Budapest history

Our internet is down again – after paying more money, thinking we would have enough internet time to last us for the next two weeks, we were screwed over yet again! T-Mobile neglected to tell Andy when he bought the internet service on January 27th that their contracts are only good for one month periods and they go by calendar months. So when Andy thought he was getting internet for a one month period, he was actually getting 3 days. I think this time around we’re not going to bother trying to negotiate, getting frustrated over their lack of customer service and pessimism. Instead we’ll just to go to the mall near our apartment and use the free wifi at Kentucky Fried Chicken. haha So as you read this picture me and the kids hanging out at a KFC on the laptop!

I had a pretty fun weekend. Friday night we all went to our favorite restaurant in all of Budapest – Vapiano. It’s an Italian restaurant that’s actually a German chain. They have the best pizza and pasta.




Saturday we did some shopping. Andy found a new pair of glasses, so while waited for them to be fitted, we had lunch at our favorite restaurant – Vapiano! I think we realized that we wouldn’t be able to go there again before we left so we wanted to get our fill!

Yesterday (Sunday), Nam and I went sightseeing around Budapest. We went on a tour of Parliament first. It’s a beautiful building with a lot of rich history. The tour guide was great and she helped me understand why Hungarians are so pessimistic (she even admitted that Hungarians are probably the most pessimistic people you’ll meet). Hungary was on the losing-side of both world wars. After World War I, two-thirds of the country was lost to other countries. Then it was involved in World War II, which ended in a failed attempt to break away from the Soviet Union’s communist rule over them in 1956. And this is their history from just the last 100 years. There’s so much that took place before that, but I’m not here to give a history lesson! :)






After Parliament, we walked to the Hill of Roses district where we visited a Muslim shrine. The shrine commemorates a Turkish man named Gul Baba. Apparently he died while attending a gala in Matthias church in 1541. He’s not only important for bringing the northernmost Muslim shrine to Europe, but also for introducing the rose bush to the area.



Finally, we walked to Matthias church. It’s really a beautiful church (under renovation at the moment, but still beautiful). It dates back to the mid-13th century. The last two Hungarian kings were crowned in this church in 1867 and 1916.



So it turns out there was a history lesson afterall. I tried to keep it brief - hopefully you didn’t feel like you were back in 8th grade World History again! :)

Only 13 more days until we head home!!