Once again Robert and the kids had a four day weekend, which gave us the opportunity to travel to yet another little unknown country…Hungary! We drove through Slovenia and into southern Hungry passing through the countryside with its ever changing architecture. Central European homes and villages with their pastel colors and red tiled roofs gave way to a more gray/cream palate and Eastern European style. This was very evident as we approached the suburbs of Budapest, Hungary’s capital. People still live in the old Soviet Communist Block housing. Gray and tan square buildings with multiple floors and no outdoor balconies dominated the suburbs. Every once in awhile a block building would be painted a pastel color, perhaps an attempt at making the ugly ducklings beautiful!

Once in Budapest we found our apartment, which was located in a typical inner city open square. The kids found the 1930’s elevator intriguing, especially since you had to close the outer doors before the main elevator door shut! The buildings were old, but the apartment was modern in décor and quite nice.

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Before we arrived in Budapest we stopped off at Lake Balaton. It is the largest fresh water lake in Hungary at 80km long and 20km wide. We found a nice resort town to stop in and strolled out onto the local pier. The lake was a creamy, milky blue color lined with creamy brown and tan rocks. Many ducks enjoyed sunning themselves on the lakeshore rocks!

During the evening we explored the Central Market and purchased our breakfast foods, including Hungarian cheeses and paprika spiced meats. Across from the massive indoor market we found a traditional Hungarian restaurant complete with live music played on a cimbalom. I was able to talk with the musician who spoke some German. After dinner we walked across the bridge from Pest to Buda. The capital city of Hungary was originally two separate cities and combined together to form Budapest in November 1873.

Along the banks of the Danube River in Buda is Gellert Hill, which is named after St. Gellert. We climbed the massive hill, that serves as a lovely city park for the residents of Buda. At the top we saw the old Citadella, stunning views of the city, and the “Lady Liberty” of Budapest. She first represented the freedoms won in the 1848-49 Rebellion, then the Soviet Liberation from the Nazi’s, and finally she has come to represent the liberation in 1989 from Communism. She is holding a palm leaf to represent freedom and peace. There was also a beautiful stone cross, placed in honor of St. Gellert who was martyred on the hillside.

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Our first impressions of Budapest were that it was very different from other cities we had seen in Europe thus far. It still has a Soviet era, Eastern European feel mixed with an up and coming western European vibe. The people were helpful and friendly. As we walked back down Gellert Hill we passed over the bridge and watched the storm clouds roll in from the west moving along the river. Later that night we fell asleep listening to the thunder rumble and rain pelt against the old casement windows of our apartment.