Budapest

Chain Bridge is the main bridge that links Buda and Pest. It was a great night view along the Buda / Pest coasts.. and this is one of the photos we liked best

Daytime..
We'll start off with the Buda side. Beautiful? This is not a painting hor. Its real!

Do you see the small monument on the right, with the red arrow below? Its on a hill. I cldn't believe there were no cablecars to get to the top (yes, I'm a typical tourist). We had to climb!

This is at the foot before our climb. On the way up to the liberation monument, we bypass the Gellert statue as well. This is only 1/3 of the way up to liberation monument.

But we made it. Aww.. the view.



Now to Pest.

This is the biggest synagogue in Europe.

Central market is huge, sells everything from food to souvenirs.

Some sights around Pest.

And then it started snowing..

This is the largest outdoor ice-skating rink in Budapest. Can u imagine ice-skating with such a beautiful background, complete with snow? I was sooo mesmerized by the sight then.

And I think this must be the most memorable building that I have seen. We turned round the corner, saw it appear and 'wow'. We are in luck that we saw this in 2 views- snow and without snow.

Another popular attraction is the outdoor thermal bath. Széchenyi is the largest bath in Europe, while Gellért is supposedly the most beautiful one in Budapest. It was snowing when we visited, and I dont think its a good idea to run around in the snow while half-naked. But here's how the interiors will look like.

Of course, we tried out some Hungary cuisine. These are Hungary crepes (palacsinta), its stuffed pancake, served either sweet or salty.

Lugas is a Hungarian restaurant which we liked, went back twice. It was opposite the St Stephen's Basilica, so it had a great view.

Goulash is a spicy dish made up of beef, onions, red peppers and paprika. (Hungarians love paprika, we saw paprika snacks being sold as well.) Hungary stuffed cabbage rolls are made up of rice and beef (we did not quite like it). Plum sauce seems a popular choice for Hungarians too.

Here's the train ride from Budapest to Vienna. Its cheap and good- the fares are inclusive of unlimited rides in Vienna, and during the train ride, we had the whole cabin to ourselves!

Because of the weather and snow, we felt that most of the photos did not turn out well. (No bright blue sky, no sun, no clear blue water). But trust me, Budapest is a beautiful city.