Budapest-
The capital and largest city in Hungary. Budapest became a single city occupying both banks of the river Danube with Buda on the west bank and Pest on the east bank on November 17, 1873.
We stayed on the Pest side at a beautiful hotel,
La Meridian, that was in an excellent location. As soon as we arrived we checked into the hotel and ventured out in the city.
We had lunch at a cute little place right by Parliament called,
Biarritz. I had the Hungarian steak.
After lunch we toured
Parliament. The building was beautiful AND I pressed a penny in the lobby (my addiction!) Parliament is the largest and tallest building in Budapest. A famous room is the central hall which is 16 sided and houses the Holy Crown of Hungary. No pictures were allowed in this area, and guards were surrounding the crown.
 |
| Where MP sit |
Shoes on the Danube Bank- this is a very symbolic memorial to the Jewish people who were killed by arrow cross militiamen during WWII. They were ordered to take off their shoes, and were shot at the edge of the water so that their bodies fell into the river and were carried away. This represents their shoes left behind on the bank.
Children's Railway (Gyermekvasut)- The world's largest Childrens Railway, is 11.2 km long, and operated by children aged 10-14 (except the driver) as a reward for doing well in school.
This was off the beaten path, and we got to see a whole different part of Budapest. I knew J was not going to love this, so I was sure to plan a little surprise at the end of our journey. Oh, and I got another pressed penny at the rail station!
We got off the train and hiked up
Janos-hegy,
which felt like a small mountain! We saw many elderly folks, so we knew we could do it. At the top was a little park and cafe. We stopped for a snack before our next adventure.
Surprise #1, the highest point in Budapest, Erasebet Lookout. Built in 1911 the tower was named after Empress Elisabeth. The view was amazing! Well worth the hike up.
 |
| We will get to the top! |
Surprise #2...getting down. We took the chairlift down. Now I imagined the chairlift a little different than it was. The machine kept running and you just jump on! No seat belts but rather just a bar to hold on to. It was scary at first but we got comfortable right away, the beautiful view was a great distraction! I kept commenting on how peaceful and quiet the ride was.
Dinner was at Hungarikum Bisztro, a delicious home cooking style restaurant. They were so welcoming and friendly that we felt like part of their family. Amazing place, but be sure to make reservations, they had to turn so many people away!
The next day was more sightseeing. We walked all over Budapest and took in the sun on a very hot day. Some of the big sights were Chain Bridge, Buda Castle, Fisherman's Bastion and Matthias Church.
 |
| Crossing Chain Bridge to the Buda side |
 |
| View from Buda Castle |
 |
| Buda Castle |
 |
| Paprika! |
 |
| Fisherman's Bastion and Matthias Church |
For dinner we ate at a Michelin Star restaurant,
Fausto's...with a baby! I know what you are thinking, but he was really quiet and loved sitting in the high chair. We enjoyed our fancy food too!
After dinner we went on a night cruise on the Danube. The whole city was lit up and looked magical! This was highly recommended by our friends who have visited Budapest, and we were not disappointed!
Our next city was Vienna. We left from Budapest station and saw all the refugees trying to enter the EU. It was very surreal to walk through something that we had seen on the news. Luckily we left when we did because it got a little crazy with riots and people cramming into the trains.
Vienna- the capital and largest city in Austria. Regarded as the City of Music because of its musical legacy, Vienna is also said to be "The City of Dreams" because it was home to the world's first psycho-analyst, Sigmund Freud.
The Hotel Bristol was my favorite hotel of our trip! Beautiful inside and great location, right outside the Opera. Also had great customer service!
 |
| Belvedere |
 |
| Parliament |
 |
| Heldenplatz |
 |
| St. Stephens |
 |
| Inside St. Stephens |
I had wiener schnitzel many times and this was my favorite! Yum!
Next stop on the Eastern European tour was Prague...
Prague- the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the 5th most visited city in Europe.
We took a train from Vienna to Prague, and Harvey learned how to turn pages of a book.
 |
| Powder Gate and Municipal House |
 |
| Astronomical Clock |
The
Astronomical Clock was first installed in 1410, making it the 3rd oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still working.
 |
| Charles Bridge |
 |
| Our fancy hotel "bath"/pool |
We ate at a super fancy and delicious place called,
Field. It was amazing! I had the cream of roasted shallots and aubergines, piglet greaves, apple soup and creamy pasta, chanterelles, chick peas, sage butter. Josh had marinated veal back, yuzu, sesame, sushi rice croquette and the veal with creamy paprika sauce, pepper confit, semolina gnocchi. Best meal we have ever had!
 |
| St. Vitus Cathedral |
 |
| Inside St. Vitus |
 |
| Beautiful stained glass |
Petrin Lookout Tower- 63.5 meter tall tower that resembles the Eiffel Tower. Its much shorter than the Eiffel Tower, but being atop a large hill, the lookout is at a higher elevation than the Eiffel. Petrin was built in 1891 and was used as an observation tower as well as a transmission tower. Guess what was at the top? Thats right a pressed penny!
 |
| Petrin Tower |
 |
| First time playing in the grass |
 |
| Prague view from the tower |
 |
| We made it to the top! So many stairs! |
These Chimney Bread or Kurtoskalacs were all over Eastern Europe. I tried one in Prague and it was tasty! They are made from sweet dough which a strip spun and then wrapped around a cone shaped baking splint, and rolled in sugar. It then was baked over charcoal cinders and brushed with butter. The inside is soft while the outside is crispy and sweet.
We ate at a concept restaurant called Chili Point. It was crazy! Everything is super spicy, and includes lots of peppers. The chefs wear special masks because of the "spice" in the kitchen. We really liked it!
I was obsessed with the sidewalks in Prague. They were so beautiful, and made with white and black cubes put in tons of different patterns. Makes you wonder how much work goes in to the sidewalks, and who chooses the patterns. Hmm...
Well another trip in the passports. We really enjoyed Eastern Europe. My favorite was Budapest, but the food in all 3 places was delicious!
