August 9
We got to the campsite in Budapest and after we set up camp we decided to go into the city and do some sightseeing. We went down to see the river and decided to go on a Boat Cruise.
The cruise was a fairly large boat with seats above and below. We chose to sit on top so we could see the sights easily. We were able to listen to an informational tour of the river on our own headsets. There was 12 different languages to choose from.
We started by heading up river towards Margrit Island. It was named after the daughter of one of the famous Kings of Buda. The River Duna (Danube) cuts the city of Budapest in half, separating Buda from Pest.
Both sides of the river have beautiful buildings. The Pest side has the famous Parliament buildings, and the Buda side has the Castle and huge churches built on the surrounding hills. The tour told us of the famous bridges and how they were all destroyed during the War and how most were rebuilt in the same style.
It is a beautiful city to see, so many incredible buildings and so much history. We learned how the city was totally destroyed when the Mongols came through in the middle 1200’s and that after that the city was rebuilt and heavily fortified.
The cruise was so much fun and it was an amazing way to start our visit to Budapest.
August 10
We woke up in our campsite to a really hot day! The temperature this morning at 7 am was 29 C!! So we figured it would be a great day to go check out the Thermal spa baths in Budapest. There are so many different Thermal baths to choose from, some are only for adults and so mom and dad decided to take us to one that had both places for kids and adults!
We went to the Palatinus Thermal Resort on Margrit Island in the Duna. It was first opened in 1919 so it was celebrating its 100 years this year.
They have built kids pools and waterslides in a separate pool that we were able to play in! I felt really bad for Liam and Brendan because they were not tall enough to go on the water slides at this park! There were so many different types of pools, some really hot and some that were just like a regular swimming pool. It was so fun to try them all out.
We had a great day, Unfortunately we all for got to put sunscreen on our faces and we all got a little burnt!!
It was so much fun. We had another great lunch of Lagos, hamburgers and lots of snacks.
After the water park we went back into town to see the main central market. It is one of the first inside markets that was built in Pest.
It was a great spot to get vegetables, fruits, meats and also a lot of tourist things – We all got a neat reminder of Budapest here. I got a beautiful painted Hungarian doll and the boys got these cute little bears. Mom said it reminded her of a larger St. Lawrence market.
We picked up a huge dinner here that we brought back home to the campsite and then were really tired so we went to bed pretty early.
August 11
Today we decided to do a bit more sightseeing around Budapest. Budapest has a very fast and efficient network of Trams, Trains, Metros, and buses that we have been riding around. We only got lost a couple of times looking for our stop!
We went across the river to Buda and saw a beautiful St. Matthias church.
It was originally built in 1015 but was destroyed by the Mongols in 1241, it was rebuilt in the late 13th century, it was re-purposed into a mosque after the Turkish invasion of 1541 and was held until 1686. After the Holy League expelled the Turkish it was restored to its 13th century plan. It was again destroyed during the bombing of Budapest in WW2 and renovated in 1984 and a full restoration was done in 2013. The Bastion that surrounds the Church and the statue of St. Stephan (the King of Hungary from 953-1045) was fully restored.
Behind the old church we found the remains of an old church and the statue and plaque commemorating the monk who came to see who remained in Buda after the Mongol invasion. The Hilton Hotel had used the remains of the church as a section of its outdoor patio.
We then walked through the narrow streets of Buda toward the Buda Castle. Which has been the seat of the Hungarian Kings since 1265. It is a huge compex of buildings that now hold a museum and art gallery.
It was also heavily destroyed during WW2, and some buildings were torn down instead of being rebuilt as the Russian occupation did not want to encourage Hungarian independence.
There were many incredible buildings to see in Buda, but it was another scorching day in Budapest and we decided to start heading home. We walked down towards the river and were able to see the famous funicular that takes people up to the castle, back across the Duna on the famous Chain bridge and stopped for lunch at a nice little restaurant.
What a stunning city Budapest is. My parents really want to come back and see this city again!
Talk to you soon!
Tia and Mari
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