Wanderlust Traveler: Budapest, Hungary

Hungarian Parliament

Continuation from Eger, Hungary

Day 10 (Sunday, September 14th 2008)

After eating a quick breakfast in the restaurant below my hotel, I left Eger and took the 9:30 train to Budapest. I arrived in the city about two hours later where a taxi driver was awaiting my arrival to take me to my bed and breakfast. The taxi driver was extremely friendly and spoke to me in broken Hungarian and German as he drove me through the city, making sure to point out the famous landmarks. I was immediately impressed with Budapest and its beautiful architecture. I was also surprised at how big and sprawling the city was. The best comparison I can come up with regarding the city is that it is a Paris in the making; it has all of the grand boulevards, gorgeous 19th century buildings, and outdoor cafes that the French city has but some areas of Budapest just need a little sprucing up.

I arrived at Bellevue Bed and Breakfast about 15 minutes after leaving the train station. Judit, one of the owners, greeted me at the front door and took me up the three flights of stairs to my room. My room was of a decent size but the best part was the view of the Danube River and the Parliament across the river. After dropping off my things I went downstairs and met Judit’s husband Lajos, who gave me a detailed map of the city and provided me with a ton of information on local restaurants, sightseeing, and public transportation.

I left the bed and breakfast and walked about ten minutes to the M1 metro line. From here, my first stop was the House of Terror Museum, which is housed in what was once the headquarters of the AVH/AVO (Hungary’s secret police during the Communist regime). The museum focuses on life in Hungary during the time of the Nazi invasion and after WWII when communism remained supreme. The House of Terror was one of the best designed and laid out museums I have ever visited. The displays were interactive, realistic, and visually interesting, and there was detailed English handouts in every room. The main atrium of the museum was covered with photos of the many victims who were tortured and then eventually killed in the building. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take photos within the museum; otherwise, I would have a picture of the atrium to show you as it was quite unique.

House of Terror Museum in Budapest.

From the museum, I took the metro to a nearby stop and then walked to the Hungarian State Opera House. I arrived just in time to sign up for the 16:00 English tour, which was required in order to be able to view the auditorium. The opera was built in the 1890’s and the interior of the building is adorned with gold embellishments, detailed wood carvings, many frescoes and lots of marble. As gorgeous as the entryway is, it just cannot compare to the beauty of the auditorium, which has been lavishly decorated in reds and golds.

Hungarian State Opera House in Budapest.

View from the veranda of the Hungarian State Opera House in Budapest.

Hungarian State Opera House in Budapest.

Next, I took the metro once again, this time stopping near St. Istvan’s Basilica. The church has recently undergone an extensive renovation and cleaning and as a result, the exterior of the building is a beautiful, creamy white color. I had assumed the church was built in the late 18th century as it seemed to be of the baroque style, but I later read that the church was not finished until 1905.

St. Istavan's Basilica in Budapest.

Beautiful lamp near St. Istavan's Basilica in Budapest.

St. Istavan's Basilica in Budapest.

Afterward, I took the same metro line up to Hero’s Square, which is home to the Millennium Monument, Museum of Fine Arts, and the Palace of Art. The Millennium Monument was built in 1896 to celebrate the city’s 1000th birthday and contains sculptures of some of the most famous Hungarians. Even though it was cloudy, cold, and beginning to rain lightly, the square was filled with lots of people, both tourists and locals enjoying the beautiful surroundings.

Hero's Square in Budapest.

From the square, I walked directly to City Park, which begins across the street from Hero's Square. Within the grounds of the park, there are many things to see or visit. I stopped in at Vajdahunyad Castle, which is a large complex featuring replicas of traditional Hungarian architecture; it contains a Transylvania castle, Benedictine chapel, and a Baroque mansion to name a few. Apparently, some people find the complex corny, but I thought it was actually laid out quite beautifully and looked extremely realistic.

Vajdahunyad Castle in Budapest.

The church at Vajdahunyad Castle in Budapest.

Beautiful flowers at Vajdahunyad Castle in Budapest.

Vajdahunyad Castle in Budapest.

Details from the church at Vajdahunyad Castle in Budapest.

Vajdahunyad Castle in Budapest.

The Church at Vajdahunyad Castle in Budapest.

Vajdahunyad Castle in Budapest.

