The boys were on Fall break this week from school so we took a trip to Budapest.
It's so much easier to drive with 3 kids than trying to fly or take the train but then you're driving with 3 kids! However, I have to say I really enjoyed the road trip (all 12 hours of it!) there and back on this trip. The kids were so good and the scenery was breathtaking the entire way! I have decided that Fall is definitely the best time to travel. The weather is great, there are less tourists so it is less crowded and things seem to be cheaper, and the changing leaves make everything more beautiful!
We stopped for a picnic lunch and let the kids run around in their PJ's.
12 hours later we were there! Jeremy found this house for us to stay in and it was one of the highlights of our trip. The owners were calling us on the way to see where we were. It was nice to have someone waiting for us. Also, the extra space (not only did everyone have their own bed but everyone had their own bedroom with an additional room leftover!) and a full kitchen was VERY handy. The location couldn't have been better... right next to the train station, supermarket, McDonald's, any restaurant or shop you could want, and a kids park.
The owner of the house also has young kids so she brought lots of toys, games, & dress up clothes. Whitney (who LOVES 'dressers') freaked out when she saw this dress. Any time we were in the house she immediately ripped off her clothes and put this dress on. We had to hide it while she slept on our last day so she couldn't see it.
It's so much easier to drive with 3 kids than trying to fly or take the train but then you're driving with 3 kids! However, I have to say I really enjoyed the road trip (all 12 hours of it!) there and back on this trip. The kids were so good and the scenery was breathtaking the entire way! I have decided that Fall is definitely the best time to travel. The weather is great, there are less tourists so it is less crowded and things seem to be cheaper, and the changing leaves make everything more beautiful!
We stopped for a picnic lunch and let the kids run around in their PJ's.
12 hours later we were there! Jeremy found this house for us to stay in and it was one of the highlights of our trip. The owners were calling us on the way to see where we were. It was nice to have someone waiting for us. Also, the extra space (not only did everyone have their own bed but everyone had their own bedroom with an additional room leftover!) and a full kitchen was VERY handy. The location couldn't have been better... right next to the train station, supermarket, McDonald's, any restaurant or shop you could want, and a kids park.
The owner of the house also has young kids so she brought lots of toys, games, & dress up clothes. Whitney (who LOVES 'dressers') freaked out when she saw this dress. Any time we were in the house she immediately ripped off her clothes and put this dress on. We had to hide it while she slept on our last day so she couldn't see it.Exploring our street
Taking the Subway
This was an interesting experience but it was right next to our house so we were determined to learn the system and we were so glad we did. We bought a 3-day pass and used it tons!! It was so nice not to have to worry about parking anywhere.
Szechenyi Gyogyfurdo
Knowing that Budapest was famous for their baths we decided to go to their oldest (built in 1881) and one of the largest in Budapest.
We already read about the complicated, long process of checking in so we were prepared. When you first check in they have these little, tiny windows that you have to bend way down to talk to the person selling the tickets. Men, much taller than Jeremy would bend down for a long time to buy their tickets. Jeremy tried to bend down but it was too awkward so he took a knee. I had to laugh at him!
FINALLY!!! We made it to the baths! It was so beautiful outside and the baths were heated so we had no problem swimming outside in November. This was the kids favorite activity - especially Whitney... she is such a little fish!!
They had food stands all over Budapest that had the same 3 items... corn on the cob, pretzels, and I never did figure out what those brown things were. I liked the corn!Heading home after a long day
We stopped at the pizzeria outside our house on the way home to pick up dinner for the kids with a movie. They were loving it! Jeremy and I went to check out the nightlife while the kids stayed with the sitter. It was interesting to see bits of America mixed in with Hungarian.
We found a nice Hungarian Restaurant (Darshan Udvar) and had a great dinner!The next day we did a 3-hour bus tour which covered Buda and Pest. It was a quick and easy way to see all the main sites.
Hero's Square
Can you tell the sun was in our eyes?Castle Hill
Whitney was so funny with this bird. She was kind of scared but curious too. The whole time she was around it she kept her arm in this position... just in case the bird wanted to land on her I guess.
I told the kids to make a serious face and this is exactly what they did right away
Aiden was soooo proud of this hat he picked out. He really spent a long time picking out just the right hat. So cute! I told him he looks so much like my brother, Preston, in this hat! He liked that.Danube River
We spent a while just looking at Buda across the Danube. We actually had a little "moment" when we saw the Shoes on the Danube. I had just read about this the night before so I was able to tell the boys the story. This was were the Jews were lined up and the shot into the Danube by the Nazi's. They wanted to save bullets so the even tied 2 people together so the bullet would kill one and the other would die from drowning. The boys got really sad when they saw the little kid shoes.
On a more up-beat note.... we found a TGIF!!
After lunch I found Aiden like this outside by himself. I asked him what was wrong and he told me he was just sitting like this so people would think he was poor and give him money. He even put his arm behind his back so people would think he didn't have an arm and feel sorry for him. I threw a few Forint in his hat.
That night the kids played games and had a little "party" with the sitter while Jeremy and I went out again. We wanted to see the famous Chain Bridge at night. The weather was perfect for a late night stroll. It was very romantic.
From there we took the train to the Octagon and walked around the Cafe District until we found a nice little cafe to stop for a late night snack, Cafe Vian.
The next day we wanted to go to Margit Island (between Buda and Pest in the Danube). We had to walk through Obuda (Old Buda) to get to the Island. This was a very different experience. It was a little depressing. You could almost imagine what it was like during communist rule. It gave me chills.Obuda
Margit Island
The tip of the island
After a long walk we were finally there! BEAUTIFUL! There were a few run down buildings on the island but nothing that we could tell that was actually being used for anything. Thank goodness that there were food carts selling "American Hot Dogs" and corn because we didn't bring any food with us.
We did find a place to rent a bike for 5!! That was so much fun. We rode the bike all over the island.
Then we rented the boys some motorized, kid bikes/cars to cruise around in. They were loving it!
It was time to head back
Goodbye Buda and Pest
This seems really mean of me to post this picture but Aiden laughs about it now. I'm sure you're wondering how this kid went from fully clothed and properly seat-belted to this.... On the way home Aiden was crying that he was tangled up in his seatbelt. We kept telling him to just unbuckle it and get out of it. He got more and more panicky and was crying so hard that we had to pull over to help him. I tried for about 10 minutes and couldn't get him out. We thought we were going to have to go somewhere to buy a knife and cut the seat belt until Jeremy finally got him out. HOW IN THE WORLD he got in this situation I have no idea. After we got him out we all laughed until we cried. What a funny little guy!