Road Trip! First Stop: Budapest

I can't explain my fascination for the Balkan countries, but I have wanted to visit them for a long time.  It turns out, I wasn't alone: my friend LC wanted to go, too, and her friend JG wanted to drive! First, though, I would have to get to where JG lives: Budapest--another city on my (long) list of places to visit.

I flew to Budapest on Good Friday, arriving in the early afternoon.  We were starting our road trip south early Easter Sunday, which meant I had little more than 36 hours in Budapest. It was a whirlwind tour, but the city did not disappoint.  Everything about Budapest is grand...take a look at the McDonald's in the train station:

 

 

 ...a subway stop, restored to its former look:

 

 

 

...Monument Park, the graveyard of old, communist-era statues:

 

 

 Even the Easter Market seemed upscale, with REAL food and handcrafts to buy.

 

 

 

 

Budapest Castle

 

 

 

The weather was cold and the skies were gray, but the old buildings of the Austro-Hungarian Empire were spectacular--especially at night.

 view from the Budapest Castle; St. Matthias Church (Church of Our Lady) on the left

 view of the Parliament building from the Castle

I didn't have enough time in Budapest, but that would be a recurring theme during the next several days.  Next stop: Belgrade, Serbia!