a calming day

The full day we spent in Budapest was probably one of my favorite days so far. It was a no-pressure, enjoy the sights, indulgent kind of day. And I think those days are important, especially when you are getting to know a city.

Budapest is known for its coffeehouses- apparently before Vienna even, so we spent a relaxing morning sipping coffee and eating bagels and pastries. We trekked to the top of a hill with the goal of finding the castle district. Before we got anywhere, we were blown away by yet another view- Budapest along the Danube. Our hostel was actually a block away from the river, so we took advantage of our location and took a million pictures- some silly, some touristy, some gorgeous-- all worth it.

One story is worth retelling-- Kathy and I found an actual hill, where we thought we would recreate a picture we took in Waco a while ago:

Unfortunately, it was muddy. But that didn't stop Kathy- she stepped out into the mud to get a better angle...and almost fell!! It would have been treacherous. But I grabbed her arm and eventually we started laughing. Her shoes stuck in the mud! Our wonderful friends took this opportunity to take pictures first, and then helped me pull her up. :)

If you ever go to Budapest, which you totally should, you MUST go to Fisherman's Bastion, or as we called it, the sand castle. It is in the castle district, along the river. And it is a fantastic place to take pictures. Believe it or not, we are IN the picture below. Too cool!

We also went inside an amazing cathedral- the walls were all decorated, almost like wallpaper, unlike any other church we've seen yet. I wasn't able to take any pictures that do it justice, especially the multicolored tiled roof.


We enjoyed a nice lunch along the river, including some delicious peppermint tea and desserts. After that, we'd heard about a labyrinth so we decided to check it out. It was deep underground, cavelike, dark and kind of creepy. There were weird wall drawings and random rocks on display. About halfway through, it turned into a tourist trap. There were "fossils" of numerous items: shoes, cell phones, computers, and oh yeah a giant coke bottle. What?! Anyway it was fun, if not truly educational or legit.

(P.S.! Because I ran out of pictures, I am getting copies of everyone else's photos. There are A LOT! I'll put them on my picasa website and let you know when I do.)