I'll keep this short and sweet, and let the pictures do most of the talking: Budapest is such a great city. The architecture is jaw-droppingly beautiful, it's pretty affordable, and the food is delish.
The first night that we got in, we joined our tour group for an optional excursion where we took a cruise down the Danube. It was STUNNING.
The Parliament building. Apparently this is the first time in several years it doesn't have any scaffolding - lucky us!
The next morning, we went on a tour of the city:
Chain Bridge, which connects the Buda and the Pest sides.
Hősök tere, aka Heroes' Square, on the Pest side of the river.
A close up of those bad boys.
The Dohany Synagogue, the largest synagogue in Europe.
Buda Castle
We also visited Matthias Church, located on Castle Hill, which was built in 1015 and where many of Hungary's kings were coronated. It is gorgeous inside and out:
In the afternoon, we did some exploring of our own. Here's a random assortment of pics of our jaunt around the city:
The Budapest Eye. Michael convinced me to go on it despite my heebie jeebies.
The view from the top
The Great Market Hall, the largest and oldest indoor market in Budapest
Inside the market
Roasted chicken and traditional goulash - yum! And beer, duh.
We didn't know this before visiting, but apparently Hungary is well known for its amazing wines. We found this wine bar, Doblo, on TripAdvisor, and had a great time here. The owner was really friendly and took time to go through all of the different wines with us, and made several suggestions - and they were all delicious.
So much wine, so little time...
Budapest, you are lovely, and I hope we will meet again someday!
Next up: Prague!