How to do Budapest in one day

First, let's start with a quick history lesson, it's important. In BC, it was Celtic. In the 1st Century it was Roman. Seriously, this is 1000s of years ago. In the 5th Century, Attila the Hun built the city for himself. Starting in the 11th Century, important people are killed and things are named and built for them. Keep in mind that the. Danube River runs through Budapest and until 1873, Buda and Pest were on opposite sides of the river and separate cities. 1873, that's not that long ago (especially when we're talking thousands of years of history)! Several wars happened from 1873 until the 1960s when everything basically calmed down. In European terms, this is a pretty new city. 

Pest is pronounced Pescht and it's the "party side". Buda is the calm side (forests, parks, etc). There's some English spoken here, but it's pretty broken, so it helps to learn how to say hello, thank you, sorry, how are you, one, two, etc. "Szia, hogy van" is hello, how are you in Hungarian. It sounds like "see ya, hoagie bahn".

I researched and researched what to do here. Luckily, it's all walking distance right in the city center. I mapped out a path and here's what it was...

Inside St. Stephen's Basilica

Start with St. Stephens Basilica (and chapel). It's amazing and it's only 110 years old. It's stands in a small city square with a shopping district.

Then walk to a pier to pickup a boat ride on the Danube. This was the highlight of my day. 90 minutes up and down the Danube and you can basically see everything. Buda is hilly, Pest is a fun city.

On the walk to the pier I saw guys playing basketball, which I though was cool. But I was also approached by a guy who was pretty pushy and wanted me to buy an iPhone. It took me a minute to move past that.

As I walked, I couldn't help but notice the beautiful architecture. Great scale, about 4-6 stories everywhere you look, and a nice mix between types of buildings. The sounds of people chatting and the smells of paprika and cinnamon fill the air. 

Back to the cruise, I'll post a few photos right here soon and explain them. Gellert Hill, Buda Castle, Houses of Parliament, Margaret Island, Chain Bridge, Statue of Liberty, etc.

As I got off the boat, a couple with Nats hats got on! A simple "go nats" turned into a nice conversation :) I also saw an Orioles photo posted in Budapest, how random is that. 

Alright I'm just getting started and this is already too long, more info in next post...