Travel Days And Fall Colors

Since our flight was so early Tuesday morning, I was up and out of the house by 6:15.  I met Taylor and David at the RER and we hopped on the train for the 30 minute ride out to Charles de Gaulle Airport.  I dozed off most of the way, and avoided being pushed and shoved by the hundreds of commuters coming in and out of the city on any given Tuesday.  We checked out bags, found our way through security with the greatest of ease, grabbed a coffee and I grabbed a couple of magazines to catch up on my French celebrity gossip.  I forgot that when you fly to most of the European destinations, you take a bus from your "gate" to the actual airplane.  The first one wasn't so bad as our plane was a normal aircraft.  

The second one?  Well, not so much.  After a 30 minute quick change and another bus ride, we began to board the airplane and Chariots of Fire was playing over the speakers.  It was like they were pumping us up for our tiny helicopter ride from Prague to Budapest.  As I reached the last step into the plane I turned around and gave a big wave as if I was Kim Kardashian getting on my private jet.  

Sitting just inside from the propeller?  Not as exciting as it seems.  

Don't know how it does this in the picture...but was totally awesome.  

Our first flight served a "sandwich" which was 3 huge pieces of bread filled with a tiny slice of turkey and ham on one side and a couple of slices of red pepper, "rocket" (which turned out to be "roquette" or to Americans, arugula).  A sandwich with the ingredient:  rocket?  Yes! I'll take two! Sounds so powerful.  

On the smaller flight with 10 of our closest friends  we were given a small chocolate cake made with "quark."  Still not exactly sure what quark is...apparently some sort of cheese according to Wikipedia.

After we arrived in Budapest and got our bags, we changed a little bit of money at the airport, only enough to buy a bus and a metro ticket.  It was strange riding in on the bus and reading all the advertisements and billboards and not recognizing any of the words.  In Italian or Spanish or even sometimes German you can pick out what some words are just be looking at them.  Hungarian?  Not a chance.  We just had to pray that everyone we encountered spoke English, and for the most part, this was true.  

The metro looked as if it had been around since World War II, no joke.  It was an old, beat up blue metro  car that squeaked and the seats were made of worn leather.  We had to count how many stops it would take us on our hands, because we couldn't understand even the names of the metros being spoken at each stop.  We got off at Ferenceik ter, and were greeted by the nicest guy at our hostel.  He sat down and showed us where everything was on the map, how to work our small apartment and everything in it, where to have money changed, the 24 hour supermarket, etc.  If anyone is going to Budapest I recommend Happyflat Hostel for sure!  

We were given a 10% discount for a restaurant around the corner so that's where we went our first night and what did I order?  Goulash of course.  Hungarian goulash is not what we think of in the States, but a delicious soup made typically with paprika (a hugely famous Hungarian spice), potatoes, carrots, onions, and beef.  Exactly what's needed on a crisp, fall day.  

The next morning we set off for "Castle Hill."  Its on the 'Buda' side of Budapest.  Aka, the left side of the river.  The right side is appropriately named, Pest.  As we wound our way through a mountain of switchbacks, we were able to marvel at the beautiful fall colors which Paris hasn't been able to offer.  

Gellert Statue

The trees were yellow, orange, and deep red and seeing them scattered on the pathway made me giddy with excitement.  

"White bridge" which was just around the corner from our hostel.  

The Buda Castle

Overlooking the Danube, 3 famous bridges, and Parliament.

An old photo from pretty much the same location.  The bridges and Budapest devastated from the war.  

My favorite photo of the trip.  

Me being goofy....this was at the top of the hill.  

The three of us in front of the Liberty Statue, just behind us is an old war bunker.  

One of my favorite moments of the entire trip.  The boys said I look so..."girly." I think I will take that as a compliment.  

Bunker at the top of Castle Hill.

Incredibly beautiful city.  

The next two are of me being quite possibly a little too excited for yellow leaves.  I only wish I had a rake so I could jump in a giant pile.  

Parliament building, the second largest in the world!!! Brazil being the first.  

The "Chain Bridge" which I thought was the most beautiful.  

The tram system was one of my favorite things about Budapest.  They were everywhere and are just over 50 years old.  They are expecting new cars over the next couple of years, but as we saw, things seem to be operating just fine.  Trams are more popular than the metros, because they run to more locations in the city.

You may have noticed in these pictures, but definitely in tomorrows that the architecture is part of what makes this city stunning.  As we were in the museum in the war bunker and also the museum dedicated to WWII, we would see old photos and recognize the buildings from the streets in Budapest.  It is the first place I have visited where you can walk down the streets and still feel the devastation and the communism that struck this part of the continent.  Unlike France, many buildings are not refinished, refurbished, and pristinely perfect.  Some still have bullet holes and gaping holes in the rooftops from the war.  Did you know that the Soviet occupation of Hungary lasted until 1991, just shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union?  

I decided to break up this trip into a couple of posts since I have SO many photos!  Didn't want to overwhelm y'all!  Therefore, more photos tomorrow.  Hope everyone is gearing up for Halloween!