8/1/2012: Day One
Today we left the hotel at around 10am. We made a quick stop for breakfast at a nearby cafe before heading to the chain bridge. We leisurely made our way across, stopping to take pictures of the beautiful scenery along the way. When we reached the other side we got some information about some hop-on/hop-off bus tours and then took the funicular to the top of castle hill. There we walked around the castle. The castle didn't seem very old although I didn't ask when it was built. The castle now houses the Hungarian national gallery. We didn't have time to go inside because we only had a couple of days in Budapest. Afterwards, we headed back down.
View of Buda castle from Pest
View of Mathias Church and the Fisherman's Bastion
View of Parliament from Castle Hill
View of the Chain Bridge from Castle Hill
There we hopped on one of the tour buses and started touring the city. The tour guide provided some interesting information although it was hard to understand and what she was saying was out of sync with what we were seeing. We hopped off at the Parliament and discussed for a bit about whether we wanted to tour it. If we toured it we would have to wait until afterwards to eat lunch, and that was definitely a factor in our decision making process. We ended up deciding to go on the tour, so my dad went inside, only to find out that the tour we wanted to go on was sold out.
The Front of Parliament
Instead, we had lunch at a near by cafeteria that served Hungarian food. I got potato noodles with an interesting cheese and meat thing on top. Afterwards, we hopped back on one of the tour buses and went one stop. Unfortunately, the next stop was also the last stop and we had to change buses, this time to one with an open top. On the seat back on both buses was a place to plug in headphones. You could choose from a bunch of different languages including German, English, Japanese, Russian, and Magyar (Hungarian). Although they offered hats, the bus ride was still very hot because of the sun and the general temperature outside. On the tour we drove by many sites that would have been hard to see in one day if we had been on foot, although it meant that we only had a couple of minutes to enjoy each one and couldn't really explore them. Luckily the bus stopped for shopping on Gellert Hill. It was nice to see the building there even if we didn't have time to explore too much. Because of the heat, it was also a good opportunity to have some ice cream and a cold soda.
St. Gabriel Column, one of the sites we saw on our tour
After waiting for another bus to come because the one we wanted was full, we hopped on a bus and continued the tour. We went around most of the city, ending where we had stared, and thereby hearing the last bit of the tour information for a second time. I took the opportunity to practice my Russian since I could change the audio language. When we finished the tour we went back to the hotel to relax for a couple of hours before heading out to do a boat tour. The boat tour was nice although it did contain some of the information as the bus tour we had been on earlier. After the tour, we walked back to our hotel. On the way back, we listened to a man playing classical music on glasses. He had them each filled different amounts so that each would make a different pitch. As we were leaving, I saw him add more water to some of the cups, presumably to tune the sound. We had dinner at an Indian restaurant right next to our hotel. Since I can't get Indian food in Moldova, it was a treat. It was then time for bed.
Buda Castle At Night
8/2/2012: Budapest Day 2 to First night in Vienna
We got going at about the same time as the previous day. We stopped for breakfast at Starbucks this time. We wanted to take one of the tour buses one stop to where we were going but they didn't allow food on. As a result, we walked to our first destination. Karen had seen a jewelry store the day before and wanted to check it out. The store was selling jewelry designed by an artist she liked a lot. She found what she wanted there and then we headed to our next stop of the day, the house of terror. The name of the place ended up being a lot more exciting than the place itself. While it contained a lot of interesting information, it was otherwise kind of dry. It also seemed to be more intended for Hungarians than tourists given the amount of information and signs that were only in Hungarian. The information largely dealt with the impact of the German and Soviet occupations on Hungary, including how Hungarian soldiers who had fought for the Axis changed their uniforms to Soviet supporting ones. In my opinion, the Soviets had a longer lasting impact on Hungary. While the German occupation certainly impacted the country, particularly the Jewish community, Soviet culture affected more realms of society including familial relations and bonds. One of my favorite parts of the museum was the area where they showed the cells where prisoners had been kept. It was my favorite because it was the most interesting. I was able to see the actual conditions that people had lived in. I also enjoyed the dial phones that were around in the museum.
