Budapest has been on my "must see" list ever since we arrived in Europe, and this girls trip did not disappoint! I arrived in Budapest

around 9 pm, so I didn't have much time to explore that first evening, but from the little I saw on my short walk from our Airbnb to my late night burger stop, I was hooked. Budapest has a very eclectic and laid back vibe, complete with magnificent architecture, hipster coffee shops, and a vibrant food and bar scene. The Danube river meanders charmingly through the middle of the city, and actually serves to divide Budapest into two different cities: Pest to the east, and Buda to the west. We stayed in Pest, close to all the action and the famous "Ruin Pubs", which from what I have read are abandoned buildings turned into bars filled with eccentric mismatching furniture and antique knick-knacks. My friends popped into one for a drink to check it out firsthand, but this preggo opted for a taste of sweet refinement at the New York Cafe instead. (More on that later.)

Our first full day started with a guided walking tour, where we learned a little bit about the history of Budapest as we wandered the streets. We met our tour guide at St. Stephen's Basilica.

On our way toward the river we stopped to rub the belly of this bronzed guy, an act that supposedly brings you good luck, I think. (To be honest I can't remember what our tour guide said about it. But nevertheless, like a good tourist, I dutifully rubbed his belly.) Then we made our way across Chain Bridge, crossing from Pest into Buda.

The building with the green dome to the left is Buda Castle, which is made up of mostly museums now. We didn't have time to check these though.

Our next destination was the white building at the top of the hill, the Hungarian Presidential Palace.

I'm not going to lie, I was really wanting to take the easy route and hop into one of these adorable funiculars to ascend the top of the hill, but we were on a walking tour after all, so we hoofed it up the steps instead.

We made it just in time to witness the changing of the guard in front of the palace, and took in the views from the top before we continued our journey through Buda.

After our tour finished, we had lunch at a pricey, but delicious, Hungarian restaurant in Buda. I had the paprika chicken, which featured perfectly cooked chicken bathed in a mildly spicy and creamy red pepper sauce. Wow, I'm hungry just thinking about it. I loved this sauce so much that I ordered this dish twice while we were here. I'm only sorry I didn't think to get a picture of it before I ravenously devoured it each time.

After our stomachs were satisfyingly full, we set back out to wander Buda a little bit more before we made our way back down the hill.

We admired Matthias Church and walked through Fisherman's Bastion for more stunning views across the river.

Then we discovered a new, and very charming, route to make our way back down the hill.

And back into Pest we went.

At this point in the day we had some things to sort out, so we figured the bar pictured below was a good enough place to stop and have a drink tend to some business. You see, we hadn't had a working toilet in our Airbnb since the night we arrived. On the first flush, the toilet started running continuously and despite our efforts to fix the matter, as well as following instructions from our host on how to troubleshoot the problem, we were unable to restore the toilet into any sort of working condition. The host was conveniently out of town and refused to have a plumber come out to fix the problem. And his temporary solution for us to "use a bucket" was simply not okay with us, for obvious reasons (i.e. we weren't keen on revisiting 13th century European living if you know what I mean.) Our host later claimed we misunderstood him, even though I had attempted to give him the benefit of a doubt by clarifying with him repeatedly on the phone when he told me this preposterous solution. Nevertheless, this was maybe the worst "lost in translation" experience I have ever had. After calling customer service at Airbnb and booking a new hotel, we finished our drinks and promptly headed to the Airbnb to remove our belongings and relocate to Queen's Court Hotel--which I highly recommend! Luckily, Airbnb ended up refunding us for our booked stay as well. What a mess.

But the night events more than made up for the logistical nightmare we dealt with that afternoon. Dinner that night was at an amazing little restaurant called Barack & Szilva. I had a delicious plate of different types of fish, and my friends both loved their dinners as well. The service was also exceedingly good, which is always a nice bonus in Europe. My favorite part, however, was dessert. This crepe with ice cream on top was to die for.

Then, to top off our amazing dinner, we took a night river cruise through the company Danube Legend. The tour included a free drink, an audiovisual guide, and these amazing views! This experience was definitely a major highlight of the entire trip.

The Hungarian Parliament takes the cake though. I loved the way it glowed majestically against the background of the night sky, casting a massive pool of gold on the water below. It truly was breathtaking.

After a full day of sight-seeing, I was looking forward to Day 2--Spa Day! Since most of my city experiences in Europe are so fast-paced, with hours upon hours of walking and very little time for relaxation, I was really looking forward to slowing down a bit. Not to mention I was still struggling with first trimester fatigue at this point, so I was extraordinarily prepared for a little R&R. But we did still manage a little castle sight-seeing on our way to the spa.

"Oh hey, new friend! Thanks for joining our picture". Here we are at Vajdahunyad Castle. This was actually the only picture I ascertained of all three of us the entire trip, and as an added bonus it includes the jolliest photo bomber you ever did see. I thought about cropping him out, but he just looks so happy to be in our picture.

We wandered through the courtyard of the castle, while googling some information about it. We learned that Vajdahunyad Castle is relatively new, as it was built in 1896 for the Millennial Exhibition which celebrated the 1,000 years of Hungary since the Hungarian Conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895. Interestingly, it also houses the largest agricultural museum in Europe. No time (or interest) for that though. The spa was calling our names.

Here we are walking into Szechenyi Thermal Bath. Unbeknownst to me until researching Budapest prior to our trip, Budapest is renowned for its thermal baths and natural springs. These bath houses are very elaborate, and thankfully swimsuits are required. (This is not the case in the spas in our part of Europe, from what I have heard.) Despite the Baroque Architecture, this thermal spa was actually built in the early 1900's, and is still today considered the largest medicinal bath in Europe. And huge it was. We actually got lost for a while before we finally figured out how to get to the outside bath pool.

So it was basically a giant over-crowded warm pool. But the weather was nice so we went for a dip and soaked up some sun before we headed back inside for our massages.

After dinner that night, my friends went to check out one of the famous ruin pubs while I elected to go my own way and visit the New York Cafe that I had read so much about. Since I had an early flight the next day, I realized this would be my last opportunity to see it.

I walked inside and the interior certainly lived up to my expectations. Nicknamed The Most Beautiful Cafe in the World, I can definitely see how it gained that reputation. I was promptly and politely escorted to a table, where I proceeded to order the most expensive, but sadly not the most impressive, hot chocolate of my life. However, the elaborate atmosphere did adequately compensate for my lackluster-tasting drink.

So that concludes our trip! Budapest is definitely a city I want to come back to. Two days was sufficient enough to get a taste, both literally and figuratively, but I left craving more! So I have a feeling I will be back with Thomas in the future. Szia, Budapest!