Budapest

I was fascinated by the layout of the city.  I really liked how one side – the Pest side of the river was flat and the other side – the Buda side was hilly.  The fact that the Danube river separates these two sides from eachother and that each of the two sides are so dramatically different was so cool to me.  We stayed on the Pest side and were very close to the river and the Parliament building and so just a few blocks away was a beautiful view of Buda and all of the hills across the river.  We also made it up to the top of the hills in Buda a couple of times throughout our visit and were able to see all of Pest and had an awesome view of the Danube and all of the bridges as well.  I thought it was so cool that we were able to point out the St. Stephan’s Cathedral from up on the hill – it shows how huge and important that church is to the city of Budapest.  I definitely thought this was the most beautiful city so far and I think the geography of the city really helps to make the city as beautiful as it is. 

My favorite academic experience in Budapest was the Terror museum.  For the second or third time throughout this trip I was reminded of how unaware I was about communism.  I never had any idea about all of the terrible things the communists did to people.  Not only did I learn a ton at this museum, but I have never felt such strong emotions walking through a museum.  I thought it was set up brilliantly and I think I truly felt everything they wanted people to feel as they went through the exhibits.  In the room with the car was the first time I felt honestly afraid.  The maze-like part of the exhibit was a little bit scary because you kind of felt trapped.  The basement of the museum where there was some of the cellars people kept in and the execution room was heart wrenching.  I felt almost sick to my stomach walking through all of that.  The terror museum was a very moving experience and I am grateful that it was a part of our trip. 

My favorite extracurricular activity in Budapest was the Great Market Hall.  It was a little hot inside, but at least it wasn’t in the sun.  on the ground floor was mostly food stands and they were so interesting to walk through and look at, and then the first floor had amazing souvenir shopping.  It was definitely the best spot we’ve found for souvenirs throughout the entire trip.  It was fun to walk around with people and look at everything.  The atmosphere of the Great Market Hall was great too – everyone seemed to be in a good mood.

Sphinx

My favorite place that I ate in Budapest was at a sit down restaurant in the mall by the train station.  It was called Sphinx, and it was on the top floor of the mall.  It had surprisingly good prices! I had grilled chicken that came with fries and a side salad.  The drinks were priced great and tasted good too!

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