Buda + Pest = Beautiful

Did you know that Budapest was actually two cities, Buda and Pest? They were divided by the Danube river, but are now combined into the capital city of Budapest. And what a city is it! 4 days was nowhere near enough time to explore this beautiful and historic city! 

What struck me first was just how beautiful the city is. Every building had a decoration here or a statue holding a balcony there. Beauty hidden in the tiny details – I kept falling behind the group because I wanted pictures of everything! However, the pictures don’t even come close to capturing the experience. I could see my breath, feel the cold in the tips of my fingers, see the skyline in the distance, and breathe in the crisp air. It was wonderful.

An estate on Kodaly Circus - I had fun taking pictures while looking for the Kodaly museum!

We took a bus tour and saw the major sites of the city, but the best views were obscured by the fog. I split off from the group and saw the Liszt museum, which is housed in his apartment. It was a cool exhibit with both his musical and religious artifacts. Speaking of religious artifacts, I saw my first Incorruptible saint—well, part of one anyway!!  St. Stephen’s right hand, known as the Holy Right, is housed in the Basilica of St. Stephen. It was such a beautiful church and I had the opportunity to attend an organ concert there on Friday night. There aren’t words to describe it. It was a dream come true.

St. Stephen's Basilica 

Food was also another focus of the trip – I tried a lot of new foods this weekend. Coming from the queen of peanut butter and jelly, this was huge. I tried ostrich, chilled apricot soup, chicken tikka masala (Thanksgiving dinner, my first experience with Indian food), falafel, and we even found a Hungarian wine and cheese festival!

It was a great vacation – full of crazy memories with new friends and quiet moments surrounded by the sights and sounds of a new place. It’s hard to believe it’s over because it was the big milestone to look forward to before I finished teaching. I have 4 days of instruction left, then a week of observations and then I’m done. Time truly does fly. I have to start reflections about my time here and I know that the bottom line is that I have been changed by this experience. I have been truly blessed beyond my wildest dreams. And, it all started with just one step.

Parliament and the Danube - taken from the boat