Budapest and Christmas Markets

Day 1: We drove into Budapest late into the night.  Great idea.  Kids slept great. No traffic.  

 Day 2: Walked to St. Stephen's Basilica.  Largest church in Hungary.  The Christmas market was being set up, including an ice skating rink.

 We climbed up to the top of the Basilica.  Beautiful views.  Beautiful day.

 Sweet Jane loved walking around the top and pointing at the people or birds.

Then we walked over the the Parliment building.  But first, a stop throwing rocks into the Danube river.  

 

Parliament Building.  Gorgeous.  My pictures just suck.  

A view near the Parliament building.  Statues of shoes in memory of the Hungarian holocaust victims. And chain bridge in the background.  

Day 3: Szechenyi Baths and Pool.  It was fun to imagine this being what the Romans did way back in the day.  Lots of different pools with varying temperatures.  It would have been more fun without the girls, just because of the extreme heat temperatures and some pools containing lots of minerals.

Here is my little fish! Can't believe how much Kate has improved in her swimming.

 Afterwards, we took the funicular up to Buda castle for the views and beautiful tiled roof churches.  Bryan with Fisherman's Bastion in the background.  Then we hit up the Christmas markets!

Day 4: We met up with our friends, the Walker's, and spent the day with them.  We checked out the Central Market Square.  Lots of food and souvenirs!  

Some of the crew.  Kate, Rebekah, Jane, Sophie, Makenna, Chloe, Penny, and Merrick.

Quick stop to the second oldest Synogogue in the world- Dohany Street Synogogue- where there is also a statue of a weeping willow tree in memory of the Hungarian holocaust victims.  Each victims name is written on a leaf.  There were lots of holocaust memorials in this city.

Lastly, we went to the St. Stephen's Basilica Christmas market and consumed one of the best ice creams ever.  It was shaped into a flower.  It easily could be one of our favorites, and we have had a lot of ice cream over here!

Day 5: Driving home and hitting up the Vienna Christmas markets and Straubing Christmas market.  

 Rathaus.

 The ice skating rink was a trail.  It would have been fun, minus the ice was really wet because it was 40 degrees!

Loving the kinderpunch!