FIRST FULL DAY IN BUDAPEST!!!

Szia from room AQRS (Aly, Quinn, Rosemary, and Stephanie)! We started our morning bright and early (8:00) and got to see the sights of the hotel from our window. 

Some of our classmates have really settled in and found creative ways to keep their windows open.

 

After admiring our classmates’ ingenuity, we went downstairs for breakfast! Breakfast was buffet-style and significantly better than most American continental breakfasts. We struggled to find spoons and were impressed by the almond milk. Quinn took lovely photos of their half-eaten breakfast sandwich (Stephanie reminded them too late), Stephanie’s breakfast assortment, and Aly and Rosemary looking jolly and ready to face the day.

After breakfast, Quinn broke away with Shen and Graham and went to St. Stephen’s Basilica. There was a lovely student price of 1.700 HUF (just under five bucks) and Quinn, Shen, and Graham went in and explored.  

St. Stephen’s Basilica from the outside. 

Ceiling of St. Stephen’s Basilica

Main altar in St. Stephen’s Basilica

At 10:00, the group met up with Emese (our Hungarian guide) and 6 Hungarian students for get-to-know-you games and snacks. 

Next we went on a walking tour of the city. We walked along the Danube, passed by St. Stephen’s Basilica and the Parliament building, and took the trolley to lunch. Emese also taught us a lot about the history of political resistance movements in Hungary!

Along our walk, we encountered several sculptures by Mykhailo Kolodko, a popular Ukrainian artist. Each one is a reference to an aspect of Hungarian culture or history. The Muppets (dubbed in Hungarian of course) was apparently quite popular in Hungary during the time of the USSR. The axe was originally a statue of a ushanka (a Russian hat) that was destroyed by a right-wing protestor using an axe.

We went to Nagy Vásárcsarnok (Central Market Hall) for lunch. Most of us stood in a long line for lángos (Hungarian fried bread). However, Quinn tried a steamed cabbage dumpling stuffed with pork and rice (pictured below).

 

After lunch, most of us returned to the hotel for a relaxing afternoon before dinner, but Quinn joined some of the Hungarian students at a work cafe. Finally, we ended the night with dinner at Pad Thai WokBar and crossed the river to appreciate the lights of Pest at night.

– AQRS