From here, I walked down through the park to Szechenyi Baths, which is the location of one of Budapest’s many thermal baths. I was hoping to get some photos of the actual baths and pools as I was planning on going a few days later for a swim, but didn’t want to bring my camera with me. Unfortunately, the pool was closed when I arrived so I was only able to take photos of the exterior and a few of the entrance halls.

Szechenyi Baths in Budapest.

Entrance hall at Szechenyi Baths in Budapest.

Szechenyi Baths in Budapest.

From Szechenyi Baths, I headed back to the bed and breakfast. I sat around for a bit, as I attempted to make a decision on a restaurant to eat for dinner. I left without deciding on a place to eat, but found one just five minutes down the street from my hotel called Restaurant A La Carte, which was a traditional Hungarian eatery. I had a potato soup and pork wrapped in bacon for the main course. The food was good, but not necessarily memorable.

Day 11 (Monday, September 15th 2008)

I awoke this morning to a wet and rainy Budapest. After eating breakfast, my first stop of the day was the Hungarian Parliament, where I hoped to take the 10:00 guided English tour of the interior of the building (you can only view the interior via a guided tour). I walked around the massive structure of the Parliament (only 1/8 of the building is occupied by the legislature), and eventually saw a long line of people. It didn't take me long to figure out their system; I had to wait in a line with all others who wanted to buy tickets for a guided tour. However, the line for the tickets was hundreds of yards away from the actual room in the building where the tickets were purchased. The guards would only allow four people in at a time to buy the tickets, and for some reason, it would take ten minutes for each group of four people to buy their tickets. Under normal circumstances, I generally have patience when it comes to having to wait to enter a structure, especially when I know it will be quite beautiful and worth the wait. However, on this day it was pouring down rain with a slight wind and although I had the proper weather attire (rain coat and an umbrella) it didn’t quite help the fact that I was cold and miserable as I waited.

10:00 came and went; I hoped that I could still at least purchase tickets for a tour time later that day. Finally, forty-five minutes later, I was allowed to walk into the building to buy my ticket. When I walked up to the ticket window, the lady walked away for a few minutes. No wonder why this stupid process took so long! When she came back, I put in my request for one ticket for an English tour but was immediately informed that the English tours had already been sold out for the day. To top that off, I was unable to purchase tickets for any of the following days; tickets had to be purchased on the day of the tour.

Standing in line and wasting 45 minutes for a fruitless effort was bad enough by itself, but the fact that I had done so in the cold rain really pissed me off. Why couldn’t they have mentioned to the five million people in line that some of the tours had sold out? It would have saved me a lot of time and aggravation. As I walked back out towards the line of people, I announced very loudly to the crowd that if they planned on taking an English tour they should turn around, as they were sold out. I don’t think many of the people wanted English tours though as they all looked at me quite strangely; oh well, at least I tried!

I continued on, heading back to the metro where I bought a delicious pastry at a shop in the subway. I had a sour cherry strudel, which was literally the most delectable cherry dessert I have ever consumed. I then took the metro and got off on a stop near Vaci Utca.

Delicious cherry pastry in Budapest.

Vaci Utca is one of the main pedestrian boulevards in Budapest and is filled with many stores, boutiques, and restaurants, most geared towards tourists. Along the street, many of the buildings have attractive facades; these were once the town homes of the aristocracy and most have been beautifully restored to their former glory. Being a huge architecture buff, I attempted to take photos of the buildings but most of my attempts ended in frustration as either I or the camera lens got sprinkled with rain drops. Not only that, but in my opinion, most everything just looks better with blue sky as its backdrop. A creamy limestone building doesn’t photograph as well against a gray dreary sky; you really need the sun to fully appreciate its beauty.

Vaci Utca in Budapest.

Even the sewer covers are pretty along Vaci Utca in Budapest.

Vaci Utca in Budapest.

Even the sewer covers are pretty along Vaci Utca in Budapest.

Church along Vaci Utca in Budapest.

Vaci Utca in Budapest.

Detail of a door panel along Vaci Utca in Budapest.

Detail of a door handle along Vaci Utca in Budapest.

Door knocker in Budapest.

Door handle in Budapest.

