Boogie Down to Budapest

June 1^st-4^th, 2019

Age: 14 Months

We were up extra early as the calendar turned to June 1 to boogie down to Budapest! Apparently, Mom & Dad said they’ve noticed I’ve been dancing to music throughout this trip, so thought the title of this post was fitting. I found the play area at the Kraków airport to be pretty entertaining & also liked my extra tall highchair in the restaurant we picked for lunch (within the airport)!

We arrived to the city ~8:45AM, and used a ride share to get into the city to our rental property. We found ourselves in a nice, local neighborhood just north of the Central Market. It was an extra warm day with plenty of sunshine, so we decided to stroll through the city and get a sense of the lay of the land before grabbing an earlier lunch at Mazel Tov. What a cool place! Exposed brick walls and glass sliding walls, mixed with an array of greenery made the place very inviting. We lingered here for a while and enjoyed some downtime – I even met two nice girls sitting nearby. The one from Germany told me she’d take me back there with her! I had fun snacking on fruit, pita, and sharing some of Mom’s chicken shawarma and Dad’s pastrami sandwich.

From here, we made our way to Hero Square – I liked the big statues; but, I liked what we did next even better! As we walked a little further we spotted a park ahead and decided it was the perfect day to wonder through this area. We saw paddle boats that looked like cars, a zoo, the famous thermal bath, and another castle! 

Although it was busy, it was still comfortable to walk around and take in the sights. In this area we met a nice family from Boston that had a son close to my age that we enjoyed getting to talk with for a bit. Mom got excited when she saw this fluffy pink stuff for sale…she was kind enough to share, and I learned cotton candy is pretty good stuff! Especially when it’s extra fresh like this was (according to Mom).

After sharing our cotton candy, we walked across the way to see the castle up close. Wow – it was so pretty with a formal entrance area that we spotted a wedding party out front of for photos. As we entered we noticed signage for a rosé wine festival and the adults decided this may be  a fun way to spend the evening. We popped around the various stands in the big park and had a lot of fun listening to music and trying new foods. I got extra hungry from the heat & my first “sugar rush”…so, Mom & Dad sought out the biggest meal they could for me which ended up being a giant “American style” hot dog. Holy Cow – this thing was the size of my body; but, I was starving and gobbled it all up (Mom & Dad helped eat up the bulk of the toppings) and we all had fun roaming through the festival. Budapest welcomed us right – nice day of activities, great weather, friendly people, and cool views!

(I took a short snooze at the festival)

(P.S. I’ve had fun trying out new bathtubs in each country!)

Our second day was spent across the river on the Buda side (wow – I’ve literally said this a few times throughout this trip at the “right time” and Mom & Dad seem to think it’s funny…but, seriously, some of these sights)! Just incredible views as we strolled along the river front and gradually started to climb toward the Buda Castle.

The gardens that we first walked through were just charming – pretty vines, roses, and pillars surrounded the area and was the first area we got the initial view of Budapest’s grand Parliament building. Mom & Dad seemed to have fun getting creative on the best way to navigate my stroller up the winding climb, and we enjoyed exploring the castle grounds. We came across a café before rising another level, and while somewhat touristy decided it was the perfect stop to catch a light bite and refresh from the strong sun. Lunch was lovely – I ate up all my shrimp and when I was done went for a short walk with Mom as everyone finished their meals. While wondering, another tourist gave me a paper sparkler (probably from a drink they had been served) that I had a great time dancing around with before we got back to walking up the coast.

I’m glad we kept walking to see a cool building with active guards (Sandor Palace – home of the President of Hungary), shops, a beyond gorgeous church with a colorful roof and miniature version of it outside, and statues galore along this huge wall (Fisherman’s Bastion)that provided a great overlook of the Pest side. On our walk back, a brief rain storm emerged (less than 10 minutes) so we decided to take the shortcut down (Funicular) and wondered back into the city center on the Pest side.

Mom booked us a reservation for a mid-afternoon snack/drink at the Aria’s famous rooftop. The views were amazing, and I had fun making friends with everyone there!

After some time relaxing, we headed next door to see the inside of the beautiful St. Stephen’s Basilica, the largest church in Hungary, who’s dome was a main part of our view from the Aria and was easy to spot across town.

We had a nice dinner where we got to try traditional Hungarian meals including Chicken Paprikash and goulash! Following dinner, we wound down with a stroll through the square (where we ran into our friends from Boston again!). I had a blast running around the square chasing my new friend and some other children and enjoyed rose shaped gelato (I’m getting to like this ice cream eating and sampling new kinds in each city/country) before we walked through the square with the extra big Ferris wheel (where I finally met a girlfriend closer to my own age) as we awaited our evening River Boat ride.

The river front was beautiful as we approached the dock for departure….the city turns on a ton of night lights and it’s really magical seeing the transition to dark with so much still lit up. We cruised up and down the river for an hour and the views were just stunning. I also made more friends on the boat ride, mostly lady friends from other parts of the world (Mom & Dad are getting worried one of them may really try to take me with them) 🙂 Another amazing day in the books! 

Our final day was low key, and lovely. Following breakfast at our rental property (coffee from a local shop and a delicious nut role from a bakery we visited the day prior) we took in more of the city and specifically headed south to the Central Market Hall (similar to Cleveland’s Westside Market). 

We liked seeing all the fresh produce, and various offerings from the vendors of the largest and oldest indoor market in Budapest! Mom shared an apricot cookie with me before we dove into what she believed to be my favorite meal (we were rotating three forks because I was crushing stuffed cabbage, and sausage back to back).

With full bellies, Mom & Dad took me for a walk along the river and we had fun as a family sitting in the shade along the Danube – we relaxed, danced, played with pebbles, and took in the view!

As the afternoon transitioned to evening, we headed to a local thermal bath a little closer to city center where I got to check out the building before getting a night out with Gramma & Ed! Mom & Dad retreated to theGellert Thermal Baths & dinner out, while I had a blast at a local playground and wound down for the night.

What a trip! The flight home was long (~9.5 HRS to CHI); but, I was a trooper. Sleeping and eating throughout the day allowed me to quickly get back to my normal routine. Mom & Dad also kept me up late/I’d then sleep in while abroad; so, my schedule really only adjusted by ~3 HRS vs. the 6 HR time difference. Hopeful to return to Europe again one day!

Most helpful products for this trip:

• Babiators – not only are these cute sunglasses, they have a killer warrantee! If they’re lost or broken within the year of your purchase, (as long as you’ve registered them upfront) they’ll replace them (and you only have to pay for shipping). Worth the $20 investment, and when it’s sunny enough I don’t mind keeping them on.

• Athleta Packable Tote – in lieu of my diaper bag, Mom brought her workout bag along to store my activities and snacks for the airplane/car rides. This was nice and light weight; but, had the perfect compartments to keep a change of clothes and blanket on the bottom/out of the way, books and easy access items on the side mesh pocket, all activities in the main pocket, and could easily conceal any personal items in the private side pocket.

• Mpow Kids Headphones – What a cool new experience – I got to use these to watch some cartoons (Beats Bugs, Paw Patrol & part of Happy Feet) throughout our flight! Mom & Dad said they even stay under a certain volume to help keep my ears protected. I like how soft they are and the bears on either side. 

Miles Logged to Date:

By Car: 3,379

By Plane: 14,502 + return home: 19,621

By Train: 104