Budapest was one of those places where, to me, we never quite hit our culinary stride*: being there during Yom Kippur probably didn’t help. Don’t get me wrong, the food we ate was good, and I now have a deeper appreciation for paprika…but none of our meals** really blew my socks off like Field in Prague, Tatiana in Katowice, or even the street food and cruise snacks we’ve been enjoying for over a month now. I know that this cosmopolitan metropolis has plenty of tasty eats, and I’m sure the fault is ours: we didn’t find the right places or do enough research, which is totally fine. Like I said, it was Yom Kippur: for a good chunk of our time in Budapest, we weren’t eating anything at all.
HOWEVER. While Budapest may not have been an epic feast for our stomachs, it is a stunning–and often soul-stirring–feast for the eyes. Besides our bizarre and awesome adventure to Memento park outside the city, Budapest is beautiful in all the same ways that other European capitals have been, with bubbling fountains, stately blocks of elegant apartment buildings, shady boulevards, etc. Yet, to my eyes, there was an extra bit of flair all over the city. The colors seemed brighter, the strings tugged my heart harder, the surprises seemed more frequent, and wandering around never failed to delight. Here are my favorite sights from Budapest.
The doors and courtyards: We stayed at the absolute cutest, chicest Air BnB, and one of the best parts of the building was the gigantic, ornate wooden door and the spooky courtyard. I felt like I was in a high-fashion horror movie every time we walked through. When I was picking out our place, I noticed MANY of the Budapest Air BnBs featured these courtyards, and we spotted impossibly fancy doors all over the city.
Imre Nagy statue: Imgre Nagy was the leader of the failed Hungarian Revolution in 1956, and when his non-Soviet government was overthrown (with force and much bloodshed in the streets of Budapest), he was eventually tried and executed. After the collapse of the USRR, his remains were reburied and over 100,000 people attended the burial. His statue facing Parliament does exactly what a memorial should accomplish: pique interest in the casual tourist, who then googles the person and learns a little bit more about the history.
Parliament building: The largest building in Hungary and the tallest building in Budapest, not to mention the second biggest Parliament building in Europe (it was the biggest until the Romanians built a slightly larger one in a bit of neighborly one-upmanship), this beaut on the banks of the Danube made me gawk foolishly the first time I rounded a corner and saw it. I also got to run past it one morning and had to pinch myself, because gazing upon this magnificent building made running (almost) downright pleasant.
St. Peter’s Basilica: Not only is this towering basilica gorgeous, you can get a glass of wine and sit literally right at the bottom of it. EVERYONE WINS.
St. Matthias Church: This gorgeous church packs a double whammy of having a unique orange-tiled roof (recently redone, so it is extra-shiny) AND charming gargoyles. They aren’t even scary! They look like Pokemon characters!
Szabo library: This is a public library for the average schmuck to go study, read, browse Facebook, whatever. Except it’s a FORMER PALACE! What an INCREDIBLE idea! If I had a palace, I would turn it into a public library. Or an elementary school. “Johnny, stop picking at the gold leaf. We need to keep our hands to ourselves.” “Friends, stop throwing paper balls into the chandelier. It is very hard to get them out.” IT WOULD BE PERFECT.
Frida Kahlo exhibit: This is cheating a bit because this isn’t a permanent exhibit, but I have to always give snaps to Frida whenever I can. I was thrilled we were able to go see works by my favorite artist at the Hungarian National Gallery. And hey, Frida did have a Hungarian lover….so it counts, right?
Lion statues everywhere: I couldn’t find anything as to why there were lion statues everywhere, but I spotted them all over the place–and not just the famous ones guarding the Chain Bridge. Our tour guide said they represented strength, courage, etc. Good enough for me!
Shoes along the Danube: I realized when we arrived that two of the Holocaust memorials I use in my Number The Stars slides are in Budapest: the shoes along the Danube and the weeping willow tree (described below). When I was teaching the unit, I considered these two of the most thoughtful and moving memorials amongst the ones I’ve seen in pictures, and I was thankful for the chance to see them in person. The importance of these memorials cannot be understated: It is estimated that over 568,000 Hungarian Jews were murdered during the Holocaust. Budapest had a huge and vibrant Jewish community that will take a very long time to recover, if it ever does. Being able to see the shoes along the Danube, a memorial to the victims of the vicious Arrow Cross militia, many of whom were Jewish, was very important to me. I was happy to see so many people felt the same way: it was always crowded (we stayed nearby so passed the memorial many times), but the crowd was respectful and quiet. Many were taking a contemplative moment in addition to photos. There were candles and flowers at the memorial as well.
Dohany Street Synagogue: The second biggest synagogue in the world, and the biggest in Europe, is as jaw-dropping as any of the epic churches and cathedrals we have seen. Gold! Chandeliers! Marble! Stained glass! A man at the entrance who gives lady tourists who are wearing jumpsuits with skinny straps giant paper towels to cover their shoulders! (Whoops). A ticket to the synagogue also gets you access to the willow and the Raoul Wallenberg Memorial I describe below.
Weeping Willow Holocaust Memorial: Also known as the Emanuela tree, this memorial has names of victims inscribed on each leaf. It is stunning. The way the tree is shaped conveys grief, and the gentle clinking of the strings of leaves makes the memorial feel…alive, and whispering to you, in a way.
Raoul Wallenberg Memorial: One of the greatest heroes this world has seen, Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish diplomat who saved tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust. Seeing his memorial surrounded by rocks (a Jewish mark of respect, like leaving flowers at a grave) made me cry. Hard.
Gellert Baths: This was a hysterical tourist experience that we had a ball at. Of course, Budapest is famous for its baths…so we figured we had to try one (despite the fact that I really hate public pools…I didn’t quit my job to be picky and not do the famous things). This particular bathhouse is famous for the over-the-top Art Deco style, and boy, did it not disappoint. It’s like hot-tubbing in a palace! Definitely a little overpriced and touristy, but still really fun.
Just your average pool fountain. 
This the the room with the good hot baths. 
Subway: The subway stations in Budapest were GORGEOUS. All of them had different color schemes along the general theme of bright, bright colors. True to form, I fell in love with the yellow station and took a ton of pictures, but all of them were lovely.
Danube: The Danube is, of course, spectacular (a very large audience of Viking River Cruisers agrees with me, I’m sure). The pale blue notes, pretty Buda and Pest framing each side, the sparkling Chain Bridge…no wonder waltzes have been written about this river. Seeing the Danube every day and having it in the background of our time in Budapest was special indeed.
*Ben would probably point out the pizza place we went to not once but twice, aptly named Pizzica, was one of his favorite pizza places ever. He would be right, that place was delicious.
**Also, the BEVERAGES in Budapest were on point: the wine, the cocktails at Boutiq (one of the best bars I’ve ever been to), and the basil jam frozen drink I got at a food truck court were AH-MAZ-ING.