When we finished it was time to go some place cheerier, which for me meant lunch at Subway. While I made sure to have local food on this trip, I also had some American food that I hadn't had in a year or six months. After lunch, we went to the opera house. We only went inside the entrance way, but it was still nice to see. We could tell how beautiful and ornately decorated the opera house was. Our next stop was St. Stephan's Basilica. We spend some time there walking around. It was interesting to see the mixture of Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox styles. It was definitely Catholic because it had seats in the middle of the room, but it also had icons, which reflect the influence of Eastern Christianity. We had a train to catch so we left after a relatively short visit up the tower. We had a panoramic view of the city from up there.
Outside of the Opera House
Roof of the Opera House
Inside of the Dome
Interesting Artwork in the opera house
Dome in the Basilica
One of the Altars
View from the Tower
View of the Square Below
Our last stop was the Jewish Synagogue and Museum. We walked there from the church. Unlike the other places we had been, the Synagogue had security. We missed the entrance to the synagogue and so saw the courtyard first. It was both a courtyard and a memorial to Jews who had died during the first and second world wars. We then back tracked and found the entrance to the synagogue. The synagogue was very lovely and shared some features with a church including the design of the altar. We spent some time taking pictures and then returned to the hotel. We called a cab and went to the train station. We had some initial trouble finding where to buy tickets, but eventually found a place. We then had a quick dinner before heading to our train. We made it, but with only a couple of minutes to spare. The train was going to Vienna, but its final destination was Zurich.
The Synagogue
Inner Courtyard
Inside the Synagogue
The Pulpit
Interesting Roof inside the Synagogue
When we arrived in Vienna we took a cab to our hotel. It was nice to hear my dad speak German to the driver. I must have heard him speak German when I was in Germany with him before, but that was when I was 8 and I don't remember it that well. Anyways, after some confusion about street names with the driver, namely that he didn't initially think our street existed, w reached our hotel. We checked in and went upstairs. After resting for a bit, we went out again to get some gelato before returning to the hotel and to bed.
Today we left the hotel at around 10am. We made a quick stop for breakfast at a nearby cafe before heading to the chain bridge. We leisurely made our way across, stopping to take pictures of the beautiful scenery along the way. When we reached the other side we got some information about some hop-on/hop-off bus tours and then took the funicular to the top of castle hill. There we walked around the castle. The castle didn't seem very old although I didn't ask when it was built. The castle now houses the Hungarian national gallery. We didn't have time to go inside because we only had a couple of days in Budapest. Afterwards, we headed back down.
A Police Statue We Passed on our way to Breakfast
Chain Bridge
There we hopped on one of the tour buses and started touring the city. The tour guide provided some interesting information although it was hard to understand and what she was saying was out of sync with what we were seeing. We hopped off at the Parliament and discussed for a bit about whether we wanted to tour it. If we toured it we would have to wait until afterwards to eat lunch, and that was definitely a factor in our decision making process. We ended up deciding to go on the tour, so my dad went inside, only to find out that the tour we wanted to go on was sold out.
The Front of Parliament
Instead, we had lunch at a near by cafeteria that served Hungarian food. I got potato noodles with an interesting cheese and meat thing on top. Afterwards, we hopped back on one of the tour buses and went one stop. Unfortunately, the next stop was also the last stop and we had to change buses, this time to one with an open top. On the seat back on both buses was a place to plug in headphones. You could choose from a bunch of different languages including German, English, Japanese, Russian, and Magyar (Hungarian). Although they offered hats, the bus ride was still very hot because of the sun and the general temperature outside. On the tour we drove by many sites that would have been hard to see in one day if we had been on foot, although it meant that we only had a couple of minutes to enjoy each one and couldn't really explore them. Luckily the bus stopped for shopping on Gellert Hill. It was nice to see the building there even if we didn't have time to explore too much. Because of the heat, it was also a good opportunity to have some ice cream and a cold soda.