Eventually Vaci Utca met up with the Great Market Hall, which is a massive food and souvenir market that was originally built in 1896. I was looking very much forward to visiting this facility as I hoped to see and try a lot of new foods. The main artery of the hall was filled with paprika stands, butcher stalls, bakeries, produce stands, and few other random stalls. Upstairs, there was a large selection of souvenirs, both traditional (linens, glass, traditional toys) and non-traditional (key-chains, magnets, t-shirts, etc). I took a ton of photos upstairs of the many colorful objects. I also walked into the basement which was mostly filled with fish stands and pickled items, along with a grocery store and a few places to buy a quick snack. At the end of my visit, I walked back up to the main hall and bought a selection of items including salami, prosciutto, bread, cakes, and pastries. I really enjoyed my stop at the market and probably spent close to two hours during my visit.

Great Market Hall in Budapest.

After the market, I walked back into the cold streets of Budapest. If you didn’t know what month it was, you could have sworn it was at least November or December; it was bitterly cold out! Along the way, I stopped at a small restaurant that served gyros, where I had the tastiest chicken gyro ever.

I walked down several blocks, eventually arriving at the Great Synagogue. It is the second largest synagogue in the world, after the one in New York City and was originally built in 1850, but has been recently restored. The interior of the synagogue seemed to resemble a church, but then I read that when it was built in 1850, the Jews wanted to feel more integrated into society and part of the local community, so they purposely made it look similar to a Christian church. The interior of the synagogue was gorgeous, with lots of warm tones, gold embellishments, and Moorish influences within the design.

Great Synagogue in Budapest.

From the synagogue, I traveled back to my bed and breakfast. I sat in the room for a bit, enjoying some of the delicious goodies I had purchased earlier at the market. I did not have much motivation to complete any additional sightseeing as the rain was still pouring down, but I finally managed to convince myself to leave about 30 minutes later.

From the bed and breakfast, I walked about ten minutes uphill (and up several hundred stairs!) to Matthias Church, located in the Castle District of Buda. The church was built over 700 years ago and was undergoing renovation on the exterior. As I walked into the interior, I was blown away by the beauty I saw; every inch was covered with colorful and ornate gilded wallpaper. The more I travel, the more churches I see and unfortunately, most tend to fade out from my memory. However, there are always a few that stand out in my mind and this church will definitely be one of them!

Matthias Church in Budapest.

From the church, I walked around Fishermen’s Bastion, which is a Neo-Romanesque rampart that looks much older than it really is; it was built in 1896 but looks as though it has been there for centuries! Along the rampart there were incredible views of the Danube River over to the Pest side of the city. Of course, my thoughts at the time were that the views would have been a hundred times better had it been sunny out.

Fishermen's Bastion in Budapest.

Detail from Fishermen's Bastion in Budapest.

Fishermen's Bastion in Budapest.

View from Fishermen's Bastion in Budapest.

Fishermen's Bastion in Budapest.

View from Fishermen's Bastion in Budapest.

Fishermen's Bastion in Budapest.

At this point, I was quite grumpy and fed up with the cold and rainy weather and I was finding it difficult to pull myself out of the funk I was in. I walked for a short time behind the church along Tancsics street, which had some quaint old buildings.

Tancsics Street in Budapest.

Eventually, I had simply had enough of the weather, so I walked back down to the bed and breakfast. Initially, I had planned to venture further into the Castle District, towards the Royal Palace and later to take a night cruise on the Danube, but neither were going to happen this day. I had spent too much time this day outside in the crappy weather; even this Washingtonian can only handle so much rain. I spent the rest of the night relaxing in my room as I heard the rain pelting down above me.

Day 12 (Tuesday, September 16th 2008)

Today I had planned an excursion outside of the city to the Danube Bend, visiting the cities of Szentendre, Visegrad, and Esztergom, with a stop at the Hungarian Open Air Folk Museum. The Danube River, which begins in Germany, flows east through Austria before making a right turn near Budapest. Thus, this area of Hungary is known as the "Danube Bend", and encompasses several small towns north of Budapest, including the ones listed above.

Due to the lack of public transportation options between all three cities, I decided to splurge and hire a private driver for the day. The cost was quite expensive (28,800 HUF or about $171) but I figured it was somewhat worth the hassle of not having to complete the drive myself.

The driver picked me up from the bed and breakfast at 9:00. My first stop was the town furthest away from Budapest, Esztergom, which happens to be home to the largest church in all of Hungary. The giant basilica was completed in 1869 in the Neoclassical style. The interior of the church was beautiful with many large frescoes painted everywhere.

Esztergom Basilica

After touring the church, I walked behind the building and down several hundred stairs to Vizivaros, which is also known as “Watertown,” a small neighborhood of colorful homes and buildings. I later walked back up those stairs and met the driver in the parking lot of the church.

