Viewed the Buda side of the city today. Walked across the city's Chain Bridge to the other side, viewing St Matthias Church first, along with a set of steps known as the Fisherman's Bastion, which serves as a great viewpoint of the city. Made our way past the castle to the Citadelle, which served as one of the last pockets of German and Hungarian resistance. It offers an amazing vista of the city atop it, and the Liberty monument beside it overlooks the city. I...

In the evening, we made our way to the opera house, where we saw an operatic version of Macbeth, arranged by Verdi. Yes, an English play, sung in Italian, and translated into Hungarian.. I was saved by my memory of reading and seeing the play performed previously. Regardless, the opera is an incredible experience, with a large cast, great voices and orchestral works. And in Budapest, this type of cultural experience is very cheap.. Each of our seats was 1200 flor...

After we left the synagogue, we walked to the Danube and walked along one of the prettiest rivers in Europe. The city has grown back admirably after the Second World War, with a good mix of old and new buildings, with a lot of green space as well. Walked north along the Danube until we reached the cathedral like Parliament building and a memorial commonly referred to as 'shoes'. There, a number of bronzed shoes mark the spot where, in 1944, Hungarian Nazis drove...

After St Stephen's, we made our way to the Budapest Synagogue, which is the largest in Europe and the second largest in the world. Had some very knowledgeable tour guides and learned a lot, especially about the near annihilation of the Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust. There is a mass grave of Jews from the ghetto in the garden, as well as a tree monument where every leaf has the name of a murdered Hungarian Jew. The museum also had this as a focus. Very hea...

Toured the Pest side of Budapest today. Believe it or not, what we know as Budapest used to be two separate cities... Buda (on the west, hilly side of the Danube) and Pest (on the east, flat side). It's a beautiful city, one which has suffered grievously in the past. It continues to grow and expand toward the future while remembering its past. More locals speak English here than in any city we've visited so far. We made our way towards the river, stopping first...