Budapest, Hungary in Snow

Budapest is Hungary's capital, a name that was merge from Buda (a city on the west bank) and Pest (another city on the east side of the riverbank). The Chain Bridge connects the hilly Buda district with the flat pest. The reason we pick Budapest because I read a lot of blogs where people who been to Prague will head over here as its close together.

23rd - 24th December 2016
We arrive early in the morning to Budapest at about 10am. We were so tired so we head back to the apartment we rent to rest for a bit. Budapest do seem a bit more dodgy compare to Prague. When we arrive at the train station, this guy literally eyed our luggage. My friend didn't know what to do but say out loud that we should keep our luggages close to us because she felt like someone was following us. He instantly took a different path after we said that.

So, my friend told us to try Michelin star food in Budapest as it far more cheaper compare to other places in Europe and London. We tried looking for one but because we didn't book and hence, we couldn't get into one. We did try a place which said on the front door "Michelin Approved". Not sure what that meant but the food was so good. The whole meal took us about 2 hours and it was already getting dark.

We only spend 1.5 days there so we try to visit the main places but didn't get to visit the Parliament House or the Szechenyi Thermal Bath. It was winter and we were a bit reluctant to go for the bath as it would be super cold when we get up and my friends were already catching a cold and fever. Clearly, we never did travels like this and its usually 2-3 days in one country, never back to back. So here were the places we manage to visit.

Buda Castle

The historical castle and palace complex of the Hungarian Kings. Currently, its the National Gallery of Budapest and I gotta say its hugeee. We really wanted to go in but by the time we arrived, it was 6pm and they were closing. So, we decided to chill there and get the night view of the city.

The view you will get from Buda Castle

At first we were so disappointed but hey, at least we got an amazing night view. It was beautiful. We decided to walk around the area here. Admiring the external part of the castle since we couldn't go in. :(

Chain Bridge

Just heading down the hill from the Buda Castle, not far from it, you will arrive at the start on the Chain Bridge. It's beautiful how the bridge light up. I got to admit I wasn't impressed when I first arrive but during the night, when everything light up, wow...

Wu Ping dared a friend of mine to run around the roundabout and sing Spongebob Squarepants since it was her favourite cartoon. She did it! Next thing we knew, we were in the middle on the roundabout just running around and playing with all the cars circling us. Some tourist thought that they could get really nice shots from the roundabout so tag along with us. Little did they know, we were just kids meddling around. After this, we just head home to get a good rest.

The next morning we woke up to a White Budapest on a Christmas Eve. I guess this was really a White Christmas that we are experiencing. We quickly got ready and started our journey to start our sightseeing tour.

Matthias Church 

Every city or European country would have a most visited church and cathedral. In this city, its Matthias Church. It is the second largest of medieval Buda and seven largest in the Hungarian Capital.

Fisherman's Bastion

This landmark was right beside Matthias Church. There were many stories how it name came about. The name came about from the story where the Buda castle wall was protected by the fisherman guild. Hence, the name Fisherman's Bastion. As it was snowing as well, this was a view that was very different that what we got for the past week. Also, this is also the place where you the view of Budapest City.

So much feels in this one photo. It was snowing overnight. Its a gloomy and beautiful winter kinda feel. 

So, this was also the end of our Europe trip. The last place we visited in Budapest before taking the plane back to London. Although we started off rough, it ended with a good note. Everything went well after Cologne. This marks the end and one thing I learn is that I should spend more time in a city rather than 1-2 days. Its not enough to see everything. What's important is that you experience the culture there and not just having the "I've been there" title. That's not important.

Ever since then, every time I buy a ticket to a place I made sure to stay at least 2 days if its a big city. And that's it. I finally had the time to document down my whole Europe trip in 2016. If you wondering what were the other countries I visited, you can hop to my post on Luxembourg, Cologne, Germany and Prague.