Budapest 🇭🇺

It was a bit of a whirlwind tour with little bits of down time during our 2 nights in Budapest.  After a 6+ hour drive (including an insane hour border crossing) from Romania we checked in and hit the sightseeing road to see Matthias Church, Fisherman's Bastion, and the Labyrinth.  Unfortunately the church was closed but still impressive from the outside.  

Right next door is the Fisherman’s Bastion, a white turreted monument built to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of the Hungarian state that offers incredible panoramic views of Budapest.  The peculiar name comes from the guild of fishermen who protected that portion of the Buda castle wall during the middle ages.  

We wandered over to the underground Labyrinth which has served as a 16th century harem, bomb shelter, and a hospital during WWII.  Legends even say Vlad Dracula was captured and imprisoned here after marrying King Matthias’s niece in secret and running away.  However other historical facts believe he was kept 25 miles away.   It was a curious hodge podge of spooky tunnels, Dracula prison, historic statues, opera mannequins, and cave photography.  The kids had a great time running around the tunnels and caves trying to scare their parents.  

We decided to let the kids out of the cage and go grab some traditional Hungarian dinner including Chicken Paprikash.  Afterwards we walked past the Hungarian parliament building.  Budapest formed in 1873 when three cities merged: Buda, Obuda, and Pest and became to seat of government.  The house of parliament has almost 700 rooms!  

Next day we spent the morning shopping around the Central market and after lunch strolled over to Gerbeaud cafe for Dobos Torte, a Hungarian sponge cake layered with chocolate buttercream and topped with caramel.  Full of sugar we took the kids to the Main Playground in Városliget, highly regarded as the ‘best playground in the world’ according to one of Ben’s friends, for them to run and stretch their legs.  

After last minute decision Jason took a scooter to grab our swimsuits and we had a dip in the Szechenyi thermal baths to enjoy the warm medicinal waters.  Ben and Emma especially enjoyed the circular whirlpool that pushed you around like an aquatic carousel.