Budapest, Hungary

Hungary is located in central Europe and is split down the middle by the Danube river. It may be among Europe's smaller nations, yet it contains tremendous variety. The rolling hills of the north, the Great Plain, the small towns of the Danube Bend, the spas of Transdanubia and the summer playground of Lake Balaton are all within an hour or two's drive of the capital, Budapest, itself one of Europe's most attractive and stylish cities. Hungary has a continental climate with hot humid summers and cold snowy winters. Sunshine levels are among the best in Europe, often topping 2000 hours a year.

Fun fact: the inventor of the Rubik's cube is Hungarian

• Official language: Hungarian (=Magyar), which belongs to the Finno-Ugric family and is therefore related to Finnish. I must say I see no resemblance whatsoever. Apparently, English and German are understood relatively well in Budapest. Hungarian is relatively easy to pronounce - the emphasis is always on the first vowel and the accent is just there to signify a long vowel.
• Currency: Hungarian forint (1€ = 280 HUF)
• Railway info: the Hungarian railroad company is called Magyar Államvasutak or MÁV). There are direct connections to Hungary from and to all its immediate neighbors (Prague is about 7 hours away and Vienna - 3h). In all Hungarian train stations a yellow board indicates departures (indul) and a white board arrivals (érkezik). Express trains are indicated in red, local trains in black. Budapest has three main train stations: Keleti (Eastern), Nyugati (Western) and Déli (South). Keleti is probably the one we'll be using, cause that's where most international express trains stop.
  

Traditional Hungarian dishes are primarily based on meats, seasonal vegetables, fruits, fresh bread, cheeses and honey. Recipes are based on centuries of old traditions around spicing and preparation methods. The most famous Hungarian dishes are Goulash, Gundel Pancakes (pancakes served flambéed in dark chocolate sauce filled with ground walnuts) and Dobos Cake (layered sponge cake, with chocolate buttercream filling and topped with a thin caramel slice). That's all I'm gonna list here, cause the Wikipedia page about Hungarian cuisine made me hungry - it all looks so good!

The capital, Budapest, is home to nearly two million people. Danube divides it into two parts - Buda and Pest. Budapest is regarded as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and attracts over 20 million visitors each year. It is also ranked as "Europe's 7th most idyllic place to live in" by Forbes and, thanks to the perfect location, inhabitants' hospitality and memorable monuments is it mentioned as "Little Paris of Central Europe" and "Pearl of Danube".

Orientation is not a big problem in Budapest. River Danube splits the city in two areas: Buda and Pest. Aside from the very center, the city's structure is quite logical. Besides the Danube itself, the best reference points for orienting yourself are the bridges crossing the river. Many of Budapest's highlights are easy to approach walking, and in the center you find more pedestrian zones from year to year.

There is quite a lot to see in Budapest, so I'll start with Pest and leave Buda and the Castle District for later. Pest is situated on the Eastern side of the Danube and is the true heart of the city, where people go about their daily lives. It comprises about two thirds of Budapest's territory.

Places to see in Pest:

• The Parliament (Országház): currently the largest building in Hungary and the second largest Parliament in Europe. There were about one thousand people working on its construction in which 40 million bricks, half a million precious stones and 40 kg of gold were used. Oh, and it's gorgeous.

Hungarian Parliament Building

• Andrássy Út: an iconic boulevard linking Elizabeth square with the City Park. Lined with spectacular Neo-renaissance mansions and townhouses featuring fine facades and interiors, it was recognised as a World Heritage Site in 2002. It is also one of Budapest's main shopping streets, with fine cafes, restaurants, theatres, and luxury boutiques. The Hungarian State Opera House is on this street, and so is the House of Terror - a museum built to commemorate the horrors that Hungary suffered under the regimes of the Nazis and the Communists (I think that might be a bit too heavy and depressing..) The street leads straight to the Heroes' square (see below).
  
• St. Stephen's Basilica (Szent István Bazilika): a definite must-see. It is a Roman Catholic basilica named after the first king of Hungary. In the left hand chapel is the "Chapel of the sacred right hand", where the mummified right hand of St Stephen's himself is presented in a glass box. For a fee, you can also climb the 364 stairs to the very top of the Basilica to get a wonderful view of the city.

St. Stephen's Basilica

• Great Synagogue, also known as Dohány Street Synagogue is the 2nd largest in the world. The style of the Dohány Street Synagogue is Moorish but its design also features a mixture of Byzantine, Romantic and Gothic elements. The Dohány street used to constitute the border of the Budapest Ghetto. The Dohány Street Synagogue complex consists of the Great Synagogue, the Jewish Museum, the Heroes' Temple, the graveyard and a Holocaust memorial.
• Shoes on the Danube Promenade is a memorial on the bank of the Danube River. It honors the Jews who fell victim to fascist Arrow Cross militiamen in Budapest and depicts their shoes left behind on the bank when they fell into the river after having been shot during World War II.
• The City Park (Városliget): close to the city center. Its main entrance is Heroes' square (Hősök tere), at the center of which is the Millennium Memorial with statues of the leaders of the seven tribes that founded Hungary in the 9th century and other outstanding figures of Hungarian history. Also in the City Park: the Vajdahunyad Castle (Vajdahunyad-vár), which currently houses the Agricultural Museum, the Municipal Zoological and Botanical gardens, The Széchenyi Medicinal Baths and the Timewheel (one of the world's largest hourglasses).
  

The Millennium Monument

Those are just about the most important places we need to see in Pest. I'll write about the rest of the city in a separate post, and about hostels/camping sites too.

All info from wikipedia.org, CitySpots Budapest (Thomas Cook Publishing, 2008), Globetrotter Travel Guide: Budapest and Hungary (New Holland Publishers, 2009) and Kaupunkikirjat: Budapest (WSOY, 2002)