June 10-11
So did you know that Budapest is actually made up of two cities? Buda and Pest which lie on either side of the Danube? 
Maybe this is common knowledge, but I had no clue until we got there. Michael definitely knew. We got into Budapest (on the Pest side), accidentally rode the bus for free (but didn’t get caught!), and checked into our Airbnb on the Pest side of town.
Buda:
Pest:
We walked over to the Buda side of town to check out the Royal Palace. This had been the home to royalty of Hungary since roughly 1247 until German occupation of the city during WWII when they forced the royal family out (but apparently at that point the royal family wasn’t ruling anyways – they were just royal and living in the castle). Post occupation, the castle underwent a lot of reconstruction and is now a cultural center/library/museum/etc and a place for state events.
Some great views…
Plus we got to see this changing of the guard:
https://www.thatsonourlist.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/img_2723.trim_.movNext, off to Matthias Church which is not actually named that. It’s called Church of Our Lady, but everyone calls it Matthias Church after King Matthias who added some value somewhere when it was being built. This Church was the site for royal events like the coronation of Charles IV in 1916. It was converted into a mosque during the Turkish occupation of Hungary and then was reclaimed as a church in 1686.
This is Fisherman’s Bastion, which is right next to Matthias Church.
The fishermen’s guild was given the responsibility of protecting the walls of the city in this area, so they built this structure in 1895. There are seven towers which symbolize the seven tents of the leaders that first lead the Hungarian people to their home at the end of the 9th century.
So those were the official things we saw, but mostly we just relaxed. It was super hot and humid and we were exhausted from having guests the past couple of weeks. So we took advantage of our air conditioned airbnb and the city to catch up on sleep, watch some John Oliver and Westworld, replace my nonverse sneakers with legit converses and get a few runs in. Oh and I finally got my hair fixed… by someone that was not Michael. So it was a great few days.
Oh and we found a place serving tacos and chilaquiles!
Oh and for those of you who are wondering what the subject of this post is all about… I’ve been found out. Michael just called me out on singing the wrong first line of this song, which I love, for years.
Apparently it’s my house in Budapest, not miles from… it makes a lot more sense now.
I thought it was “miles” too. Good to know!
Hahaha, thank you!!