Denmark, Sweden, & Hungary

This is clearly a late post due to many events which you will soon read about but I wanted to write this for my sake before I forgot everything!

Dinamarca

The weekend after Amsterdam, Kiersten and I ventured off to Copenhagen, Denmark and stayed with my cousin Greg and his wonderful family. Greg, his wife Trine, and his two young daughters Molli Malou and Maddie, were so kind and welcoming. I loved being able to stay with family. They were awesome!

Nyhavn with Kiersten and my lil cousins

On Saturday, the day we arrived, Trine made us a really nice traditional Danish lunch and then we all headed off to downtown Copenhagen. Greg and Trine showed us all the main spots: popular squares, the church in which they were married, and Nyhavn (most picturesque part of the city) to name a few.

Hamlet's Castle

On Sunday, Greg took us out on a day trip to Helsinger which is on the coast and is also where "Hamlet's Castle" lies. Kiersten and I took a tour of the underground old prison part of the castle (creepy and dark, yet cool) and then we walked around the whole castle and took some lovely photographs. Then we decided to hop on a ferry over to Helsingborg, Sweden which was once, and possible still is, the rivaling city of Helsinger. We walked around the little town, had some lunch, and walked around a little carnival fair before heading back to Denmark (nothing too exciting but now I can say I've been to Sweden!). Greg drove us back to his house along the coast which had really pretty views and then we had a lovely roast for dinner, which is a traditional Danish meal, much like one they might have for Christmas dinner. So that was really sweet of Trine and Greg to put on for us.

On the ferry!

Helsingborg, Sweden

The Little Mermaid

On Monday, Greg drove us back into Copenhagen to see the famous "Little Mermaid" which in fact is quite little and I don't quite understand the fuss about it. But it was cool. Then we walked to the Royal Palace. We couldn't go inside but we at least got to see the outside of it and the awesome guards surrounding the doors. Then we walked around some more of the city, had some Thai food for lunch, said goodbye to Greg and walked around/shopped until it was time to take the subway to the airport. It was a quick trip but still totally worth it. And I really enjoyed getting to know Greg and his family. I totally would go back!

The Royal Palace

Another shot of Nyhavn

Budapest, Hungría

The weekend after Copehagen, Kiersten and I took our last trip together this year in Europe. Traveling to Budapest, Hungary marked the 12th and final country I visited this year. And it was definitely a great city to end on! It was absolutely beautiful and the weather couldn't have been better (we finally were out of our winter coats and actually could sport some shorts!).

The Danube

Our first real day was Saturday because arrived really late Friday night. We stayed at another Airbnb apartment which was super cute and very convenient. On Saturday we basically walked all of Budapest (both the Buda and Pest sides). We stayed on the Pest side so we started out by going to their famous Central Market Hall which was huge and full of souvenirs, produce, and spices. We ate lunch at a soup and sandwich place that was so cheap and super scrumptious (we went back on our last day too). We continued walking along Váci utca (utca means street) which was basically a long shopping and touristy street but we were told we HAD to experience it. We also walked past St. Stephen's Basilica and Budapest's beautiful Opera House. We grabbed some ice cream and crossed the Danube River over to Margaret Island for a short break in the shade. Then we continued to cross to the Buda side of the river where we got a wonderful view of the Parliament Building. We decided to hike up to Buda Castle which had amazing views of the entire city including Parliament and the Chain Bridge. At this point we were getting hungry and tired so we crossed the Chain Bridge back over to Pest and picked up some food at the store to make dinner. I ended up getting super dehydrated despite our attempts to keep the water flowing throughout the day, so I ended up passing out at 9 p.m. and slept for 12 hours straight.

Buda Castle

Favorite picture of Kiersten 

Parliament Building 

St. Stephen's Basilica 

On Sunday we decided to take a day off and relax. We hit up the baths! Our Airbnb host, as well as others, had recommended Széchenyi thermal baths which we agreed were great! We had some serious issues trying to pay for the subway to get to the baths, but eventually we made it. The subway/light-rail system really wasn't all that challenging but every time we tried to buy tickets, the machines were always out of order so we may or may not have rode the subway for "free" a couple of times...

Széchenyi Baths

We had a great time at the baths getting in and out of different temperature pools both inside and out. We even got massages which was fantastic after our long day of walking the day before. I think we spent about 4 or 5 hours at the baths and then decided to head back to grab dinner. We found a place called "The Hummus Bar" and feeling very hummus deprived from living in Spain, we went a little overboard. But again, the food was amazing and super cheap.

The feast 

Central Market Hall

On Monday before heading to the airport, Kiersten and I did some souvenir and spice shopping at the market hall. She and I both were feeling slightly congested and tired so we took it easy until it was time to grab a taxi and head back to Spain. Our taxi ride was quite possibly the most exciting and frightening  part of the entire day. We got in the taxi and it immediately started pouring (and by pouring I mean like monsoon). It was raining so hard we couldn't see out of the car past about 2 yards in front of us which was terrifying considering the taxi driver was driving a million miles an hour and taking turns like we were in a police chase. The driver also kept the front windows slightly open so as Kiersten and I were progressively getting mildly soaked, I was starting to say my goodbyes to my family and friends in my head...

But as you've probably suspected, we're alive.