Budapest in the Rain

We got into Budapest the day before but because of the long flight and our visit with family, we didn't get out to explore, which was fine, we could catch up on some rest and store up some energy for a full day of sight seeing.

We woke up early and were well on our way. Today was my first glimpse of the city. We were staying in the suburbs of the Pest side so we had to drive into the city. The morning was quite wet, rainy and cold. We decided to go to the Castle District which is on the Buda side. My first impression of the city was that, in spite of the rain, it was beautiful. The old buildings, the wonderful bridges and the layout of the city being separated by the Danube gives it a unique charm.

We got out of the car in the Castle District and found that it was much colder than we anticipated. So we decided to take shelter in the Royal Palace. The Royal Palace houses the Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art, The Budapest History Museum, The Hungarian National Gallery and the National Szechenyi Library. We decided to walk through The Hungarian National Gallery and we were glad we did. We walked through the exhibit and enjoyed the works of many Hungarian artists. I especially enjoyed the art by Bela Czobel and Tihanyi Lajos, however, all of the artwork was amazing. There are over three floors full of sculptures, paintings and artifacts that are important to Hungarian culture and history. An awesome learning experience.

By the time we were finished waking through the gallery, it was time for lunch. We set out walking through the Royal Palace to some very scenic views of the Pest side of the city. In spite of the cold and rain, we thoroughly enjoyed the walk because the views were amazing. We passed the Statue of Eugene of Savoy, Fishermen's Bastion, St. Matthias church and the statue of the Holy Trinity, just to name a few of the monuments we saw along the way. Walking through the cobble stone streets with the cute and quaint buildings was a treat.

We had lunch at a corner cafe and enjoyed the rain. There weren't too many people walking around because of the weather so there wasn't much to watch but we had a good time regardless. After lunch we decided to have dessert and coffee at Ruszwurm, one of the oldest traditional cafes in Budapest. This was the perfect place to go in this weather. Hot coffee and sweets are the best comfort foods. The Cafe was packed but a table cleared out just for us. We ordered a few cakes and shared so we were able to sample a few things. We took our time eating, enjoyed our desserts and were off back home.