Walking my way down to Watertown in Esztergom.

Back view of Esztergom Basilica.

Esztergom

Back view of Esztergom Basilica.

Next, I drove over the border to the city of Sturovo, located in the country of Slovakia in order to be treated with an expansive view of Esztergom over the Danube River.

View of Esztergom, Hungary from Sturvo, Slovakia.

The bridge from Esztergom, Hungary to Sturvo, Slovakia.

From here, the driver took me back into Esztergom, where I was dropped off at the main square in town. Although it was raining out, I was quite happy just to walk around the newly renovated square that was filled with gorgeous old buildings.

Esztergom

From Esztergom, I headed to Visegrad, which was the smallest of the three towns I visited. I drove up some switchbacks to Visegrad Citadel, which is home to a not so interesting (at least in my opinion) castle. The views from the top however provided an amazing view of the Danube Bend, even with the crappy weather I experienced.

View from Visegrad Citadel.

Entrance to the castle at Visegrad Citadel.

The Castle at Visegrad Citadel.

View from the castle at Visegrad Citadel.

The Castle at Visegrad Citadel.

Next, I drove back down into the town of Visegrad, where I walked around for a bit. As the town is much smaller than the other two I visited, there really isn’t much to see or do in the city, the only exception being the Royal Palace (built during the Renaissance period), which is partially in ruins after being rediscovered in 1934.

Royal Castle in Visegrad.

After Visegrad, the driver took me to the Hungarian Open Air Folk Museum, which was located just a few miles from Szentendre. The museum features examples of traditional Hungarian buildings from all over the country. Each of the buildings are originals that were taken apart at their original location and then carefully moved and reassembled at the museum. The grounds were massive and quite spread out, so I was unable to visit each of the sections as I only had a little over an hour to visit. In order to ensure a complete and thorough visit, at least a full day would be required. As I’ve mentioned several times previously, I am a huge history buff so I absolutely love visiting the open air museums in Europe.

Hungarian Open Air Folk Museum.

My final stop of the day was at the town of Szentendre, which is the most frequently visited of all the cities along the Danube Bend. My driver dropped me off at the end of town and I walked in, eventually making my way to the center of town. The main drag in Szentendre was filled to the brim with shops selling all sorts of tourist junk and many tourists buying the crap! As I ventured away only a street or two from the main square, I would find myself being the only one there, minus a few locals. The city was nice, and I guess quaint to a point, but it wasn’t as spruced up as Eger was, so overall, the experience was slightly disappointing.

Szentendre

I was driven back to Budapest and dropped off in front of the bed and breakfast. I was absolutely exhausted, so I took a nap.

Later that evening, I ate a late dinner at an Italian restaurant called Pizza Marzano, where I ordered pizza that much to my disappointment, wasn't very good. I had attempted to eat dinner at a nearby highly recommended French restaurant, but when I looked into the windows of the restaurant, everyone seemed to be dressed up so I didn’t feel comfortable enough with my casual clothes to eat there.

Day 13 (Wednesday, September 17th 2008)

My first planned sightseeing event today was to Statue Park, which was located several miles outside of downtown Budapest. Statue Park is home to statues that were erected throughout Budapest during the Communist era. In order to get to the park, I took a 15 minute tram ride from an area near my hotel, which dropped me off at a large bus station. From the bus station, I had to wait another 30 minutes for a bus to arrive. The bus ride to the park took about 10 minutes. When I arrived at the park, it was bitterly cold with a brutal wind. I was surprised at the small size of the park; I had imagined that the park would contain dozens and dozens of statues, but I saw maybe 20 total. I spent about 15 minutes in the park taking photos and then left to wait for the next bus.

Statue Park

After arriving back in central Budapest, I took the metro to the Holocaust Memorial Center. It’s a newer museum that has been created to honor the 600,000 Hungarian victims (both Jews and Roma) of the Nazis. The exterior of the building was very modern looking with creative tributes to the victims, including a black marble wall that was etched with the names of all of the victims. I was very impressed with the interior of the museum as well; it was housed in a darkly lit space but used many interactive means to pull you into the story. There were various types of loud music that played overhead in each room, helping to emphasize the mood they were attempting to evoke. Along with the background story of the Jewish experience in Hungary during the first part of the 20th century, the museum also included various personal stories of several families who were directly impacted by the Holocaust. Similar to the Museum of Terror in Budapest, this museum was also well laid out with descriptive illustrations of the horrific experiences of the Holocaust in Hungary.

