Budapest at night

This is the second post of the day, so you might want to check out part one first.

http://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2012/09/exploring-budapest.html

We went back to the hotel room and relaxed later yesterday afternoon. When we were ready for dinner, we checked out another nearby "cheap and delicious" type of place, but it wasn't as good as the night before. We each had the chili con carne con queso (with cheese) and it was a filling enough meal but they had just taken it out of the fridge and microwaved it. Both portions were sent back to be reheated because it was still cold. But, even though the food itself was just okay, our stomachs were full and so off we went to explore more of Budapest at night.

Walked by the Tree of Life Holocaust Memorial

We headed over to the Buda side of the city on the other side of the Danube River. This is where Buda Castle is, and we thought that since we had seen the view from one side of the river the night before, we should go check out the other side of the river last night.

On the other side of the "chain bridge" is a structure that serves as the entrance to a vehicle tunnel. See the people sitting on top of the structure? They are enjoying the view of the bridge in the next picture!

Sitting on top of the tunnel, you could look back at the traffic on the bridge.

In the background on the other side of the bridge you can see St. Stephens Basilica. We visited that church today and you'll get to see this amazing building in tomorrow's update!

From there, we hiked up to Matthias Church which is part of the Buda Castle District. This is the amazing looking church that you could see in the night pictures from a distance.

Matthias church from the Pest side of the Danube River.

When we got up closer to the church and the surrounding area, it is simply amazing. We were allowed to wander all around the exterior, and there were a lot of people sitting out on this beautiful evening enjoying the weather. Even a couple of guys playing guitars and singing. We sat and enjoyed it for a half hour or so.

Notice the colorful tiled roof.

Definitely one of the most beautiful churches in the world.

Another well where we could refill our water bottles.

There was a nice looking moon out over Budapest yesterday evening!

And the whole time we were up there, we couldn't help but constantly look across the river, because there is one other spectacular building that is so illuminated that it is distracting. And beautiful. The Hungarian Parliament Building is a fascinating structure. 

Wow.

And then we walked back to the hotel. Figured out that we did a total of 12.9 kms (8 miles) between our morning and evening walks. Tired feet, but really enjoying our time in Budapest!