So far we have been lucky with all our trips- no big issues, sicknesses, or poor weather (some minor stuff here and there, but nothing big.) With the kids having the plague (flu) and missing school all week, Andy and I seriously considered pulling out of this trip. But, as the week went on, the kids thankfully started feeling better. Even though the kids didn’t have fevers anymore, they were still worn out and not feeling 100%. We ended up scaling back on some of the planned activities and hoping for the best.
So, Winter Break 2019 begins in Budapest.
Breakfast at à table!.
We crossed over the Széchenyi Chain Bridge to Buda. The Bridge was open for use in 1849. It was important in that it was the first permanent bridge that linked the two cities of Buda and Pest. You can see two of the guardian lions and the city of Buda in the background.
I did not know before this trip that Budapest was a combination of two cities, the old town Buda and the newer Pest, bisected by the Danube River. 
As you walk across the Chain Bridge you can see Buda Castle looming over you.
Once you are across the Bridge, you are in Adam Clark Square (named after the Scot who engineered the Bridge) at the base of the hill. Adam Clark also built the tunnel through Buda Hill. Fun fact- at 350m, the tunnel is the exact same length as the Chain Bridge. The mosaic is the Hungarian coat of arms.
There are a few ways to get up Castle Hill from here. We decided to walk and explore our way up. The walk up and around Castle Hill is quite a maze of pathways, courtyards, small gardens, old stone buildings, and newer (relatively speaking) buildings.
King Béla IV built the first royal residence on Castle Hill in the mid 13th century. Following Kings extended and reinforced the Castle and it’s outlying additions. By the 15th century, King Matthias’s court had brought Buda to European prominence. In the mid 16th century the Turks invaded Buda, and it became part of the Ottoman Empire. They were eventually defeated in 1686 by the Austrian Hapsburgs and allies, and the medieval palace destroyed during the battle. The Habsburgs annexed Buda into their empire and reconstruction begun. Various battles/wars and rebuildings have taken place over the years (after WWII specifically.)
We begin our ascent, and Andy challenges Andrew to lift the stones, a real-life Minecraft creative mode moment (if your kids play Minecraft you will get my reference.)
The Great Rondella, the remnants of the medieval fortress of King Matthias (recently repaired.)
The Princess of the tower and Andy and Katherine keeping watch.
Atop the walls of Buda Castle, overlooking the Danube River and Pest. A little foggy, but beautiful.
Buda Palace, which it must be said, looks much more impressive and magnificent from a distance (lit up at night especially) than it does up close. It is now home to the Széchenyi Library, Hungarian National Gallery, National Archive of Hungary, and Budapest History Museum.
In the Lion’s Courtyard of the Palace is the Matthias Fountain. It is crazy looking. It depicts King Matthias leading a hunting party, it includes a dead deer, hawks, and dogs.
Andrew overlooking the Buda Hills. 
Matthias Church was originally constucted in 1015 by the first Hungarian King, Saint Stephen. That building was destroyed in 1241, and the current Church was built in the 14th century, with restorations taking place in the 19th century as well. When Buda was occupied by the Turks, the Church was turned into a mosque. It lasted for 150 years until the Turks were driven out of Hungry by Christian missionary forces in 1686.
The Holy Trinity Statue is a column in the middle of Trinity Square, beside Matthias Church and Fisherman’s Bastion. It was erected in the early 18th century to honor those who died of the Black Plaque.
Right beside Matthias Church on Castle Hill is Fisherman’s Bastion. It is a viewing terrace, with towers and walkways, built in the late 19th century. A bronze statue of Stephen I sits in its courtyard. 
The twins in one of the seven towers overlooking the Danube River.
An Andrew sized door.
We went to Ruszwurm Bakery in Old Town Buda and had sour cherry strudel, a Dobos tort, and their famous cream cake. It was amazing, totally recommend going there. If it was on our side of the River I would totally go again (and again.)
And what real life looks like.
xoxo-sk
xoxo-sk 