First Day In Budapest

We arrived in Budapest late last night. After checking into our hotel we went to grab a few drinks at a local pub. First thing we realized at the bar is how cheap Hungary is, with beers ranging from (200 - 800 Forint = 1 - 4 US dollars). After grabbing a few beers we headed back to our hotel, knowing that we had a long day ahead of us.

After waking up at around 9am, we ventured out onto the streets of Budapest hoping to take in as much of the city as possible in one days time. Budapest is actually composed of two neighboring cities ; namely, Buda (west) and Pest (east) separated by the Danube river. We chose to focus our day on the relatively flat and urban Pest side today, and leave the hilly Buda side for tomorrow.

After leaving our hotel room we walked leisurely along the path pictured above. Stopping to eat some Gulash (thick Eastern European Stew) and check out some of the main sites (Opera Building, St Ivan's Church, Parlm Building, and the thermal baths).

We also found a great little drinking hole next to the parliament building with cheap drinks and friendly staff. The highlight of the day was the visit to the thermal baths in Central Park. The baths are naturally heated to 36 C and have 4 baths and 6 pools.