Budapest, Hungary | August 2023
Pre-Flight Volleyball Match
Stopped in to watch the Cowgirls play the Tigers before heading to the airport.
Day 1
Delta airlines gets 10/10 for dinner!
< The day I got there was the final day of the Track & Field World Championships.
Found this little guy in the hotel lobby >
Pipas Restaurant
< Gulyás (beef & vegetable stew with paprika-seasoned broth) and fresh bread
Chicken Paprikás (chicken thighs over egg noodles with a paprika-based sauce & sour cream) >
It was all delicious!
The Renyi Institute
Waiting for the first lecture of the week.
A lecture in progress.
Views of the Danube
Climbing Gellert's Hill
(on the Buda side of the city)
City Walking Tour
Dohány Street Synagogue (the second largest in the world)
A mural painted for Ernő Rubik's birthday.
St. Stephen's Basilica
The German Liberation Monument
The Soviet Monument with Reagan and H.W. coming to tear down that wall.
The Hungarian Parliament Building
After the Walking Tour...
A statue of a lion on Margaret Island built with Legos
Inside Szimpla (the most famous ruin pub in Budapest)
George Washington in City Park (I had to keep up the streak of Presidents' statues for the day)
An old palace turned into the Museum of Agriculture
Lunchtime Excursions
Bonnie
Home of the $8.25 daily three-course lunch
I forgot to take a picture of the entree. :(
We ended up there three times that week.
The streak ends here - I promise!
Friday afternoon (Roaming the Castle District of Buda)
View of Pest and the Chain Bridge from the top of Castle hill.
The Hungarian National Gallery (formerly a home of the Hapsburgs)
FYI - the gallery is totally worth the $12 ticket, even if you're not much of an art person.
< This greets you as you walk in the front door.
Some 1800s-era paintings I thought were nice.
I can only aspire for my portrait skills to get this good.
< A legit Cezanne
A legit Monet >
There was a Gaugin too!
^ Some 1500s-era altarpieces in the Old Hungarian Gallery. The one on the right was easily 15 feet tall from top to bottom!
I'm not usually one for modern art, but these were cool.
More views of the Castle District.
Learning to take Public Transit
This trip was the first time I'd ever been on a Subway. The escalators were like a journey to the center of the Earth and back again.
It was also the first time I'd taken a tram. But by the end of the week, I was a semi-pro.
The Road Home
Walking to the airport shuttle bus stop.
Taking off from Budapest, headed to Paris.
One last view of the Danube.
I'm pretty sure these were the Alps.
The French Countryside.
Approaching Paris.
The Eiffel Tower made an appearance.
It was a 9hr 20min flight from Paris to Atlanta, but AirFrance knows how to serve a breakfast at 8pm Atlanta time!