Budapest and the Beginnings of a Summer Abroad

The Danube from the Air

So here I am at the end of the third day in Europe and in Budapest, Hungary. It has been great so far to visit some of the beautiful sites around the city over the past few days.

For those who don't know Budapest is the capital of Hungary with a population of about 1.7 million people.  Situated along the Danube, the river splits the city into two main parts, Buda on the west bank and Pest on the east bank.  Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe and was occupied by the Soviets following World War II.

As a Political Science major especially it is interesting to see some of the lasting impressions that communism has had on the country.  Most of the infrastructure seems to have been built during the Soviet occupation such as a lot of the mass transit system, a lot of apartments and even at least a few hospitals.  So it is interesting to see the style of all of it, but it is pretty efficient.

On a totally separate note, I am thankful to be a native English speaker.  I read before coming to Europe that English acts almost as the lingua franca in Europe for speech, but it was really cool seeing it in action.  While viewing the city lights at night from Gellert Hill, overlooking the Danube and city from the west side, my Hungarian friends and I talked to a Japanese couple next to us, in English.  It was interesting to be in Hungary with native-Hungarian speakers and with native-Japanese speakers, but to speak English to communicate.

Castle Hill, Chain Bridge and Budapest at Dusk from Gellert Hill

I have been busy the past three days touring the city and some surrounding areas, trying some food and seeing a lot of great sites while spending time with some great friends here.  Spending some time at Margaret Island relaxing, skipping stones into the Danube, having a barbecue outside Budapest, visiting the House of Terror museum (information from Hungary being under Nazi and Soviet occupation), and hitting up all the main sites have been some of the highlights so far with two days to go here before my next stop, Cologne (Koln), Germany.

Here are some pictures (more will be put on facebook in a few days).

Hungarian Pancakes; Cinnamon on the left, Hungarian on the right

Resting on Margaret Island after touring the sites

The beautiful Neo-gothic Parliament building

Bonus points to whoever guesses where this and the next picture are from in pop culture (without cheating)

Food break in Szentendre

Skipping stones into the Danube

View of Hungarian countryside from a nice hill

Grilling some food