Some of the highlights from our visit to Budapest:
The Liberty Statue
Fishermen Bastion
Hungarian Parliament
Hosok Tere - (Hero's Square)
Strolling through Andrussy Avenue
Buda Castle
The Danube River Walk
St. Stephen's Basilica
Long had I heard that Budapest, Hungary, was a very beautiful city.
And so, when planning this European trip and wanting to provide some new experiences for both my son and I, especially since this was to be his first visit to Europe, I imagined that Budapest could be a strong possibility.
Ultimately, I went with it, figuring it would not be disappointing.
Nor was it.
Quite frankly, it actually exceeded my expectations, and they were hopeful and high. Yet, this city was simply incredible!
Indeed, on this trip that I had originally planned for Budapest to be a kind of side excursion, it wound up instead being one of the undeniable highlights. It was more than merely beautiful, but gorgeous and fun and surprising in the best way possible.
In short, I am glad that I came.
Everywhere that we turned, it felt like there was something incredibly beautiful or interesting or of historical significance, and sometimes all of those things at once.
Before the trip, I had done some research and more or less planned out a trip.
For the most part, we stuck to that original itinerary.
Yet, the actual visit felt completely different than how I had planned for it.
How so?
Because in planning the visit, I had done some research and listed the top things, or landmarks, which we could fit in during a trip to the city that would be slightly more than one day.
Once we were actually actively walking through the city and seeing the sites, it felt somehow different.
No longer was I staring at a screen, or reading the plain black and white print giving me facts about these places.
Now, walking through the city, everything felt alive and fresh and new.
Budapest became a city that we actively were visiting and exploring, and what treasures it revealed to us!
This was exactly the kind of place and experience that I had wanted for my son on his first trip to Europe!
It felt like there was almost too much to explore, and certainly, I began to kick myself for not taking more than two nights here.
Here is the funny thing: we saw all of the major sites that I had planned for the trip. Literally all of them. And fairly thoroughly for each one, at that.
In fact, some of the places, such as Fishermen's Bastion, we visited even more thoroughly than originally planned.
Yet, it still somehow did not feel like enough.
I wished that we would stay longer, explore more fully.
Therein lies the paradox, because if anything, our visit to Budapest was even better and more thorough, than I had originally expected. There was no reason to complain.
Still, I could not shake the feeling that perhaps I had made a mistake, by not making Budapest more of a priority, and giving ourselves at least, say, two or maybe three days here. It left me wanting more.
Paradoxically, though, is that not a mark of success, on some level?
Is that not how you want to feel after visiting a place like this?
After all, I had felt the same way with other places that I have traveled to in the past. For example, I have taken numerous trips to Paris, and yet always after each trip, I wished that the stay had been longer and that I had seen more. There were also usually regrets about places that I had not gotten the chance to explore, and promises to myself to do so next time.
Still, though, our visit to Budapest, while thorough and thoroughly enjoyable and wonderful in every way was indeed too short. I am already promising myself a better, less rushed, and even more thorough visit next time around.
The Fishermen's Bastion reminded me of a couple of things. First, it reminded me a bit of the Sacre-Coeur Basilica in Montmartre, Paris. Also, it reminded me a bit of Quebec City, strangely enough. This was because it felt a bit like the walls of that city, even if they do not really look alike. In both cases, those places looked out over the city, just like the Fishermen's Bastion does.
Like Montmartre in Paris and
at least parts of the wall of Vieux Quebec, it was a center for arts and entertainment. There were plenty of musicians and sidewalk acts. Plenty of pretty scenery and, of course, no shortage of overpriced restaurants and souvenir shops.
Somehow, it was the Fishermen's Bastion that I wanted to see the most, and which I felt the most immediate connection to. I could have stayed there all day.
It was a long and exhausting day, with just a ton of walking. I had half expected to jump in and out of the Metro or buses, to get from one landmark to another quickly and efficiently.
Yet, I did not want to leave Hosok tere without walking along Andrassy Avenue, which is sometimes considered the Champs-Elysee of Budapest. Then, when we had walked down there, St. Stephen's Basilica was there. And despite climbing the winding stairs to the top - very exhausting! - the Parliament was a short distance away, and a beautiful and pleasant walk, to boot.
Then, we did the Danube River walk, which seemed like a must, and got to the Chain Bridge, which again, we crossed on foot. We took the funicular up the mountain to Buda Castle, and then walked to Fishermen's Bastion, and eventually back again.
A whole lot of walking, but it also almost felt like nothing else makes as much sense.
In all, Budapest is an incredibly beautiful city, one of the most beautiful cities that I have ever seen. It felt like there were pleasant surprises all over. Little things that just feel delightful, in that European way. The attention to detail that means so much.
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