After a very long day on the bus, we rolled into Hostel One Basilica. Friendliest staff, free family dinners, organized drinking games, and free bar crawls (the ruin bars are a must when here – quirky, cheap and just impossible to describe). Best one yet. We quickly made friends with our Canadian roommate as well as a few other fellow Americans. Must be something about the North American continent that just draws us together.

Once again, we only had a couple days to spend in this city, and with so much to see on both sides of the Danube river, we had quite the jam-packed schedule.

First things first, a dip in an ever so famous Budapest bath house. We choose the Gellert Baths, mainly for location purposes, and with 8 main baths – all different temperatures, it worked out nicely. Thank goodness we showed up early too as there were very few people to begin with, so we actually had a chance to relax and just enjoy it without the crowds.

After a few hours soaking in the mineral waters, it was time for a bite to eat. A quick walk across the Liberty Bridge is the huge and beautiful Great Market Hall.

I’m not exactly sure what that fresh bright red sausage was stuffed with (nor do I further want to think about it), but with a side of sauteed veggies, it was delicious.

Next we headed back to the Buda side to see the church cave aka the Gellert Hill Church aka Saint Ivan’s Cave. It’s a church literally in the hill with cave like walls throughout. Wasn’t able to take photos inside, but here’s the outside with the entrance through the rock side on the left:

And the view from there wasn’t all too shabby either:

Then headed over to the Buda Castle grounds:

With the most beautiful cathedral I’ve ever seen:

I was continually in awe of the painted designs and stained glass that covered every inch of the interior:

And amazing views of the Pest side and the Parliament building:

Walking back through the Pest side:

We passed through the Basilica where an actual hand (The Holy Right Hand/Relic Hand of King Saint Stephen) from 1038 is housed! Hard to see in the photos below, but you could actually see a hand from wrist to knuckles. Not sure if this is super amazing or just nuts.

There is so much to see here and every bit of it was absolutely beautiful. Glad I decided to add this one to the Euro tour list.