Ok friends! So a while back, I posted about some of my European travels and said that I would post them in differing sections, almost like a series! If you haven’t read my first one, click here so you can get all caught up! Anyway, for this second post, it’s all about Budapest, Hungary and Bratislava, Slovakia!
BUDA-PEST
As the title suggests, Budapest is actually comprised of two city sections, one being Buda and the other being Pest. Buda is home to the older, more historic buildings as it was the capital of the Hungarian Kingdom. Here, Buda Castle resides as well as the Citadella. Pest on the other hand, is the home of Hero’s Square the Parliament Building (don’t worry, I have pictures of both of these). The best part is that during my time in Budapest, we saw both Buda and Pest by taking a cruise on the Danube River! There is just so much history in Hungary. We did a lot of walking because of the tour, shopping because it was cheap, and we even went to a waterpark because it was scorching hot and sunny one day! Another cool thing we did during “Hungary” weekend was we went to visit Visegrad Castle just outside of Budapest. There were so spectacular views here, and you could see Austria from across the Danube! So, some of the prominent places we saw were :
- Parliament Building
- Hero’s Square
- Danube River
- St. Stephen’s Basilica
- Visegrad Castle
Later that week, our class also visited Bratislava, Slovakia for the day. A big thing I enjoyed about Europe was how accessible it was from other countries. In Bratislava, we took a historic tour, visited Bratislava Castle, walked around, and watched La Bohème, an opera! The historic tour was so cool. It is so fun to learn about the history of these countries because they are diverse and old. Bratislava Castle was also very beautiful and offered an amazing view of the city. Lastly, the opera was the best! We sat on the 3rd row, practically in front. The experience was just simply amazing! Check out some of these pictures!
If you want any more information regarding traveling abroad, let me know and don’t hesitate to ask! Traveling abroad is one of the best things I did, other than choosing Hope College of course! If you haven’t, make sure to follow me on TWITTER and check out the other blogger’s blog!