Budapest - First Impressions

After a long day of walking through the streets of Castle Hill in Buda, John and I find ourselves tired and back at the hotel with time on our hands. For this reason (and because I suspect if we wait until we return there will be too much to say) we thought we'd give you an update on day 1 in Hungary.

The hotel is great. We were warmly greeted by the couple that runs the place and the husband sat us down and gave us a very helpful map and orientation to the city.

We spent the day wandering on the Buda side of the city, staring dumbly at all the Hungarian signs and information. While the Hungarians are very friendly, their language is a beast to understand and we find ourselves missing the "familiarity" of German. (Who'd a guessed, huh?)

In the afternoon we came across some very loud Hungarian music which turned out to be a performance of traditional folk dancing. We had a moment of "Oh well, why not?" and sat down for an hour of interesting dance and some singing. Or what might have been considered singing to the Hungarians. I leaned over and asked John if the singer was really the best they could find. We eventually decided that she was intentionally yelling, because there seemed no other plausible explanation for the noises she was making.

I've put up some pictures below from day one. I'm sure there will be more than you care to see in the days to come.Tomorrow we're headed out to a Soviet statuary garden and then in the afternoon we're taking our private tour of the city.

Thanks, Jill, for the baths recommendation. We're looking into it, for sure.

And, Momma Casey and Graeber: we are actively seeking out cute Christmas ornaments for you both. :) (Mom, tell Kristen that if she'll read the blog, she gets an ornament.)

You're looking at the Hungarian Parliament building and the beautiful Danube river.

Firmaments of Castle Hill in Buda.

Little Hungarian girls dancing around wine bottles. In the back you can catch a glimpse of the screecher.