We set out for Castle Hill on the Buda side of the city to see the Royal Palace (aka Buda Castle), Fisherman's Bastion, and the heavily decorated (thanks to the Turks) Matthias Church. The view of Pest from the hill is quite spectacular.
Matthias Church
Decoration inside Matthias Church
House of Parliament on the Pest bank
From here we crossed the Danube to Vorosmarty Ter (square) and wandered down Vaci Utca, the shopping street, towards our lunch destination. Food isn't one of the remarkable points of the city. I stuck with a salad on this occasion which proved a good choice. From here we headed to the Great Market Hall where I peered through the windows to see Gustav Eiffel's building (it closes at 2pm for those of you planning a visit).
Belinda and Jeremy
Changing directions, we walked up towards St Stephen's Basilica and the Houses of Parliament. The architect of both buildings knew what he was doing! I'm not particularly a fan of neo-geothic but its hard not to be impressed, especially when you see them lit up at night. In fact, the best way to see Budapest from the river banks at night.
St Stephen's Basilica
Me by the river at night (or 5pm)
My father will attest that I do try the local food wherever possible so at dinner at Menza in Liszt Ferenc Ter, a square which is lined with restaurants and bars, I tried the Hungarian beef stew. It was essentially beef stroganoff with egg dumplings (think gnocci) and I'm afraid I wasn't impressed. I'm sticking with Vietnamese!
Sunday was a bit of a mad dash as I only had one day left to see everything, while BK and Jez had another day. We did manage it all though! In urgent need of tissues I stole some paper towel from an Hungarian hot dog vendor before we ducked into a supermarket for the real thing. I can report that, with the exception of paying for your plastic bags, these are the same as the West.
The three of us entered the Gellert Baths with great anticipation. We bought our tickets for the steam baths, massages and towels, and were separated - male/female - for the next couple of hours. Belinda and I were in a state of bewilderment for the entire period! After changing into our swimmers, we were firstly sent to the combined swimming pool area for half an hour - instructed that massage and towels come later by a very strict Hungarian woman who was clearly running the show in the change room. A great spot for people watching, we relaxed in the warm pool and then did a quick lap of the cold pool. Next we were to queue up for our massage. The plastic chairs were lined up outside the massage room and in the thoroughfare between the change rooms and steam baths. Having been given a sheet to wear in place of our togs, we stripped here as gracefully as possible and waited patiently for our turn. Endless people watching opportunities here. Women young & old, all shapes and sizes, bare and otherwise wandering by. When it was my turn, I was surprised to find an open room where all the women lay naked with their massuese above them...when in rome. It was a relaxing half hour on the table after which we'd sadly run out of time for the saunas and baths so i'll have to go back and do it again. Btw, we never got the towels.
Our afternoon was spent at Gerbeaud for cakes and coffee which they've been serving since 1870; strolling down Andrassy Ut past the State Opera House, and around the City Park and Heroes Square.
It was a jam packed weekend but I'd definitely recommend Budapest for a weekend. Just stick to the western food, and save some money by using the oldest metro in Europe (the taxis are the most expensive thing in the city).
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