Our first full day in Budapest was a dreamboat filled with cobblestones, castles, and impeccable views.

My fascination with this city started (embarrassingly enough) with an episode of House Hunters International. Since then, I’ve always wanted to visit. When Mark suggested we spend our Thanksgiving here, I jumped on board.

We started the morning off right — with chocolate masquerading as breakfast foods. Ain’t no better way to usher in a day of adventuring in Budapest.

(P.S. that tower on the tippy top left hand side of the hotel was our room. How trippy is that?)

Directly outside the Four Seasons is this beauty. The Chain Bridge. It crosses the River Danube and connects Buda and Pest, the western and eastern sides of Budapest (which, believe it or not, weren’t actually unified until the 19th century! #Historynerd).

That’s Buda Castle, a former palace of Hungarian kings.

And on the other side? Castle Hill and the Funicular, aka a cable car type thingy that hoists visitors up and down the hill all day.

We decided to work off last night’s dinner and take the walking path instead.

And here we are, at the top. Beautiful Buda Castle.

The views from up here are SPECTACULAR.

There’s rubble and rocks just beyond Buda Castle. I’m not sure their origin – construction? Historical remnants of WWII?

More Buda Castle beauty.

Pups! Them Hungarian kings knew what’s up.

More Budapest adventures to come.

xo