Last day for Budapest

My last day in Budapest was overcast and rainy, so luckily I had planned a day around museums and indoor activities!

I started off with the Hungarian National Museum which houses a large collection of hungarian artifacts through the ages, including some pretty old crowns, a silk and gold embroidered coronation mantle dating to 1031.

I headed up to the castle on the buda hills in the afternoon and visited the Budapest Labyrinth, a really unusual exhibition. It is set in tunnels far below street level underneath the castle and is really quite creepy. They keep it poorly lit, the ceilings are low and there are sensors in many rooms which start creepy music, percussion or heartbeat sounds when you enter. I would prefer if they started lights! I headed in on my own, but must admit it quickly became a bit much and I was jumping at shadows. Happily I waited for a bit (retraced my footsteps for a while) and came upon a couple of americans with their hungarian friend. I stuck with them! We wandered through together trying to figure out what (if anything) was going on. One of the americans was a boy about 12 years old, so happily he strode forward into the darker, more cramped corridors to scope it out before the rest of us followed - me often ducking my head.

Basically, it has various pieces of artwork depicting the various times - from prehistoric, to renaissance, the monarchies and present day. All quite strange and unexpected so far underground. Still, it was an experience and my heart rate went up a few times!!

I searched for the Hospital in the cave - which is also on (or rather in) the castle hill somewhere and is basically a more historic and educational look at the use of some of the tunnels and caves as hospitals during the war. Sadly, and despite maps and directions I wasn't able to find it... sigh! one of those annoying tourist things.

I was planning, also, to visit the Hungarian National Gallery which is housed in one of the buildings of the Royal Palace but there was a wine festival on, and some of the gallery was closed, so I gave it all a miss.

Headed back to town and to the West End City shopping centre for one last hungarian funnel cake and a coffee before coming home to get ready for dinner, and organised for packing for my flight to London tomorrow.

(yes, the funnel cake was worth it! now, how do I start a regular hungarian festival in Brissie so I can eat them again??)

Gellert Hill

After finishing at the Central Market, I headed across the river to the bottom of Gellert Hill where I commenced the climb to the citadel and liberty monument.

The monument is very impressive and can be seen from all over Budapest. Interestingly, it used to be a communist monument, with a very serious and scary soldier at her side, but now she is just a monument to liberty.

I had a look around the citadel too, again the obligatory tourist souvenir shops, and went inside the small museum in the bunker. This museum has photographs and memorabilia from the war and really shows the devastation of the town and man's inhumanity to man... No more wars please!

I headed back down the hill to meet my friends for a dessert buffet for afternoon tea - delish! I tried a few more hungarian sweet treats.... yum! With the coffee, and sparkling wine, I really didn't need anything for dinner!

To finish off the day, I headed over to the folk museum (or museum of ethnography) near the parliament. This museum gives a really interesting insight into the life of the hungarians before the world wars and before communism. The building that houses this museum is absolutely beautiful with a grand entrance hall.

The day worked out beautifully for me as the morning was fine and clear and the afternoon was rainy - while I was eating dessert and checking out the museum. yay!

St Stephen's Basilica and Central Market

I focussed my energies here in Budapest again today - the curse of the tourist - so much to see, so little time!!

I started by visiting St Stephen's Basilica - a lovely old church in the middle of downtown Pest. Almost all of the other buildings in town have very politely stayed just a little shorter than the tower. Of course, I climbed to the top (stairs all the way) to survey the view. Luckily it was a fine, clear day so I could see in every direction.

The castle on Buda hill across the river.

Gellert Hill and the liberty monument from the top of the Basilica.

Inside there is a large statue of St Stephen at the main alter and also a large painting of him handing over care of Hungary and the crown to the Virgin Mary (he had no male heirs).

The most interesting and strange relic is apparently his mummified right hand... a little creepy... the lights come on when someone puts a coin in the box...

From here I headed to the Central Market - a huge undercover market for fresh fruit, vegetables, meats, breads and dairy.

Upstairs was a large range of crafts and souvenirs.

Very colourful and interesting. I think there were some locals there for the food, but of course there were many tourists as well...

Szentendre, Margaret Island and Communist History

I took a little field trip out to a nearby town today called Szentendre. I had hoped to take a boat cruise on the Duna (Danube) river to get there but unfortunately the boats go every day... except Monday! So I took the train which only took about 30 or 45 minutes. Its a cute little town, narrow streets, lots of tourist shops, so I wandered around for an hour or so before finding the Margit Kovacs Museum which has a collection of her work. She was an artist who made beautiful pottery sculptures, some very simple small ones of children and people are just delightful!

On the way home I picked up what basically amounted to a lamington, in a little bakery in a tiny village in Hungary... only difference? Only iced and coconutted on 5 sides... did we steal from them or them from us??

When I arrived back in Budapest, I went for a walk around Margaret Island, a small island in the middle of the Duna river. It is a beautiful big park and a lovely place to escape the hustle and bustle of the city. There are ruins of an old chapel, beautiful flower gardens, an old water tower, and old convent and a really lovely japanese garden. Perfect for sitting peacefully in the afternoon.

