The first time I visited Budapest, I only thought of the one thing we came here for: Cave Diving!
My sister and I weren't certified, but the Molnar Janos Cave offers try-cave-diving where you can find out, if a cave certification might be for you... so we went! It was amazing and we got certified soon thereafter, coming again every few years to enjoy this beautiful place.
But as we sat outside of the cave, enjoying the pond with frogs and turtles, basking in the afternoon sun, I realised: Despite the rough shell, frowning faces and the hustle and bustle of the city around us, this was a nice place.
When we dive, we do so in the morning and finish up in the early afternoon. A great opportunity to explore the city for some food and general sightseeing.
Besides the famous view of the parliament building, we sat across the musical fountain on an island in the middle of the river, walked around the market with its dense collection of stalls and corridors, hung around the train station and walked through the old town.
We found lots of small shops, lovely people and great cafes and restaurants! While people often looked disinterested, annoyed or grumpy, most turned out to be friendly and helpful. What's even better is that my wife found her favorite tattoo-artist here and so we both enjoy going to Budapest for a couple of days together. I go dive, she gets inked, we enjoy the afternoons and evenings together.
Having been here a bunch of times now, I can safely say: The city grew on me and I do enjoy visiting very much!