A robed man waits for a couple to shell out their “donation”. While every guidebook will tell you entrance into the Basilica of St. Stephen is free, the holy might have a different notion. I pay my forced donation, lending the couple without change a giant sigh of relief. Now the unidentified ticket agent has change to give the duo so they too can enter the largest church in Hungary.   The neoclassical cathedral might need all of the donations it can get for it took over 50 years to build. The dome caved in in 1868, destroying the structure. It would be rebuilt from Budapest’s floor up and Continue Reading

I never knew I was on the Hungarian government’s bad side. “It doesn’t work,” the ticket agent to Hungary’s Parliament building tour says to me almost laughing. She seems to say, “You fool. You don’t even haven enough money on your credit card to tour all of this opulence.” Luckily my friend spots the check on this one. Budapest’s Parliament has long been a structure I have wanted to see in person. A huffy ticket agent who thinks me a pauper or criminal won't stop me from living up to the dream.   Guards in furry coats pace outside as I make the call. As it would turn out, there is no Continue Reading

I make my way up the street, bumping into what appears to be a costumed man. Complete with top hat and tails, he churns a pile of chestnuts, hoping for a sale. My nose is assaulted with a whiff of Budapest as I continue up the road to cross Margit híd, otherwise known as Margaret Bridge.   Giant pieces of ice hurry down the Danube, almost looking like little fragments of countries turned into islands. The pieces move in a mesmerizing motion, so much so that find myself immune to the cold, perfectly content on staring at winter in essence in Budapest. When it reaches such cold temperatures in Continue Reading