I joined the Free Communist Walking tour this afternoon for a bit of an insight into life in communist Hungary and the post communist democracy they are living in now. It was an extremely interesting tour (same guide as the general tour) delivered by people who had grown up during the communist period. It was very interesting to here of some of the things that are better without communism (freedom of speech and thought, parts of education) and some of the things that were better before (health care, education, equality). It will be a long road to a true democracy and a healthy economy for Hungary, perhaps generations.

The ground floor of this building has been renovated, but the upper floors have not. During the communist time, the buildings weren't kept in good condition by the government and now the people (except for the shop owners on the ground floor) can't afford to renovate.

Typical communist buildings. Very basic, cheap and crowded.

This is one of the few remaining communist monuments left in Budapest, the majority have been moved out of town and set up in a 'statue park' for people to see, including huge statues of Stalin and Lenin. This monument is for the liberation of Hungary from the Germans (by Russia) at the end of the second world war. As our guide said, they did liberate us, they just stayed too long!

Hungary only became communist at the end of the second world war when they were liberated and then occupied by the russians. Communism here was less extreme than that in more eastern European countries as there was an uprising in about 1956 in hungary which led to a softer approach from Moscow. They had Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola, could wear jeans and watch MTV in the 1980's unlike those other areas.

At the end of the tour they showed us a range of 'relics' of the communist period including photographs of Budapest at the time, passports, identity books, communism books and medals. Altogether a very interesting tour - I'd recommend it to anyone!

Concerts, Fetes and festivals

My local metro station. The public transport here is fantastic - so easy!

We started the day with a piano concert in the Liszt Academy of music. There was an italian pianist, Daniele Terzano who was absolutely wonderful! A really soft touch on the keys and clearly passionate. He played a few pieces by Liszt (of course) a few by Debussy, and then for encore a piece from Tosca. Incredible! I gather he is accompanying the operas that I will miss! It was interesting because the audience does not clap between songs here, only at the end of the Liszt and again at the end of the Debussy. I gather it can be quite stressful for the musician as you get no feedback on how they're enjoying things...

After this we headed to the suburbs for a local festival or fete. I could have been at any local school fete except for the hungarian food and music. I had the opportunity to try Goulash - the traditional beef stew cooked in a pot hanging over an open fire, and also a traditional dessert which is very like trifle - vanilla and chocolate sponge with cream and custard, a bit of fruit (sultanas I think) and some brandy... I also tried some of the various bbq'd meats they had on offer - the sausages were delish!

After we came back to town, I headed to the Szechenyi baths, where I spent about an hour hopping in and out of hot baths of varying temperatures - 28, 36, 38 and 40 degrees celcius - SOOoo relaxing! I then had a half hour massage before heading home to bed. yawn!

On Sunday we hit the trams and trains again for another suburban festival - this one associated with various caves (wine tasting!). There were extensive markets and we wandered happily around for a few hours. Again, I have to mention the food - I tried the Toscni - like potato rusti but deep fried, and the Langos - very popular fried bread served with cheese and sour cream - both yummy.

Happily I also found my personal favourite... Kurtoskalacs or hungarian funnel or chimney cakes - yum!

We arrived back in town to find Andrassy street closed to vehicles and with a piano set up every hundred metres or so... Incredible! There were people everywhere enjoying the music, and festivities.

After a quick trip home to get changed into appropriate clothing (one of my new France dresses with two singlets and stockings with my sandals), we met again for a quick coffee in a cafe before I headed to the Opera House for the Gustav Mahler Symphony II. I'd bought one of the few remaining tickets - only 1000F which is about $5 - and I was sitting in the top balcony - at the back! But it was wonderful! After I realised that I had to use a side entrance to the building, no grand staircase for me - and found my seat I settled in for a lovely evening of beautiful, beautiful music.

Its all a little bit different here, which I love. The concert started with the audience standing and the full orchestra playing the hungarian national anthem - beautiful!! we should do that at home in Aus! Then they played "An die Freude - Anthem of the European Union" by Beethoven. The symphony has a full orchestra - in this case about 80 people - and also features an alto soloist and a soprano singing with a full choir - there must have been about 100 in the choir... so basically 180 people on stage singing and playing their hearts out. Absolutely wonderful!

After the concert we met up again to go to dinner at a buffet featuring traditional hungarian food. delicious! I was certainly tired and happy at the end of this day!!

Budapest Exploration!

I headed into town this morning to meet up with the "Free Budapest Walk" which is 2.5 hours, first walking around downtown Pest and then across the bridge to the castle area on the hill in Buda. It was a very interesting tour, and great to start with as it gave me a good orientation around the city.

Saint Stevens Basilica

This is an interesting town with a long and troubled history. The hungarians have basically been occupied by one foreign power followed by another...