Holocaust Memorial Center

After the somber experience at museum, I went back to my bed and breakfast to collect the needed items for my next activity; relaxing in one of Budapest’s thermal baths. I had chosen Szechenyi Baths, which is located towards the middle of City Park. I was actually quite nervous for this event. I think my main problem was the fact that I did not know what to expect.

Szechenyi Baths

Budapest is filled with two dozen different thermal baths. Szechenyi is one of the most well-known and more popular with the locals. For centuries, those living in Budapest have taken advantage of the many thermal pools of water that lie below the city’s surface. Within the last two centuries, elaborate building complexes were created around these thermal pools to allow more people to soak in the warm waters. Today, Szechenyi is filled with many different sizes of pools on the outside, with most ranging around 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). Inside, there are several smaller thermal baths where the temperatures averaged around 36-38 degrees Celsius (97-100 degrees Fahrenheit).

After purchasing my entrance ticket and renting a towel, I walked to my changing cabin. I was able to leave my valuables in the small room as the door locked. As apprehensive as I was, I finally made my way outside in the frigid air; well, not frigid, but it was only about 50 degrees Fahrenheit so it was quite cold to be outside in my bathing suit! I decided to visit the thermal baths inside first as they closed a few hours before the outside pools did. I soaked in the warm thermal baths as long as I could, and then walked outside to the pools. I nearly died when I took my first steps into the cold air; it was so insanely cold that I was unable to breath and could barely move.

Szechenyi Baths

Once in the large pools, I warmed up, but it took a little longer as they were slightly colder than the thermal baths. I stayed in the jetted area for a bit and then eventually had a ton of fun swirling around in the whirlpool. I ended up staying for nearly two hours. In the end, I can honestly say that I had a thousand times more fun than I thought I would have had. Once I got over my insecurities and nerves, I was easily able to realize why the baths are so popular with the locals. Trying one of the thermal baths in Budapest is a requirement while visiting the city. It truly places you side by side with the locals and is an incredibly fun experience!

After the baths, I headed back towards my bed and breakfast, but not before stopping in at a restaurant called Horgasztanya for a late dinner. The restaurant was filled with both locals and tourists and had quite an extensive fish menu. They also had plenty of pork and chicken dishes to choose from. I had roasted chicken breasts with mashed potatoes, which was actually much better than I thought it would be and delicious. The only problem with the restaurant however was the lack of service. I am not usually too picky in this department, but when I ask for my bill, I don’t mean 15 minutes later. The waiter was quite rude when I asked for the bill, and said something like “yeah, I’ll get to it” and waved his hands at me. However, during the entire 15 minutes I was waiting for the bill he was standing directly next to me talking to another patron. I thought it was quite rude, but the good food helped to make up for his disagreeable personality.

Day 14 (Thursday, September 18th 2008)

On my final morning in Budapest, I left around 8:00 in order to try and obtain tickets for a tour at the Hungarian Parliament. I was aiming to obtain tickets for the 10:00 English tour, but ended up with the 11:00 German tour. Obviously, I don’t speak German but I figured I would just follow along.

After I returned from purchasing the ticket, I packed up all of my belongings and then headed downstairs for breakfast. While I ate, I had a long but enjoyable conversation with a couple from Michigan, and another from Seattle. One of my favorite parts of traveling is the people you meet and encounter through your travels, most of whom are exactly like you and truly understand the term “wanderlust.”

After breakfast, I headed out for the Parliament. Upon arrival, I was pleased to see a small group waiting, a few of whom also spoke English and like me, were unable to secure an English tour. As I walked inside the Parliament, I was blown away by the gorgeous interior. It was filled with lots of gold engravings and embellishments, and rich colors such as deep reds and blues, and it was made obvious that no expense was spared when this was built about 100 years ago. Although I couldn’t understand a word coming from the tour guide, I simply appreciated the architecture and design of the building, reading a few pages from my guidebook that descried the lavish interior.

Hungarian Parliament

After the 45 minute tour, I headed back to the bed and breakfast to pick up my bags. From here, I took a quick taxi ride to the train station, and then took a combination of a nine hour train, bus, and second train ride to Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Up next: Ljubljana, Slovenia

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Budapest, Hungary

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Sunday, March 3, 2013

Budapest, Hungary

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