
More serious and useful photos inside. Promise.
Budapest was once two cities
We didn’t know this, and we’re hoping others didn’t know this either – or else this is a pretty crap fact.
There was Buda on the west bank of the Danube, and Pest on the east bank. The two cities unified in 1873, but there are still quite obvious differences between the two sides.
Buda is very hilly, and as such has some beautiful views. The Castle District (District 1) is in Buda, and it’s packed with historic sights and attractions like the Royal Palace, Buda Castle, and the Matthias Church.
Pest is much flatter and it contains most of the attractions (St Stephen’s Basilica, Great Synagogue, Parliament, Opera House, City Park, the Old Jewish quarter, Heroes’ Square…). There are also more shops, restaurants, coffee shops and bars than you’ll find in Buda.
Dogs come in pairs… and they all look very daft indeed
We couldn’t work this one out. Everyone with dogs had at least two identical versions – which were wearing the strangest ornaments and had the silliest hairstyles. The dogs were always in multiples of two – we once saw five of the daftest-looking poodles with one owner, and our “WTF??” moment was more for the dog count than the scarves and sunglasses they were all wearing.