Some of the scars remain

St Steven was the first king of Hungary who brought christianity to the hungarians and settled them here where hungary is today, around the year 1000. He was and is well loved by the hungarians.

Unlike Prague which I gather has many really old buildings, most of the buildings in Budapest are under 200 years old, many built towards the end of the 1800's.

A fairly new tower (less than 100 years) built in the castle area.

The buildings were often built in historical styles which gives the place an older feel. Of course there are also a number of buildings which were built during the communist period which are very plain, square, uninteresting and inexpensive buildings (think the worst of the 1980's). So there is an eclectic feel to the place.

Chain Bridge

The tour was run by a group of Hungarian born and bred people around my age who are passionate about sharing their city and their history - I will go on the communist walk later in the week. The tour is free, but of course at the end if you have enjoyed the tour and found it worthwhile, you can give them a tip. And I did - It was great and I would recommend it to anyone (and I have!). They sat us down at the end of the tour and gave us tips and hints about the town, where to go, what to see and what to avoid.

After trying a couple of bakery treats I had a quiet afternoon at home before heading to my friends' house for dinner. It was lovely!! They had some other guests around my age and we had a lovely evening chatting about all sorts of things. I also had the chance to try some delicious hungarian wine from the Szekszardi region - a winner, and some goose liver pate with the spicy paprika! I also had a small snifter of the local fire water - Palinka. Quite nice but enough to take your head off, especially if you have some home made!!

I can report happily that my head was fine the next day!!

Budapest!

First things first... it's pronounced "Budapesht"

Well I arrived happily in Budapest after a very smooth trip to Geneve airport and flight with EasyJet. We even arrived 15 minutes early! I managed to spend my spare time waiting for the flight using the free wifi - so everyone is a winner!

I caught the minibus from the airport straight to my apartment - very convenient and was met there by my friend. He took me for a traditional hungarian lunch - neither of us knew what it was but we ordered the set menu which turned out to be delicious onion soup, veal and rice with peas, followed by an interesting dessert made with pasta and grapes! tasty, filling and only a few Euros each. He took me to the metro station to buy my one week pass for the metro, tram and bus, and I was set to explore.

I headed first for the State Opera house, built in about 1870 something. I was keen to find out what operas were on so I could buy a ticket and go along. Sadly, the first opera of the season is on the 9th of September, the day I fly out... Its Tosca, and the next day is Carmen.... booo!!

As it is, I have bought a ticket to a Gustav Mahler symphony, and I am quietly expecting it to be fantastic!

I walked to the Duna River (Danube) and caught the number 2 tram a couple of stops in one direction - to the Parliament house - and then a few stops back in the other direction. I got off and wandered back in a zig zag fashion towards the opera house where I was booked on the afternoon guided tour. Its an interesting old city - everyone has been very friendly despite the fact that I speak absolutely no Hungarian (I can't even get the words for hello or thankyou to stick in my head).

As I wandered along, I saw a queue of people lining up beside a small hole in the wall. As I drew closer, it appeared that it was beside a bakery. I then realised with glee, that the man inside the wall was cooking fresh waffles to order!! I joined the queue! I purchased a fresh, hot waffle which was filled with a chocolate custard - oh yeah!!

I arrived back at the opera house in time for the tour and I met a couple of american guys who were in town for that day only and were trying to fit in as much as they could... I tagged along! The guided tour was interesting, the opera house is very opulent and has special entrances, and staircases and box seats for royalty - used by the heads of state now. The tour finished with a few excerpts of some arias from various operas sung by a tenor who was actually quite good.... so annoying I will miss them!!

At this point the americans thought they needed to leave to run to parliament for their guided tour twenty minutes later. I stayed for the mini concert, headed for the metro and met them there!! they were puffing and I was totally relaxed! hee hee. Sadly, it seemed that there were no tickets left for that afternoon's tour... The boys who had purchased theirs that morning encouraged me to use some 'Aussie charm' with the guard to see if I could still buy a ticket... Amazingly, it worked!! I think it also helped that he spoke French, and so did I so I got onto the tour, and headed inside.

The parliament is a huge building, somewhat modelled on the British Parliament buildings from the outside and is very opulent, with gold leaf everywhere on the inside. They have the Hungarian crown jewels in there, parts of which date back to the 1100's - impressive!

One thing I found a little amusing, was that there was a brass cigar holder on each of the window sills outside the main room. Basically they weren't allowed to smoke inside so they would leave their cigars in the numbered slots and return to them during or after session. Apparently you could tell how good the speeches were by how much the cigars had burnt down!

After parliament we walked over the chain bridge and up about a million steps to the top of the hill on the Buda side of the river where there is a castle. We were searching for some wine tasting but ended up disappointed. We did, however find a guy selling people turns at bow and arrow - which was great fun, and better still we found some people selling hungarian funnel cakes... yum!!! I had cinnamon - just like donuts!

The americans headed for the thermal baths, but I decided to leave this for another day - I was exhausted by day one!!