St. Gabriel Column, one of the sites we saw on our tour
After waiting for another bus to come because the one we wanted was full, we hopped on a bus and continued the tour. We went around most of the city, ending where we had stared, and thereby hearing the last bit of the tour information for a second time. I took the opportunity to practice my Russian since I could change the audio language. When we finished the tour we went back to the hotel to relax for a couple of hours before heading out to do a boat tour. The boat tour was nice although it did contain some of the information as the bus tour we had been on earlier. After the tour, we walked back to our hotel. On the way back, we listened to a man playing classical music on glasses. He had them each filled different amounts so that each would make a different pitch. As we were leaving, I saw him add more water to some of the cups, presumably to tune the sound. We had dinner at an Indian restaurant right next to our hotel. Since I can't get Indian food in Moldova, it was a treat. It was then time for bed.
Buda Castle At Night
8/2/2012: Budapest Day 2 to First night in Vienna
We got going at about the same time as the previous day. We stopped for breakfast at Starbucks this time. We wanted to take one of the tour buses one stop to where we were going but they didn't allow food on. As a result, we walked to our first destination. Karen had seen a jewelry store the day before and wanted to check it out. The store was selling jewelry designed by an artist she liked a lot. She found what she wanted there and then we headed to our next stop of the day, the house of terror. The name of the place ended up being a lot more exciting than the place itself. While it contained a lot of interesting information, it was otherwise kind of dry. It also seemed to be more intended for Hungarians than tourists given the amount of information and signs that were only in Hungarian. The information largely dealt with the impact of the German and Soviet occupations on Hungary, including how Hungarian soldiers who had fought for the Axis changed their uniforms to Soviet supporting ones. In my opinion, the Soviets had a longer lasting impact on Hungary. While the German occupation certainly impacted the country, particularly the Jewish community, Soviet culture affected more realms of society including familial relations and bonds. One of my favorite parts of the museum was the area where they showed the cells where prisoners had been kept. It was my favorite because it was the most interesting. I was able to see the actual conditions that people had lived in. I also enjoyed the dial phones that were around in the museum.
When we finished it was time to go some place cheerier, which for me meant lunch at Subway. While I made sure to have local food on this trip, I also had some American food that I hadn't had in a year or six months. After lunch, we went to the opera house. We only went inside the entrance way, but it was still nice to see. We could tell how beautiful and ornately decorated the opera house was. Our next stop was St. Stephan's Basilica. We spend some time there walking around. It was interesting to see the mixture of Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox styles. It was definitely Catholic because it had seats in the middle of the room, but it also had icons, which reflect the influence of Eastern Christianity. We had a train to catch so we left after a relatively short visit up the tower. We had a panoramic view of the city from up there.
Outside of the Opera House
Roof of the Opera House
Inside of the Dome
Interesting Artwork in the opera house
Dome in the Basilica
One of the Altars
View from the Tower
View of the Square Below
Our last stop was the Jewish Synagogue and Museum. We walked there from the church. Unlike the other places we had been, the Synagogue had security. We missed the entrance to the synagogue and so saw the courtyard first. It was both a courtyard and a memorial to Jews who had died during the first and second world wars. We then back tracked and found the entrance to the synagogue. The synagogue was very lovely and shared some features with a church including the design of the altar. We spent some time taking pictures and then returned to the hotel. We called a cab and went to the train station. We had some initial trouble finding where to buy tickets, but eventually found a place. We then had a quick dinner before heading to our train. We made it, but with only a couple of minutes to spare. The train was going to Vienna, but its final destination was Zurich.
The Synagogue
Inner Courtyard
Inside the Synagogue
The Pulpit
Interesting Roof inside the Synagogue
When we arrived in Vienna we took a cab to our hotel. It was nice to hear my dad speak German to the driver. I must have heard him speak German when I was in Germany with him before, but that was when I was 8 and I don't remember it that well. Anyways, after some confusion about street names with the driver, namely that he didn't initially think our street existed, w reached our hotel. We checked in and went upstairs. After resting for a bit, we went out again to get some gelato before returning to the hotel and to bed.
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