Long Lost Family

At this point, I was thinking I would just consolidate the end of my journey, except Budapest definitely needs its own post. Budapest was by far my favorite city. Not only did I get to experience the touristy aspects of the city, but I also got to meet my Hungarian family for the first time. To put the story of discovering my Hungarian family in short, 3 years ago, one of my distant relatives passed away and there was no sufficient will. Since my maternal grandfather passed away over 30 years ago, my mother, aunt, and uncle were in the inheritance. One thing lead to another and my cousin, Gyorgy, flew over to the United States to meet everyone, except me cause I was stuck in good ol' Lewisburg. Gyorgy is the only one of my relatives who is fluent in English so when he wasn't around, I would having to use sign language to speak to his mother, Agie, his sister, Ester, and his grandmother, Pana, by far the most adorable and loving hungarian of them all. My entire visit she continued to give me kisses and stuff my face with delicious Hungarian and Eastern European food. Can I go back now?

After my flight from Pisa and my first Hungarian meal cooked by Agie, Gyorgy and his girlfriend Regi gave me a night driving tour of Budapest. I loved Budapest because it isn't a massive city, but it is fully immersed with culture and everything just seemed much more open than all of the other cities I visited. Gyorgy was so knowledgeable about Hungarian history. And did I mention that it is gorgeous at night?!?! Chyup. They also took me to a ruin pub, old buildings that were damaged from the world wars. As Gyorgy and Regi put it, tons of tourists were there. And I just kept pointing out the American abroad students. After three months, we are very easy to point out.

The next day Gyorgy took me to a nearby town called Szentendre. The entire time I just kept thinking (and saying) how adorable the town is. I also got to try my first Lagos, a fried dough with garlic, cream cheese, and shredded cheese. From there we went to the Buda side of the Danube and walked around the Buda Castle area including the outside of the castle, Matthias Church, and the Fisherman's Bastion. We then drove up to Gellert Hill where I continued to see more gorgeous views of Budapest.

The next day I spent on my own walking around the Pest side of the river, and thank god it is much flatter. I started at the market where I enjoyed great deals on authentic Hungarian goods (the scarves were cute and cheap!). From there I walked to St. Stephen's Basilica and then up Andrassy Avenue to Heroes' Square and Vajdahunyad Castle, a castle built for the Hungarian millennium in 3 different architectural styles. I then got to enjoy the end of my visit with all of my family :)

The View from Buda Castle

Parliament

They have an incline in Budapest too!

Another view, this time from Gellert Hill

Vajdahunyad Castle and all the crazy architecture

To say the least, I loved my time in Budapest. I absolutely loved being able to spend time with my lost family and learning about all of family and my Hungarian heritage. Hopefully in time, the rest of my family will be able to visit soon.