Budapest, the Land of Castles

Yesterday's adventure consisted of a trip to the Castle District. The Castle District rests upon a hill, and it can be quite a hike to reach it if you do not want to pay for the trolley cart (two guesses as to which one I picked). It consists of the Old Town to the north (where commoners lived in the Middle Ages; now it's mainly restaurants and shops) and the Royal Palace to the south. The Royal Palace has been razed and rebuilt at least six times over the past seven centuries. The Palace was home to Hungarian kings until the Turks leveled it in 1686. From then the Habsburgs rebuilt it, but spent very little time in the Palace. Today the Palace contains two important museums, the national library, and an abundance of statues and monuments. Now there is more to Castle Hill than just the Royal Palace. While you're there you can also take in the Szechenyi Chain Bridge, the Fisherman's Bastion, and the Matthias Church (all of which I got to see!)

Now to get to the Castle District we walked across the Chain Bridge. What a beautiful sight to see! Unforunately, I am not a fan of bridges and was hit by a panic attack walking across it. For those of you who have had one, you know they can happen at any time of day. Afterwards I was tired for the rest of the day, but I held on because the Castle District was absolutely beautiful. (I felt much better after lunch and a Mohito).

Like I said previously, you can take a trolley cart up the hill for a small fee! Although in all reality we could have just walked up, it was a beautiful view!

This was the view from the top! The bridge didn't seem to bad after taking in these beautiful sights.

Below is the Matthias Church, which is one of Castle Hill's most famous landmarks, which dates back over 500 years. The Matthias Church was named after King Matthias Corvinus, the same guy the University I'm attending was named after. Thanks to a generous Us donation of $20 million, the Church was restored to it's 19th-century beauty.

I will never tire of seeing this beautiful building: parliament!

We spent all day in this beautiful place, and there was much I missed! Thankfully I will be in Budapest until the middle of December, and hopefully I will get a chance to take in the Budapest HIstory Museum, the National Library, Castle Hill Caves, and the Royal Wine House and Wine Cellar Museum (can you say wine tasting??).

Until next time, Castle Hill!