Budapest - introduction and day 1

We drove to Hahn airport in Germany to catch a Wizzair flight to Budapest. The late arriving incoming aircraft from Budapest meant that our 12.40 flight was delayed until 16.15 so we had plenty of time for lunch in the airport bar - a surprisingly good meal in fact. When we landed in Budapest at 18.30 it was pitch black and pouring with rain. We took an airport minibus to our hotel - the posh Hotel Gellert (with its own spa complex).





We spent the evening in the small bar talking to an East German man called Herman who taught people how to drive heavy plant machinery and was also a technical translator. I had visited Berlin before the wall came down and we spent a fascinating evening with him. We exchanged e-mail addresses and hope to meet up again sometime.

Next morning we ate a substantial breakfast in the restaurant before setting out to explore. As I had not known for sure what Paul's plans were, I hadn't had time to read the guide books I had borrowed, on the quiet from friends of mine, so we were a bit disorganised to start with as regards our sightseeing programme. We set off to walk to the castle part of town of the original Buda. (Budapest was originally two towns situated on either side of the Danube - Buda and Pest - which eventually joined to become Budapest. We were staying on the Buda side). We took the funicular railway up to the top, with fantastic views across towards Pest where the magnificent Parliament buildings are situated.


We walked along the outer wall in the autumn sunshine and then made our way towards the centre, where we stopped for refreshment at a small café called the Ruzwurm. We struck up conversation with the British couple sitting opposite us who informed us that the Ruzwurm is the oldest coffee house in Budapest. It was probably also the smallest as inside it was minuscule and a huge ceramic-tiled stove took up lots of space in the room which was lined with brocade-upholstered sofas. It transpired that the British couple had come over for the weekend so that the wife could take part in the Marathon which was to be run on Sunday.
We took our leave of them and continued our walk along the cobbled streets lined with elegant houses with exotic ornamentation, peering through doorways into little courtyards.





At the end of the road the spire, all that remained of the church of Mary of Magdalen, rose into the air against the backdrop of the buildings housing the national archives with its wonderful tiled roof that reminded us of the roofs in Burgundy.




We walked around the bastion du pecheur (fish market)




and visited the church of St Matthias, grudgingly paying an entrance fee which we felt was totally against all christian principles. The church was spectacular inside - not an inch of wall was left undecorated.










After the church we walked past the royal palace complex with this fountain




and then down the hill and stopped for a cup of coffee in the sun before climbing up to the top of the next hill on which the citadel had been constructed. In the centre of the fortified citadel a bunker had been built to shelter the forces during the 1944-45 occupation. Filled with photographs from Russian archives it was a fascinating but depressing place. However, the views were spectacular.






We walked down the hill and back to the hotel where we took a deserved rest in the hot pool in the spa complex. The spa complex itself was tiled in mosaics with art deco columns. There was a communal hot pool and a (much) cooler swimming pool. Separate segregated areas had two more pools (36 and 38°C) and steam rooms, all decorated with mosaics - no photographs allowed there.





In the evening we walked over the bridge over the river Danube in search of a restaurant. We found one called Fatâl. Queues of people outside indicated that it was a popular eatery so we decided we could wait three quarters of an hour until they could accommodate us. We sought distraction in a nearby pub called the Fregatte where the bar resembled the prow of a ship with a naked woman's torso as the figurehead. A blues band was playing excellent music so the time passed very quickly.I haven't been able to find out what the name meant but it must be something to do with tarot as there were stained glass windows depicting tarot cards inside.

Budapest - day 2

we both felt absolutely shattered after the previous day's events so we allowed ourselves a lie-in before repairing to the baths for a lengthy soak before going to the opera in the evening.
We had been lucky enough to get two tickets to Verdi's opera 'Don Carlos' at the national opera house. This particular production was in memory of a previous conductor and it used the same set and costumes as the 1969 production. The set was made up of architectural elements from a church, which could be moved around to recreate different places.





The costumes, in grey, black and gold, were magnificent. Their designer was famous for the authenticity of his costumes. It was a real spectacle and the singing, for the most part, was excellent. The inside of the opera house had gilded woodwork everywhere, I hadn't taken my camera so don't have any pictures. The wooden seats were surprisingly comfortable and there was a very efficient ventilation system which meant that the auditorium was not stiflingly hot. We returned to the hotel on foot as it was such a pleasant evening.

Budapest - day 3

After a hearty breakfast we set off again, this time braving the metro, along with thousands of people heading towards Heroes Square to participate in the Marathon. We admired the bronze statues of the invading mongol hordes








In the park we found a statue of a Mr Anonymus






and then walked around the park past the ornately decorated building housing the museum of agriculture





as far as the magnificent Secheny baths. The entrance hallway had the most stunning mosaic ceiling. I was happily engaged in photographing it when I was told by an official that photographs were forbidden (I hadn't seen the sign). If you click on the photo of the ceiling you will be able to see a larger version - there are some beautiful images of women in the bath house.

On enquiring whether there were any postcards we were told these were only available inside - too bad. We'll have to go back there if ever we go to Budapest again.



Then we took the metro back towards the centre and walked through the old Jewish ghetto as far as the main synagogue which has the holocaust memorial in its grounds (partly financed by the actor Tony Curtis).









This is a building with beautiful art deco mosaic murals on it



Then we caught a trolleybus back to the hotel for a huge buffet brunch and spent the rest of the afternoon in the baths. We ventured out into town after dark, back to the Fregatte bar for some more live music.

Budapest - final day

sadly our last full day. We visited the covered market admiring row upon row of salami, sausage, dried chili peppers, strings of garlic, packets of paprika, embroidered tablecloths, etc. etc.








then took the trolley bus back to the funicular railway so that we could visit the Museum of the history of the city of Budapest which is inside part of the royal palace. It was fascinating. Budapest had been occupied for one and a half centuries by the ottomans before being taken back in the late 1880s. I remarked to Paul that Europe hadn't liked the Turks then and still didn't!

We sat in the sun outside the Ruzwurm again and enjoyed coffee and a sour cherry strudel before taking the funicular railway back down and walked over the famous Lanchid (chain) bridge, hoping to visit St Stephen's basilica




but balked at paying another entrance fee so we caught a trolley bus back to the hotel for another soak in the baths. The weather was glorious with a temperature of 22°C. It was so warm that we went and sat in the hot pool in the garden at the rear of the hotel where there was also a large outdoor pool. We got chatting to another British couple in the pool and whiled away a couple of hours.

That evening we dined in the Fatâl again before returning to the hotel to do the packing as we had to make an early start next day.