After exiting the train in Budapest, we quickly wondered if we’d truly left Prague. Over the following days, as we explored, we kept remarking on the similarities between the two cities. First, a river curves gracefully through both capitals, splitting them in two. On one side, a castle perches atop a hill, overlooking a picturesque old town nestling, on the opposite shore, in a bend of the river. Next, each old town is an open-air architecture museum, exhibiting beautiful works in a wide variety of styles. Furthermore, when we received a synopsis of Budapest’s history, we kept nodding our heads, thinking, “yep, that happened in Prague too.”

Still, despite many similarities, Budapest offered a few unique, enjoyable experiences. For starters, Jackie has a friend living in Budapest who we loved catching up with. Next, thermal springs below Budapest formed cool caves we liked exploring and also provide water for epic thermal baths. Finally, Budapest is still cheap. We ate many delicious meals, the most expensive feeding both of us for $22.

Touring

Visiting, Szimpla Kert and a River Side Walk

As with Croatia, our favorite activity in Budapest was catching up with a friend. We haven’t seen this particular friend for over a year so we relished the chance to visit. As a bonus, she recommended great evening activities we might otherwise have missed.

After our first dinner together, she suggested stopping for a drink at Szimpla Kert, a ruin bar in an abandoned factory. We’d heard of ruin bars but hadn’t planned a visit because we thought they sounded like tourist traps. We trusted our friend’s judgment, however, and were pleasantly surprised. Wyatt, in particular, enjoyed the experience, wandering the space for over half an hour; people watching, taking pictures, and admiring the art. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a picture together as a fire alarm went off just before we were ready to leave.

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For our second evening, she insisted on a river walk to see the city’s beautiful buildings illuminated for the night. Again, this wasn’t on our itinerary but we really enjoyed the stroll. The parliament building, in particular, is a spectacular sight.

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Thermal Baths

As seems to be a trend in our travels, we found something we enjoyed so much we had to do it twice. Hours spent relaxing at the thermal baths provided the perfect opportunity to enjoy doing nothing, resting our weary legs. For our first experience, we spent 3 hours at Széchenyi Thermal Bath, as suggested by a Bostonian friend. Two days later, when we had extra time, we tested out Gellert Thermal bath where we spent 3 more hours.

Of the two baths, we preferred Széchenyi for being larger, grander, prettier, and for having better facilities.

Wyatt enjoyed cycling 15-20 minutes in the sauna or steam room with 10-15 minutes in the cold 18*C (64*F) pool. Jackie joined for one of the cycles but found it a bit intense and preferred her own cycle of 15 minutes in the warm water followed by 10 minutes with her toes in the cold bath, keeping Wyatt company.

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Buda & Pest

Budapest was once several cities. Buda and Pest were separated by a river until, in 1973, they joined together under the name “Budapest”.

As we mentioned in the introduction, Budapest and Prague are quite similar. As in Prague, Budapest’s architecture provides a feast for the eyes. On the Buda side, a castle on a hill overlooks the city. On the pest side, a picturesque old town nestles in a bend of the Danube river.

In contrast to Prague, Budapest’s old town is more spread out and feels less like Disneyland. In particular, fewer tourists pack the streets with a corresponding reduction in tourist traps. We really enjoyed this change and felt that Budapest provided a more “authentic” experience.

We learned many interesting tidbits about Budapest during an old town walking tour. Our favorite: buildings in the Pest side of town are not allowed to be taller than 96 meters. It’s remarkable to look at the skyline and realize no skyscrapers encroach on your view. This unusual rule is at least partly in honor of the initial settlement of the area in 896.

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Caves

We love caves and Budapest’s are no exception. Our guide lacked enthusiasm but we didn’t let that prevent us from enjoying their natural beauty, which these pictures fail to do justice to.

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Observations

Young Buildings

Many buildings in Budapest are deceptively young, built in the 1800s after a devastating flood. Undeterred, Budapest’s citizens rebuilt today’s beautiful buildings on the flood plain.

Lion Patriarchy

This is not Budapest specific, but: why are male lions so overrepresented in statues? We found at least a dozen male lion statues in Budapest alone. What’s wrong with tigers, female lions, or other feline’s? Is it the mane, conformist artists, or some sort of lion patriarchy keeping all the other felines down?

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Overall

Budapest was very fun. It reminded us of Prague but we particularly enjoyed catching up with a friend and spending hours relaxing at the thermal baths. As with Prague, we didn’t detect much to explore beneath the surface level attractions, a view which our friend confirmed as accurate. The city is great for a short visit but we don’t feel the need to return soon.

Bonus Pics

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