Budapest: So Much To Do, So Little Time

Budapest; Thermal Baths, Parliament, St. Stephen’s Basilica, Danube River, and so much more. There are so many things to see and do in Budapest that I could easily spend another week visiting the city.

In total, I spent four days in Budapest and I explored for three of those days. During those three days, I was only able to scratch the surface on all that there is to see and do in Budapest and I cannot wait to go back and explore more of the city. One important piece of information to know about Budapest is that it used to be three separate cities that joined to become one large city in 1873. The two largest cities of those three were Buda and Pest and they are separated by the river Danube. Buda is filled with hills, while Pest is flat. Both sides have lots of different sights, however Buda used to be the main seat of power since it has the Buda Castle.

I was able to meet people at my hostel and enjoyed exploring the city with them. On my first day exploring Budapest I walked around the city and saw the Central Market, St. Stephen’s Basilica, Shoes on the River Danube, Parliament, and I wandered along the riverfront on the Buda side, seeing the castle from afar, as well as seeing multiple of the city's bridges.

Shoes on the River Danube is a very solemn monument that recognizes the holocaust victims who were forced to take their shoes off, because shoes were considered valuable in the Nazi regime during World War II, before being shot, killed, and thrown into the river. After passing the holocaust monument, the two people I was exploring with, Leonie and Gemima, and I continued up the river past the Parliament building, which is the second largest Parliament building in Europe and a very well-known building in Budapest and then crossed to the Buda side to continue to explore. While it might not seem like a lot for one day, this ended up taking almost all day and I managed to get in over 12 miles of walking.

That night I went on an evening river cruise. While I enjoyed the cruise, the boat I went on was not well-designed and I had to sit next to a large pillar that obstructed most of the view; I didn’t let this stop me from having an enjoyable cruise though! Budapest is a gorgeous city to see from the river after the sun has gone down, since all the large attractions that can be seen on the river are illuminated.

On my second day exploring Budapest I started my day with a visit to the Széchenyi Thermal Baths. A fun fact about Budapest is that it is known as the city of spas since it has over a dozen thermal baths around the city. The Széchenyi Thermal Baths is not only the largest baths in Budapest but also in all of Europe. Water coming out of the thermal baths is coming out of the ground between 70 to 80 degrees Celsius (158 to 176 degrees Fahrenheit). Since the water is so hot, the different locations must manually cool the water by adding cold water. At the Széchenyi Thermal Baths there were different pools that ranged in temperature from 20 to 38 degrees Celsius (68 to 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit). I ended up spending about four and a half hours at the Thermal Baths; it was very relaxing and a must see if you ever visit Budapest! After the thermal baths, since it was late afternoon, Leonie and I headed to the Karavan Street Food market in the Jewish Quarter of Budapest for a late lunch. After the late lunch we wandered around the Jewish Quarter before deciding to head back to our hostel. On our way back to the hostel we saw people already lining up along the river for the celebration that was happening that night so instead of resting at our hostel we found a good location along the river and held our spots for two and a half hours.

When I arrived in the city I learned that on Saturday, August 27th Budapest was hosting its annual St. Stephen’s Day celebration that had been postponed from the prior week. August 20th is Stephen's name day and so every year on this day Hungary celebrates their State Foundation Day, which is the equivalent to the United States’ 4th of July. They celebrate on this day because the first king of Hungary who is credited for the country’s origins’ name was Stephen. Years after his death he was given sainthood and is now known as Saint Stephen and has the St. Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest named after him. Each year, in celebration of him, Hungary puts on the largest fireworks display in Europe. This fireworks display stretches five kilometers (3.1 miles) along the Danube River. I am so glad that not only did Hungary have to postpone their celebration one week this year due to weather but also that I was lucky enough to be able to be there to witness the celebration. Hungary does not mess around when it comes to their celebration! The fireworks show they put on went on for thirty minutes and was massive and so impressive! Being able to be there for the celebration was a highlight of this trip so far for me and a great time to reflect on how fortunate and happy I felt to be able to be there to witness this occasion. By the end of the fireworks show so many fireworks had been set off that the entire waterfront was covered in smoke. It was a great ending to a fun day spent in Budapest.

On my last day in Budapest, I started with a free walking tour of the city so that I could learn some of the history and information about a bunch of the different sights that I had seen the past two days. At the conclusion of the tour I wandered back through the city to my hostel so I could pack my bags to leave the next day. That evening I was able to go out for one more Hungarian dinner with two people from my hostel after which we walked along the river on our way back and once again took in the illuminated views of the city. It was a great ending to a fun time in Budapest.

“Traveling alone doesn’t always mean you’re alone. Most often, you meet marvelous people along the way and make connections that last a lifetime.”

-Jacqueline Boone