| Down, down, down we go, until we reach the river and yet another statue, this one of Christian martyr St. Gellert. From here a tram takes us towards home. |
Where We Be
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| The Hungarian Parliament Building looks like a marvelous floating island of light on a nighttime Danube River cruise |
| Budapest, Hungary |
Budapest steals your heart at night: one 9 pm
river cruise along the Danube is all it takes to
fall in love with this place. Just like Venice, the
combination of water and illuminated buildings
makes for an unbeatable combination. And what
buildings! The Hungarian Parliament is simply
enormous and wonderfully neo-Gothic in its
design. The west bank of the river -- the Buda
side -- boasts the almost equally impressive
Buda Castle.
Did you know Budapest has the second-oldest
metro system in the world after London? It also
has an excellent tram and bus system. The #2
tram follows along the river on the eastern
(Pest) side and is a fun way to introduce your-
self to the city. A 72-hour Budapest Travelcard
is a great value here at around $15 US. We used
it repeatedly to get around this big city, taking a
bus, for instance, to get up to Buda Castle and a
metro to visit the famous Szechenyi Thermal
Bath (which we admired from the outside but
didn't go in). No doubt an actual soak at Szech-
enyi would have given us even more cause to
fall in love with this "Queen of the Danube."
river cruise along the Danube is all it takes to
fall in love with this place. Just like Venice, the
combination of water and illuminated buildings
makes for an unbeatable combination. And what
buildings! The Hungarian Parliament is simply
enormous and wonderfully neo-Gothic in its
design. The west bank of the river -- the Buda
side -- boasts the almost equally impressive
Buda Castle.
Did you know Budapest has the second-oldest
metro system in the world after London? It also
has an excellent tram and bus system. The #2
tram follows along the river on the eastern
(Pest) side and is a fun way to introduce your-
self to the city. A 72-hour Budapest Travelcard
is a great value here at around $15 US. We used
it repeatedly to get around this big city, taking a
bus, for instance, to get up to Buda Castle and a
metro to visit the famous Szechenyi Thermal
Bath (which we admired from the outside but
didn't go in). No doubt an actual soak at Szech-
enyi would have given us even more cause to
fall in love with this "Queen of the Danube."
| Pad Thai Wok Bar (close to our Three Corners Hotel Art) quickly becomes our go-to eatery |
| Vaci Street is the most touristed pedestrian thoroughfare in Budapest, but on a Saturday morning it's mostly empty |
| After the cruise we wander back towards home and get two half-liters of beer at Billy's Pub for just €2 each |
| The #2 tram is a fun way to get around the eastern (Pest) side of the city. Its northern terminus is just steps away from the Hungarian Parliament Building. |
| The bastion is decorated with numerous statues, like this one of St. Stephen astride his horse |
| Next to the church is Fisherman’s Bastion (aka Halászbástya), a 19th century mock bastion with fairytale turrets |
| What's most noteworthy about Fisherman's Bastion is its killer views |
| Near the castle is this whimsical "Fishing Children" fountain |
| The views from Buda Castle are excellent too -- here you can see the Chain Bridge with the Hungarian Parliament in the distance |
| The castle is a popular spot for photos |
| 9 pm: time for our river cruise! The 70-minute Silverline cruise costs only €14 each and is a highlight of our time here. Buda Castle looks amazing all lit up at night. |
| The only thing that tops it is the Hungarian Parliament Building -- just wow! |
| The next day is mostly rainy, but in the late afternoon we take the oldest metro in continental Europe towards Heroes' Square and Szechenyi Thermal Bath |
| Heroes' Square with its Millennium Monument honors important Hungarian leaders from the past |
| We stroll through nearby City Park, past Vajdahunyad Castle (now an agricultural museum) |
| Eventually we reach Szechenyi Thermal Bath |
| We catch a glimpse inside and can definitely see why this is such a popular attraction |
| We hop on the metro and pay a visit to the Doheny Street Synagogue, the biggest synagogue in Europe |
| A weeping willow sculpture honors those who helped Jews in Hungary during the Nazi regime |
| Speak of the devil -- this is the Hungarian Parliament Building, which elicited a "Wow!" from both of us |
| In the morning, with its facade in full sunlight, the Parliament Building is something to behold |
| Most would agree this is THE sight to see in Budapest |
| Shoes on the Danube is a moving memorial to Jews who were shot on the banks of the Danube in World War II |
| Dominating the skyline on the Buda side is Buda Castle |
| St. Stephen’s Basilica (aka Szent Istvan Bazilika) features a 300-foot neo-Renaissance dome |
| Cobblestoned Zrinyi Street, which leads to the basilica, is lined with fine hotels and restaurants |
| The elegant Chain Bridge was the first permanent bridge across the Danube in Hungary (1849) |
| We catch a bus to the Buda side and get off at the top of Buda Hill near Matthias Church -- the coronation church for numerous Hungarian kings |
| Nearby is the lovely Capuchin Church |
| Mosaic tile paving outside the basilica |
| "The Fat Policeman" |
| We walk downhill from Matthias Church to Buda Castle, which was destroyed by fire in World War II and rebuilt with modern interiors |
| Langos is a local favorite: deep-fried bread topped with garlic and cheese |
| Even the manhole covers in Budapest are pretty! |