Budapest - Exploring Buda

We started our exploration of "Buda" via tram to the other side of the Chain Bridge where we boarded a funicular for the climb to the top of Castle Hill.

Castle Hill was once the seat of Hungarian Royalty and while there are only a few grand sites to visit, it does offer a wondeful view of the Danube and a panoramic view of Pest across the river.  The present castle is an historically inaccurate post WWII construction that barely hints at the real history of this place.  We didn't visit the Hungarian National Gallery which is housed there but it is an art museum of some note. 

The Turul Bird, depicted in this statue is the mythical bird of Magyar that according to legend led the Hungarian migration from the steppes of Central Asia in the 9th Century.  According to RS today the bird is invoked by right-wing nationalist politicians.

Next we visited the Roman Catholic Matthias Church considered to be Budapest's finest church inside and out.  Against the bright blue sky, it is hard to disagree.  This church, named for King Matthias Corvinus has been destroyed and rebuilt several times in the 800 years it has been around.  It is elaborate in decor  incorporating a number of different architectural design periods. One of my favorite spots in the church is the Loreto Chapel which holds a Baroque statue of the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child. According to a legend when the Turks put the Buda Castle under seige people walled the statue inside the niche to save it from destruction.  In 1686 an explosion demolished the walls around the statue revealing the Virgin's smiling face.  The Turks took this as a bad omen so they gave up this part of the castle without a fight.

The Fishermen's Bastian is adjacent to the Matthias Church and is one of the most picturesque places in Buda.  We climbed the winding steps to the top hoping for a view of the Danube and Pest across the river and discovered a nearly empty outdoor restaurant where we claimed a table along the edge and enjoyed one of the best views of the trip. 

Budapest - Exploring Pest

The locals say "Boo-daw-pesht" and that's about the only word we mastered of the notoriously difficult Hungarian language. At first glance it seemed like we were in just another big city but after settling in to Hotel Erzsebet and an orientation on our walk to dinner we could see we were in for a surprise.  We had driven in on Andrassy ut - Pest's Grand Boulevard, past Heroes' Square which is lined with statues of Hungary's historic figures but soon we were in a modern commercial city center. At the same time we were just blocks from the historic buildings and bridges crossing the Danube.

The next morning started our  walking tour of "Pest" by riding the Metro which was the first subway line on the Continent, dating to 1896.  We rode it to Heroes Square and then walked to the nearby traditional baths, Szechenyl.  (Several of our group returned there later in the day to sample this popular Hungarian thermal bath experience.) 

Heroes Monument

Gelato - a work of art!

Our walking tour took us past many of the finest buildings, most dating from the late 19th century when Budapest was the shared capital of the vast Habsburg Empire.  Most impressive is the Hungarian Parliament which is one of the city's most noted landmarks.

From the sublime to the ridiculous, we also stopped to wonder at a statue of Ronald Reagan which was erected in 2010 to appease American opinion that the current Hungarian government was rolling back previous democratic reforms.  It was even stranger to learn that then  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was invited to unveil the statue!  We ended our tour at the Great Market Hall, a tri-level marketplace that showcases foods of Hungary as well as souvenirs of all kinds. Having been told that Hungarians pickle just about anything, we headed for the basement level lined with stalls selling pickles of all kinds - peppers, cucumbers, cauliflower, cabbage, beets, garlic etc. We visited a grocery store also on that level and enjoyed a picnic on a nearby bench as we sampled the goodies. Shopping netted us a few Christmas tree ornaments and a lovely table runner. Our day ended with a night time boat trip on the Danube where we experienced the iconic views of Budapest - the Parliament Building aglow and the lighted bridges across the Danube.  We truly felt as if we were on a postcard!

Lunch sampling many pickled vegetables

Great Market Hall from the upper level

Danube by Night River Cruise

Iconic Parliament Building at night

  

Happy 47th Anniversary

I'm not sure that I ever imagined spending our 47th anniversary in Hungary!  We left Eger in the late morning on June 1 and drove to Recsk where we visited an elementary school and had lunch with the children.  Several tour members are educators and it was interesting to contrast and compare school facilities.  The students were quite interested in our visit and they were anxious to practice their English with us.  After lunch we spent some time on the playground and immediately knew that children of this age are pretty much the same the world over.

Continuing on to Budapest we made another stop near Egerszalok at a winery.The views were spectacular and seated on the porch of the winery we sampled a variety of local wines while we were entertained by the violin of Toni Varadi.  When he learned it was our 47th anniversary he serenaded us with a lovely string arrangement of "Moon River."  It was an afternoon to remember!