In 1994, while visiting a friend who lives in Bratislava, we drove for Budapest for a day.  On that trip, we drove around the city and my friend pointed out various interesting buildings and sites.  The only place we stopped was at Buda Castle on a hill overlooking the city.  Ever since that day, I have wanted to return to see more of the city — and was looking forward to doing so on this trip.  However, we ended up spending very little time in Budapest.  In fact, the only place I went was Buda Castle!  We did plan to go to the Parliament building, but arrived just after the morning English-language tour and weren’t able to return for the afternoon tour.

I enjoyed this trip to Hungary because I was able to get out of the capital and see so many places out in the countryside.  By staying with a family, I was able to see a side of Hungary most tourists don’t get to see.  So I don’t regret that I still haven’t seen much of Budapest.  After all, it gives me a reason to go back to Budapest again!

The Danube River flowing through Budapest

The Parliament building viewed from across the river.