Budapest

All good things must come to end and so it was with our European Honeymoon. After departing from New York and traveling through Dublin, Munich and Salzburg we finally arrived at our last stop: Budapest!

We took the train from Salzburg and arrived in Budapest in the evening. The train station there sort of gave off a creepy vibe but once we got a cab we were pleasantly surprised with the city. When we decided to go to there we picked it because it quick and cheap to get there from Salzburg. And it was a less expensive city. Munich was especially pricy since it was Oktoberfest so we were looking for a place to stretch our Euros. Plus we heard it was a beautiful city. Sure enough this was right by our hotel...

They don't call it "Paris of the East for nothing!

Speaking of our hotel... Jon found us an amazing five star hotel on the Pest side of the city.

On our first day in the city we crossed the Chain Bridge and explored Castle Hill.

We went up to the Royal Palace which now the hosts the National Gallery. Sadly we didn't get to get since the museum was closed that day but we still had a good time.

Then we walked over to Matthais Church which was one of my favorite churches we saw on this trip.

Right outside of the church is The Fisherman's Bastion is a lookout terrace with seven turrets (one for each of the tribes that helped found the county).

Afterwards we made our way back over the bridge to check out the Parliament House but unfortunately the roads were under construction and we couldn't get close.

Then we headed over to check out St. Stephen's Basilica.

Obviously that was a looooooong day of sight seeing so we grabbed a late dinner (Jon had goulash and I had the paprika chicken) and called it a night.

The next day we slept in super late. The only thing we had planned for that day was to visit one of the many thermal baths in the city. We had been going pretty much non stop since we arrived in Europe so we felt like we deserved a day to lounge around and since Budapest is know for them we knew had to visit one. Our hotel recommended the Szechenyi Baths.

Dating back from 1881 the Szechenyi Baths is coed and has a lot of different pools indoors and outside. Jon and I got a private cabin so we could both change and store our stuff. It locked so we were confident that our stuff would be safe. We spent the day pool hopping, relaxing a private lounge and ate lunch at the cafe there. On our way out we booked a dinner cruise on the Danube.

We had just enough time to go back to our hotel, shower and get dressed. We walked over to the other side of the Danube and waited to board our boat. The dinner was a buffet and we really enjoyed seeing the city all lit up.

The next day was our last day in Budapest and we spent the morning at the Dohany Street Synagogue. The tour was was really informative and we learned the extent of the devastation the Nazis caused for the Jewish population. In the back courtyard there also a memorial to Raoul Wallenberg who a Swedish diplomat in Budapest during the Nazi occupation. He used Swedish passport to help the Jewish people leave the country.

We wished we had to more time so we could on the walking tour but unfortunately we had to head to the airpot to start our long trip back home. We had to fly from Budapest to Dublin so we could catch our flight back to New York (we bought round trip tickets from New York to Dublin). Then we flew to Paris where we boarded our flight back to New York. After a loooong layover we finally caught our flight back to LA. Once we landed it was just a matter of making the hour long drive home. We were really tired and sad to be home but were happy to finally be able to sleep in our own bed and be reunited with this little guy.

Salzburg

Salzburg, Austria. One of my favorite places. Isn't it beautiful?

After New York, Dublin, Oktoberfest and Munich Jonathan and I went to Salzburg. I spent a semester in college studying there and since Salzburg is only a few hours away we decided to make it our third stop. After our not so great accommodations in Munich we were so excited for our hotel. It overlooks the Mirabell Gardens (you may recognize it from the Sound of the Music) so after we settled in we walked over. 

Then we went up the Monchsberg so I could show Jon where I lived during my semester abroad. The Monschberg is a mountain in the middle of the city. Named for the monks that reside there it is home to a few different castles and other historic fortifications. 

After that we strolled around the city and I pointed out some of my favorite places to Jon. However there were two things I absolutely had to show him. First kasekrainers. Kasekrainers are cheese filled sausages that you can get with bread and mustard. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Jon took one bite and said "this is my favorite thing we've eaten so far."

Second was the Aug. The Augustiner Brau (brewery) has been around sine 1621 and was founded by monks. It is a traditional beer hall with the long wooden tables and you can buy your beer by the liter or half liter. 

The next day we went up to Hohensalzburg Castle, the fortress seen in the background of our photos form Mirabell. We did the tour but by far our favorite part was the view. 

We also visited the Salzburg Cathedral

and Mozart's Geburtshaus (birthplace). 

before stopping for coffee at the Salzburg location of the famous Hotel Sacher. They are really famous for their Sacher torte which we obviously had to try. 

We spent our last night in town at the Aug once again (the beer is really good) and admiring the city lit up at night. 

Munich

The last part of our European Honeymoon I shared was our day at Oktoberfest. Obviously we didn't just go to Munich and drink. We also did some sightseeing.

The second day we were there we went to Dachau. Located a few miles outside of Munich, Dachau was the first Nazi concentration camp and is now a state run memorial site. Dachau opened in 1933 when Hitler rose to power. At first Hitler used it to hold his political prisoners and then all enemies of the Third Reich. It has also the distinction of being the training camp of for the SS. All of the worst leaders of SS spent time there.

They're torn done all but one of the barracks but you can still see some of the old sleeping quarters and grounds. When we were there we noted how close was it was to the town. Jonathan and I were shocked to see that German people could deny knowing what was actually going on at the camp. Also it was so cold while we were there and it wasn't even winter time. It really made us picture the type of horrible conditions the camp's prisoners were subjected to.

We also did a little sightseeing in actual city itself. It was really cold that day and we had do a little souvenir shopping so we didn't get a lot of photos but here a few of my favorites. 

And that concluded our time in Munich. Next Salzburg!