After enjoying out daily breakfast at the hostel consisting of rolls with jam and cheese spread, we headed off for the short walk to the Parliament. We stood in line for about an hour and a half before getting our tickets and going on the 12:45 tour in English. The Parliament building, completed around the turn of the 19th century and constructed entirely of Hungarian materials, was spectacular with amazing art spread throughout the building. The center of the building houses the country's crown jewels which supposedly date back to St. Stephen, the unifier and first king of Hungary, who lived from 967-1038. The tour concluded in the room, originally an opera house, which now houses Hungary's unicameral legislature. We both enjoyed our visit to the Parliament very much and agreed it was the best part of our trip up to that point.
Following our visit to Parliament, we walked a short distance to St. Stephen's Basilica. The church, like any other antique church in Europe, was finally decorated and very beautiful, but in the church's chapel we discovered something quite peculiar. Housed in an ornate box and illuminated by depositing 400 Hungarian Forints (the equivalent of $2), was the preserved hand of St. Stephen. Due to it being almost a millenia old, it was obviously quite deteriorated and a bit grotesque, but I guess it demonstrates the Hungarians' true adoration for the father of their country. The day wound down slowly as we caught up on much needed sleep and chatted with some of the hostel's guests.
Thursday was certainly our most relaxing day in Budapest. We spent all of the late morning and afternoon at the Szechenyi Thermal Baths, a public spa which happens to be the largest in Europe. Built during Hungary's Golden Period in 1913, the baths are set among gorgeous, yellow-dominated architecture. We passed several hours in the baths, ranging in temperature from 20 C to 40 C, relaxing and rejuvenating our bodies while enjoying the surrroundings. Although we couldn't handle the sinfully hot saunas, we made sure to enjoy all the other steamrooms and baths. After trudging back to our hostel half-asleep and then taking a nap, we spent the evening wandering the city for a couple of hours, stopping to watch a bit of the World Cup and enjoying the beauty of the city by night.
After realizing early on in our stay that we knew virtually no Hungarian history, we decided we better visit the National Museum, which is dedicated to documenting the nation's story from the nation's founding in 900 to the fall of communism in 1990. We spent Friday afternoon meticulously exploring the 20 rooms of the stately museum before heading back to the hostel in time to get ready to watch the USA vs. Slovenia game in the World Cup.
Adam and I watched the game at the "Cheers Bar" right down the street with Cameron, a friend we made at the hostel who hailed from Toronto. Despite sometimes frustrating play, the game ended in a draw and we went back to the hostel satisfied. We were also interested in the final game of the day between England and Algeria, so we headed back to the pub a couple of hours later to watch the game with four Brits who were also staying at the hostel. The game ended in a 0-0 tie and we went back to the hostel where we spent several hours talking before heading off to sleep.
Our final day (and night) in Budapest was certainly our most eventful! After getting a late start due to our staying up the night before, we ventured across the river to Buda. Budapest is composed of two cities: Buda and Pest, separated by the Danube River. Up to this point, we had stayed in Pest, but we figured we had to visit Buda, the touristy part of the city, at least once. Accompanied by Nick, a just-arrived Irish college student who will be working at the hostel for a month, we walked up the hill to Buda Castle. Spanning the hilltop, the walled fortress contains several old buildings and is very popular with tourists for its attractions and beautiful vistas of the city. The three of us spent about an hour enjoying the view before heading back to the hostel in order to prepare for the "Night of Museums".
During this once-a-year event, all the museums of Budapest stay open until 2 a.m. and visitors can purchase a wristband for 1300 Forints (about $6) which grants them admission to all of the museums and special events. We decided the night before to participate in the event with Nick, Cameron, and Vanda, an American of Hungarian descent who is fluent in Hungarian and is currently writing the "Let's Go!" guidebook for Budapest. Before beginning our night of museums, we all went out for a traditional Hungarian meal. Our stomachs full, we headed off to begin our night at the Museum of Ethnography. Seven hours and several museums later, we decided to end the night in style at Szimpla, one of Budapest's famous ruin pubs. After getting back to the hostel around 4:30 a.m., Adam and I messed around on the computer for an hour before heading off to catch our 7 a.m. bus to Prague...
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