Christmas in Europe - Budapest, Hungary - Day 8

Our train arrived in Budapest at 9:30 in the morning and we were rested and ready to go.  We took the metro to the Buda side (older city) where our hotel was and dropped our bags off and headed out for another day of sight seeing.

The minute we stepped off the Metro in Budapest, we were in LOVE!  What an awesome city.  We thought Bucharest was cool, but this blows that away.

This was our first picture of Budapest.  It was right across the street from the Metro.

 Our hotel was the perfect location.  It was just blocks away from the Metro and river walk.  It was a bit foggy and hazy when we headed out in the morning but by the end of the day it was perfect.  Yes, it was cold but we didn't care.

Parliament Building

 We left the hotel and walked along the river to see what is around the area.

The famous Chain Bridge

The fog cleared but it was still cold.

 We walked for about an hour and then decided to take the Big Bus tour.  It was a double decker bus that took us all around the city.  There were headphones at each seat so you could listen to a pre recorded tour guide.  Our tickets included two days of "hop on and off" access to the bus and then a river boat tour.  We decided to take the river boat tour today since we only had a few hours left and then use the bus the next day.

Jonny and Nicole on the boat.  Nicole really isn't made she just likes to be dramatic.  haha

The Royal Palace

See she really wasn't mad.

 The boat tour was very relaxing and a fun way to see this part of the city.

The third largest Parliament Building in the world.

Jonny and Vika snuggling under the blanket on the boat…it was COLD!

 The story with this statue is that it's in memory of a bishop that was rolled off the hill in a barrel because the people were not happy with him or something like that.

Part of the old fort and Citadel.

Nice photo bombers!

This was the picture I was trying to get.  Just amazing architecture everywhere.

Every building had something unique..thought this was interesting with half naked people looking over at you.

 The Big Bus stopped running at night so we ended up at the Christmas Market.  Even though it was December 29, they still had the decorations up.  There were numerous street performers in the this area.

 We walked around the shops and found a Harley Davidson shop for Gavin to get his Budapest Harley T Shirt.  We had dinner and then walked back to our hotel over the Chain Bridge.  Everything was lit up and BEAUTIFUL!

Looking across the river toward the Buda side.

 Budapest was once divided into two separate cities, Buda and Pest. Buda being the hilly side and Pest the flat side.  The two cities merged to create one city, Budapest.

View of The Church of our Lady in the Castle District of Budapest.

Parliament Building at night.

 Our first day in Budapest was AMAZING.  Love this city.

Christmas in Europe - Romania - Day 7

Our last day in Sinai.  Didn't really have anything specifically planned today.  We had to check out of our hotel at noon but our train to Budapest, Hungary wasn't leaving until 6:00 at night.  The Gerber's were staying one more day here in Sinai and then heading back to Bucharest the next day to head back home, so we stored our luggage in their rooms and just stayed local here in Sinai.  The kids all went up the hill to go sledding and Gavin walked back down to the castle to take a tour.  He came back with some amazing pictures and said it was awesome.  These were some of the pictures he took.

We lugged our stuff down to the train for an overnight train to Budapest.  The journey continues.

This was our bed for the night.  

We had four bunks in a private cabin so Vika and Nicole had to share a bed.  They weren't the most comfortable beds but it was a place to crash.  Traveling by train is pretty fun if you have the time.

Christmas in Europe - Romania - Day 6

The next day we dropped the boys off at a new ski resort near Perdeal and the rest of us headed off to Brasov for the day.  Nicole wasn't feeling very well so she stayed back at the hotel.  Our friendly taxi driver arranged transportation for us and also gave us a small tour of the old city in Brasov.

Gavin, Coree, Retief, Alichia, Marichia, and Vika…oh and a giant teddy bear.

Vika and Marichia

Old City of Brasov

In the old city of Brasov is The Black Church.  The story is below.  I believe it was actually built in the 600 AD but was rebuilt in 1383 and then got it's name as The Black Church in 1689 when it was burned in a fire.

View of The Black Church from the square.

Outside of the church

Entrance to the church

 We weren't able to take pictures inside but it was very pretty old with lots of history.

Street in the old city of Brasov

Still wearing the hat

These might be a strange picture but this was our toilet in the hotel…the Wonder Toilet.  It really was amazing.  You had all these options that the toilet would do.  Wash and dry.  You could adjust the temperature and angles.  It really was cool, strange, but cool.