Budapest: part 2

Day 2 of Budapest:

If you didn’t catch this before- Budapest is one of my favorite cities we have traveled to so far- possibly even my most favorite!!  I have been extremely blessed and fortunate to have traveled so much and seen so many different countries, cities, and cultures.  Budapest is like nothing I have experienced before- it is simply amazing. 

Last night we asked the kids what they wanted to do while in Budapest and Aydin suggested renting bikes.    We told Aydin if he did the research for bike rentals and found a place- we would do it.  He looked up the rental information online, got the address and details (kids, laws, hours, etc.) and told us where we would find the store.... bikes were in our plan for the day.

This morning we went out for breakfast... which was nothing to write home about (actually it sucked) and then went straight to a bike rental shop.

Our first stop of the day was to Hero’s Square and the Astronomical Clock.  
Riding bikes in Budapest is a little more nerve-wracking with kids than it would have been without (more so with Morgan who was not quite tall enough for her bike to be comfortable- making stopping and starting more difficult for her to achieve).  

On the rode:

Rode past:

Magyar Állami Operaház- Hungarian State Opera House

One of the most decorated buildings on Andrássy avenue. 

 

Hősök tere- Hero’s Square

One of Budapest's most important squares- marked with monuments referring to the past.

The tall one in the middle is the Millenniumi emlékmű- Millenary Monument which commemorates the lives of those who died for the national independence. 

We parked our bikes and walked over to the Időkerék- Timewheel 

The sand in the hourglass takes a year to run out... starting on New Years and ending on New Year's Eve. 

(you can really see the size with Morgan standing next to it...)

When we were done checking the Timewheel out... 
we were on the rode again headed to the House of Terror.

 

Terror Háza- House of Terror

Inside you will learn all about the history of the Nazi and Communist crimes, see a list of names of those imprisoned and killed there, how they lived, and what life was like for the city in the 20th century. 

Very sombering and heartbreaking. 

(pictures of the individuals who were imprisoned here were lined along the outer wall)

From there, we rode to the market- grabbed lunch and looked around. 
This ride was awful- there were no designated bike paths and Morgan still was struggling with her stops/starts… cars rushing by, cutting us off, and people everywhere.  Steve was leading the herd, I was in the back… watching it all.  
Once we arrived to the market- I was so relieved to be off the street I couldn't help but hope that we would be close to done with the bikes!!  

Nagycsarnok- Great Market Hall

An historical three story building full of shops and stalls selling local specialities, crafts and souvenirs.

Inside the market:

After lunch, we decided to cross the bridge and hike up to the Citadel.   

We crossed the Szabadság híd- Liberty Bridge which is the busiest bridge in the city.  

It opened in 1896 by Emperor Franz Joseph himself connecting Gellért Hill to the Great Market Hall.

Parked the bikes was a little more difficult than we had expected-
 we rode up and down the street looking for a place to lock them up... which was more difficult than we thought it would be...

FINALLY we parked the bikes:

Once the bikes were locked up- we started walking up the Gellért-hegy- Gellért Hill 
(felt like a mountain... probably because I am out of shape but hey...) to the Citadel- 

This hill is known for the views, citadel and monument on the top. 

I have to say- the kids were great… Aydin and Morgan  made it to the top without complaining and even ran/raced part of the way.  Liam was a trooper- he walked the whole time, climbed every stair by himself and even ran to the top once he saw the last little bit.  They were fantastic!!
MADE IT!!

Citadella- Citadel

Built as a military fortress on the highest point of Budapest's city centre features exhibits with WWII artifacts 

Szabadság Szobor- Liberty Statue

The memorial commemorates the Soviet intervention during WWII. 

The amazing views from the top:  

We then made our way back down... 

On the way back down- we stopped so the kids could play on the slides at a park about 1/3 of the way up from the bottom
This red slide was crazy fast... 

We got our bikes again and made our way back to the other side of the river to visit the Shoe Memorial during the day.
I love Liam's face... he LOVED going down the stairs in his seat. 

It did not have the same effect on my as last night but it was still humbling to sit there and reflect on the amount of lives that were taken in such a hateful/horrible way. 

We then were done with the bikes- so we went to return them… 
on the way to the bike shop- Morgan had her final wipe out.  I was so happy she was almost done with riding...  As much as I loved being able to see Budapest vis bikes... I think they were the worst part of our whole vacation for her!  She came out of that experience with scrapes, bruises, and torn skin…

We then walked over to grab sweets- from the Cake Shop... to take back to the apartment and eat while watching the World Cup later.... 
They were AMAZING!!

We then went back to the apartment, cleaned up a bit and had dinner in the square again- this time at the Bistro… and it was amazing!!  I have to say- the food in Budapest is fantastic!!
After dinner- we hung out in the apartment (by this time it was almost 10pm) but we were glad because we wanted to watch USA play in their World Cup game… which they lost!

Wednesday morning we got up, checked out, bought Aydin and Morgans last souviners, ate breakfast and got on the road for our final city destination- Prague.