you aren’t really drawn to big cities, but maybe your recent trip inspired you to consider the possibility. If so, I highly recommend Budapest! πŸ™‚

  6. Erin Ratay

    So glad you enjoyed Budapest! There are many more layers of the onion to peel. Budapest awaits your next visit!

    In the meantime, where shall we meet up next?

  7. Steve Colibaba

    Such a beautiful city and architecture. Great job taking those photos when Steven was sick. I got severely sick in Tanzania for days from either food or the water so I feel your pain Steven. Safe travels!

    1. 2chouters

      Thanks, I had a good teacher. πŸ™‚ When you get sick while traveling it is even worse than if you are home. At least Bijou is home, but the walls close in when the space is so tiny!

  8. Pat and I are still marveling at the fact that we had never heard of Buda and Pest, separated by the Danube. Just think how popular we’ll be at parties now! Ha! Anyway, it was an amazing fact and looks like an amazing city. Glad you had such a great visit.

    1. 2chouters

      Thanks, Carmela. Get yourself to Budapest ASAP, I promise you won’t regret it. Just don’t go in the winter (brrrr) or summer (sizzle). Otherwise, it’s perfect! πŸ™‚

  9. Oh boo, I’m not receiving notifications of your posts, but I just checked in on you. And YAY Budapest!! I loved the city, too. It still had a distinct just-escaped-from-communist-rule vibe when I was there in 1990, but I remember it as gorgeous and your photos show that my memory is telling the truth. One of my favorite things was to go to the Turkish baths!

    I’m so sorry that Steven was sick. Yuk, food poisoning is the worst! I’ve had it twice, both times from chicken. Now I’m really cautious around chicken, haha! Glad to hear from you guys and to know that all is well.

    1. 2chouters

      I don’t know why you haven’t been getting notifications (other than I haven’t been posting much…) I did see that you signed up again, so next time I post let us know if you get the notification!

      The communist history in Budapest is fascinating. You wonder why anyone would ever want to go back to that. And yet, in many of the Eastern European countries the pull is strong and it is a constant battle. I can’t help but see young people in the cities and wonder if they are actively working to secure their futures or if they are complacent. As we are learning, democracy is teetering on the edge.

    1. 2chouters

      Just like traveling in the states, people we meet are an important part of the journey. Meeting folks like Chris and Erin are really highlights of our travels in Europe!

  10. Hi!! Love reading about your walk on the VF!! We are headed to Italy later this month to walk for two weeks on the Cammino Naturale Parchi , East of Rome and then two weeks on a different route in Puglia. Interesting reading about your accommodations and finding food. Happy Travels. Happy to have found your blog.

    1. 2chouters

      Hi, Kathy, thanks for taking time to comment! I’m glad you found us and excited to hear about your upcoming walks in Italy. We enjoyed ours very much, although it was certainly challenging! But isn’t that what it is meant to be? Best of luck and I hope you have a wonderful time on your trip!

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