Budapest: Day 2- Flat Stanley comes out to play.

. . . The next day it was time to travel like the 21st century adults that we are; with an iPad. This made getting around a million times easier because anytime we got ourselves sufficiently lost (which happened quite often) we were always able to find a wi-fi spot or use his "Budapest City" App, to get ourselves back on track.

My main goal was to get to the Great Synagogue, which is one of the most impressive, and largest synagogues in Europe and was constructed in 1859. George and I spotted some domes and towers over the skyline and determined that was the way to go. When we arrived there was a large plaza with an even larger building which was absolutely amazing. However, on closer inspection i decided to tell George that there was "way too much Jesus" on the building to be a synagogue. So we popped in to the nearest "California Coffee Co." and looked up what the huge church was.

It was St. Stephen's Basilica-- which they claim to hold a relic of his mummified hand. Stephen was the First King of Hungary. This is probably the most beautiful church I have ever been in. It is incredibly different than the Gothic style churches of France and England. For one, the inside was completely constructed of marble and granite-- or other polished stones as opposed to the rough stones that Gothic is made up of. Anyway-- it is definitely a MUST see when ever you make it to Budapest. But thus, my search for the equally impressive Dohany Street Synagogue continued. 

I guess it is about time that I introduce you to my new travelling partner. Flat Stanley who is an Alien. 

As a school project for a friend of mine's son, we were instructed to take Stanley around and photograph him with landmarks. 

When we finally found the way to the synagogue, through the Jewish Quarter-- which I assume looked shut because it was Shabbat. I was immediately in awe of the building it was absolutely gorgeous, and all I wanted to do was go to services there-- but we were a little late to get to morning service-- and because it was Shabbat entrance was shut to the temple so I was very disappointed. None-the-less, the outside of it was gorgeous enough to satisfy me. Its size is only second in the world to Temple Emanuel in New York. 

As we were up ridiculously early to get a start on the day, we got a lot of stuff done, and after we saw the temple and wandered around the area, it was time to again cross the bridge into Buda and make our way up the "Funicular Rail" on to Castle Hill-- or so we thought. We made it to the foot of Castle Hill and went to the Funicular rail-- which was a fake cogwheel rail which made george very upset. Not only that but they charged an arm and a leg for a 2 minute journey up the hill-- we decided to walk. It was a VERY long walk up lots and lot and lots of stairs-- on a very empty stomach. Though I complained (again) I do not regret it a single bit because the view on the way up was spectacular.

On the hill there were lots of little stands selling overpriced touristy things which did not seem to interest me too much. Especially when there was a palace to explore, as well as an entire town on the hill! We went into the Castle to warm up and relax. It is now inhabited by many museums. We took a walk to the town and went to Matthais Church which again was a very beautiful church. 

But by this time of the day we were absolutely starving so going for a walk around inside was not on highest priority. We hopped a bus back down the hill and went to walk about the Parliament Building. One thing about Budapest is their absolutely fantastically ornate architecture-- such as all the buildings I have described thus far and Parliament.

Now was time for the real fun. Eating authentic Hungarian lunch. George read up on this local place that is tucked away and very small. Portions were huge and prices were small and taste was -- to be a little cheesy-- out of this world. I had Chicken Goulash-- not the stew version, but on a bed of potato noodles. Oh-my-gosh it was heaven. It was true, hungarian, home-cooking. The waitress did not even speak English.
I believe after that lunch we went back to the Hotel and crashed-- all those stairs are very tiring. We decided to go out that night for a nice drink and some dessert. We read about this artsy little cafe with funky furniture and decided that was the place for us. We got there and decided we were not hungry for dinner, so just decided to order a slice of cake-- the waiter was definitely NOT pleased and said he could only offer the table for 10 minutes because it was a Saturday night and they were busy-- there were plenty of tables open and it was not a fine dining establishment.
So we were planning on getting a quick 15 minute bite and then going to the bar we went to last night for drinks. However, 10 minutes became 30 minutes, became almost 45minutes to get our food, eat, pay, etc. And literally two seconds after we got our change and were getting up to leave another waitress comes up and begs for the table (How rude!). Anyway, because they took so long to let us pay we were no longer able to get drinks after because we would not make in time to get back on the metro and tram to our hotel. Overall disappointed with that particular cafe-- though their food looked very good.

Hope this is not too much to read! Tomorrow is the finale of my ventures in Budapest!
Sara