Our second day in Hungary was spent sightseeing the beautiful Hungarian countryside. One of the stops along the Dunabe Bend was the Esztergom Basilica. Interestingly enough, at 100 meters (328 feet) it just happens to be the tallest building in Hungary. It is also the 18th biggest church in the world. All this according to Wikipedia, just as a side note.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esztergom_Basilica

The Basilica is beautiful inside and out. We hiked all the way to the top of the dome and the view, while terrifying to me, was quite beautiful. I wasn’t afraid of the height as much as the infrastructure that was holding us up there. Wooden floors squeaked and bent heavily when stepped on, and the railing barely held itself together, much less provide any support in case of an emergency. We took a quick walk around the dome and hurried back inside. Jeff was quick to point out that in no way in hell would this ever pass as being tourist friendly in the U.S. The walk back down can get you really dizzy with winding stairs all the way down. Jeff counted all of the steps, but at 300+ we later found out he was off by 3 steps.

From there we went across the Danube river to see the Visegrad castle. To us Poles, the Visegrad castle played a big role in 1335 when King Charles of Hungary hosted a two-month congress that ended with a peace deal between Poland, Hungary, and the Bohemian King (Check Republic). There is a room inside that depicts what the treaty feast could have looked like. The castle itself is very defensively situated, with a great view of the entire valley all around.

We ended our day with dinner at a renaissance restaurant. The entire decor was kept very rustic, with clothes you could put on for some great photos, and beer served in clay mugs. The food was great, the trip was a lot of fun, and the pictures speak for themselves. Big thanks to Krzysztof, our friend and tour guide, who spent that day showing us the beauty of Hungary.