Good
start to 4 days in Budapest, afternoon flight so no early starts,
everything on time and shuttle bus from airport (booked on-line) also
worked ok. Casati Budapest Hotel to be recommended, very trendy, just
look at the room doors,
good
breakfast buffet and very centrally situated.
The
weather smiled on us the whole time we were there and so we set off
for the meeting point for our walking tour which turned out to be a
mere 5 mins away, planning is everything(!) and it turned out that we
were the only two so had a private tour of all the main sites plus some
useful info on how to use the metro and buses.We
started at the Opera House which is similar in style to the Vienna
State but only viewed the outside and then went up to Heroes Square.
This
is a large meeting place laid out in 1896 a thousand years after the
establishment of the country by the Magyars who settled here after a
battle. There were 7 tribes who amalgamated, led by Prince Arpad, and the
various statues show them and leaders thereafter.
The Archangel
Gabriel is on the top of the column, he apparently offered the Crown
(on behalf of the pope) to Stephen who was the first Magyar to accept
Christianity in the year 1000.
Just
off the square is Vajdahunyad Castle, also built for the 1896
celebrations (along with the first metro route and installation of the
first gas lights) which celebrates the evolution of various
architectural styles in close juxtaposition.
Unfortunately
the museum of Fine Arts had only recently closed for refurbishment, a
great shame as they have some lovely pictures. We then travelled back
to the centre of Budapest to walk round St Stephen's Basilica
and
then walked down toward the River Danube and the Chain Bridge.
Crossing
the bridge gave good views and on the Buda side the Royal Palace (now
mainly museums) is on one side
and
the Church of Matthias, which has a beautiful tiled roof,
and
Fisherman's Bastion, on the other.
The
views across the river from the latter are stunning including the parliament
building
and
as no building is allowed to be higher than the 896 feet of St
Stephen's it is not broken up by modern flats or hotel skyscrapers.
We
said good-bye to our guide, had a quick lunch and then visited the
inside of St Matthias church, quite a bit of renovation going on but some
beautiful mosaics and stained glass windows to be seen.
We
then walked to the National Gallery, catching the changing of the
guard outside Sandor Palace which is the official home of the
President of Hungary and separate from the old palace.
The
gallery is large and although some good pictures quite easy to get
lost amongst some more mundane hangings, oh for the fine arts museum, but good views from the terrace.
Rather
than walk back to the bus stop or even back down the zig-zag route
to the foot of the hill, we caught the funicular to add to our
experience and save time.
As
the city is not large we managed to walk back over the bridge and
through the city to our hotel, passing a restaurant that we returned
to for supper which proved a very good choice, having a good mix of
local and international dishes. Completely full on a Tuesday night,
what more can you ask.
Back
to St Stephen's next morning to explore the inside, seeing this well
maintained old car on the way.
More lovely mosaics
and
glass
but
also the mummified right hand of St Stephen himself, well a casket
anyway!
Also
some very different art works.
I
would like to say that we climbed up to the viewing platform but
there was a lift …..
It
is high, looking down
but
the views are great
We
then walked down the main shopping street, Vatci Utca, pedestrianised
with many of the usual suspects, Zara, M & S, etc along with some
unpronouncable local shops. At the end is the great covered market
building
with
stalls that always look so tempting.
It
is right by Liberty Bridge
and
opposite Gellert Hill with the Liberty monument near by.
Originally
built for the son of an Admiral, taken over in 1945 when Soviet rule
was imposed and after a period wrapped up after the uprising, in 1989 it was re dedicated to all who laid down their lives for Hungarian
prosperity.
Our
guide the previous day said that originally it was a symbol of the
city welcoming the Soviets coming to their aid to relieve them from
Nazi rule and now it is waving them goodbye! Either way an unmissable
memorial.
We
walked back to the centre along the river, Budapest could learn a
lot from some other European cities, such a mess of roads, train
tracks and wires, so no pleasant riverside walk here.
The weather
was wonderful and we sat slightly away from the traffic eating at a
greek (as you do!!) restaurant outside in just jumpers. Lovely salad
and home made sesame crisp breads some very good retsina for me, beer
for Gail, free hummus and liqueurs plus 2 roses to take away with us,
all for £14. Generally eating out not that expensive, no euros of
course but I think the 'forint' is closely connected, so we benefited
from the relative decline in value to the £.
I
had hoped to perhaps see an opera but that proved impossible so we
got back to the Opera House in time to take a tour. It has the usual
grand staircase
and
plush interiors
but
we finished off with a mini performance from one of their singers, a
treat as she sang the drinking song from Traviata, one of my
favourites.
Back
to the hotel to change and find supper near the river as we had
booked an evening river boat cruise, taking photo's without getting
reflections proved difficult, so these are the best ones but very
enjoyable helped by a glass of fizz!
Not from the boat , Cathedral floodlit as many buildings are at night.
Another
lovely morning and walked up to the Franz List museum a very famous
local! We then went and walked by the river near the parliament
building where there is a very poignant memorial to Jews who were
lined up on the bank and shot with their bodies falling into the
river, after being forced to remove their shoes. Such barbarity
beggars belief, although amazingly many Jews did survive elsewhere in
the city. These are bronze casts of full a full range of different sized shoes, including children's.
This
was followed by a lunchtime cruise, where there was more opportunity
to get outside and take some photos. (Very good buffet by the way and
a little easy to over eat!)
It
is a mix of old
and
new!
Plus
the obligatory shot of the Houses of Parliament, remind you of
anywhere?
Walking
back to the hotel we passed by this children's play area constructed
out of what I suspect was a bomb site with these amazing murals on
the walls. The only real sky in this picture is to the right of the large tree above the red building.
Found
a lovely wine bar with live music and shared a platter for supper,
just right after lunch.......
Last
day but as not flying until the evening after finishing packing and
leaving our luggage we set off by metro, basic but works,
for
the Szechenyl Baths, this was the morning of the eclipse, no where
near total here but thanks to someone who had a couple of very dark
pieces of glass we were able to see it while lolling in the warm
water, not the only cerebral activity going on.
A
huge area with both inside and outside pools of various temperatures.
Back
at the hotel we packed up our swimsuits (the hotel had let us take
their towels, how good is that!) and set off for the Great Jewish
Synagogue (stopping for a good lunch on the way, to save too much
airline food). It is very large and quite expensive to visit inside but
fortunately you can view this wonderful memorial through the gates, a
stunning piece of work. I'm afraid the photo doesn't do it justice a metal weeping willow.
Finding
ourselves back near Liberty Bridge we went to have a look at the other
main Baths housed at the Gellert Hotel which was looking rather
tired. However it did give us a chance to look at the cave church run
by Pauline Monks, shut up during the Soviet occupation.
Back
to the hotel to catch the shuttle bus after stopping (not for the first time, too close to the hotel!) for very posh dessert and
coffee a lovely end to a busy few days.
