A Nebraskan in Poland: Budapest Part 1

At the Warsaw airport, I made friends with John the Baptist from Jordan. I didn't mean to make friends with him, but I knew where the smoking room was. John the Baptist definitely wanted to smoke. So, then he talked up Jordan and recommended that I use a travel agent to book my flight there.

So, I arrived in Budapest incredibly early. My hostel owner berated me for not dressing warm enough. After dropping my bag off at my hostel, I decided to take a tour of the city. Of course, before I even whip out my tour guidebook, I find this gem: a statue of Reagan. Boo yeah America. I think I may have a bit of excessive love for America now that I live elsewhere.

Next, I headed over to Parliament, where the Rick Steves walking tour begins. Unfortunately, they didn't have tours available because Parliament was actually meeting or something lame like that. The area around Parliament was full of awesome statues, though. My favorites are the following two. The first one is a memorial to the Uprising of 1956. This was a big deal in Hungary in fighting the Communist powers. Of course, as with all good things, it started in Poland. I think it was a much bigger deal in Hungary. But I'm still proud of the student protests in Poznan for beginning a revolution elsewhere. Kind of like Solidarity. Awesomeness beginning in the land of Poles.

The second is a flag with the center cut out. They used to do this to protest communism because there would be communist insignia in the middle of the flag.

I continued the walking tour with few amazing sights until I came to this park right outside the US embassy. (My hostel host told me that the US Embassy was nearby. I told him that was good in case I get in trouble. I was thinking "I cause trouble." He thought Americans were just really negative. I convinced him that it was because I lived with Poles.) There were at least five dog owners with their dogs. Including this adorable dog in front of the best photo I took all weekend.

On the walking tour, I eventually made it to this GIANT Catholic Church. The best part of this church is that it houses a shriveled up, dead hand from some saint. The best ever.

The next stop on my tour was the Postal museum. The museum was not among the list of amazing things to see in Budapest. But I just love a good postal museum. Because I love the post office. The best part of this post office was the awesome mannequins. Representing who knows what, there were real winners.

I then saw the Opera House. I wanted to go on the tour, but they only have a few tours. Which is sad, because opera houses always make me think of Phantom of the Opera. I love that book and movie and play.

I wandered across to Chain Bridge. It's super famous and named after someone famous. (This memory of mine is a steel trap, as you can see.)

There were a few other statues that Rick Steves recommended I visit, including "The Princess," a whimsical statue without any real purpose.

I walked these ways to the Great Hall - a really giant market place. One of the best parts of the Great Hall was that it featured some really wonderful displays about mushrooms. Mushroom picking and the different regions you can go to in order to pick mushrooms. The top floor was entirely souvenirs, and I picked up some real winners.

There was also a Langos stand. Langos is basically fried dough, but they make savory and sweet langos. I had a cinnamon sugar version. I wish I would've tried the savory kinds too, but I enjoyed what I had.

Next I went to this really awesome, nearby museum. I only went because it was nearby and on a metro line, but it ended up being an awesome decision. It had some really amazing old stuff about the entire history of Hungary. The history of Hungary seemed so much more advanced than I expected. Primarily because it was once the Roman empire. Then it was the Austria-Hungary empire. Everything was evolved.