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Europe » Hungary » Central Hungary » Budapest » Buda
September 27th 2012
Published: September 27th 2012
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Our first taste of Hungarian life was sitting at the back of a shuttle bus enduring quite a trip into the city centre. It was not the shortest of journeys as unbeknownst to us we were the last drop off due to being the furthest away. Our hotel was on the Buda side of the city and after being up and down most of the streets on the Pest side we felt somewhat relieved when we crossed the Danube; “Danube so blue, so bright and blue” may not be the best description these days but I will resist the attempt to change history. The view that awaited us was on a par with what we had experienced in Barcelona as we were elevated and near the Castle and we looked back over the river and away over the Pest skyline. The vista is stunning and made our arrival all the better. It is always nice to arrive and find out that the hotel you booked on the internet is not falling down or situated in the city’s high crime zone – we have been lucky so far although Howard Johnson’s in Fredericksburg could claim to be the worst. It was nothing like the brochure and I am sure the previous tenants had only just moved out or maybe they hadn’t. Our room even overlooked a Unabomber type cabin. The Burg Hotel, Budapest was nothing like this and was situated a road width away from the spectacular 14th Century late Gothic inspired Mathias Church. Upon checking in we were greeted with the ‘oh so sweet’ words of “are you here for the Wine Festival?” We weren’t, but there have been worse coincidences in life. So that is how we found ourselves in the grounds of the Buda Castle tasting wines and trying different Hungarian foods at the 27th Budapest Wine Festival. It was an amazing night and as the sun went down the city became illuminated below and we could trace the river cruise boats and ferries making their way up and down the river. We tasted a wide range of Hungarian wines – there must have been a hundred different stalls where you could swap your coupons for a glass of white, red, fizz or port. With the Hungarian Florin you have a wallet bulging with notes but that does not necessarily mean you are the richest person in the yard, so they had devised a great system where you bought coupons and then each vineyard set their own pricing; it certainly saved on time and if you did your research you could get five glasses for 10 coupons. To our untrained eye it appeared most of the clientele wandering around were Hungarian with a scattering of tourists. The food smells were incredible and we tried Hungarian cheeses, meats, and a local delicacy called Langos; it is a low cholesterol killer as it is basically fried bread batter smothered in garlic butter and mayonnaise. It is one of those food types that are situation dependent as I could not see myself eating it anywhere else – plus if you ate more than once a week for a few years you would be dead or at least heading for cardiac arrest.



After our fill of wine and Langos the night before, we decided to walk across the river to the Pest side. The Danube is an incredible river with an immense amount of water flowing under the bridges. I have not seen a stronger current since canoeing the Menai Strait near Anglesey and you get the same weird sensation of static poles in the water seemingly racing at a great rate forward due to the wake that they make. The boats moored by the side of the river are tethered by large steel cables to take the strain. You could play poo sticks with trees. As you leave the bridge and head further into the city the large St Stephen’s Basilica looms into view. It dominates your eye line as you walk towards it and there is no way that a trip to Budapest is complete without walking up the steps to the main doors. Inside is unbelievable and quite staggering in its colour, size and sense of tranquillity. The ceiling and its frescoes need to be seen to be believed – I also liked the relaxed way that you could wander around without the pushiness of Notre Dame. In a small chapel to the left of the altar you will find the “The Holy Right Hand”. The slightly macabre religious relic of Saint Stephen’s hand lies within a small cabinet; through history it has been carried throughout Europe but it was returned to Hungary in 1945 and has been revered by the nation ever since. Outside of the basilica is some newer institutions for the nation to admire and share in – it is quite strange to stand at the top of the steps and see the Californian Coffee Company, Starbucks and a Burger King all in close proximity. Capitalism has come to all.



The Andrassy Boulevard leads to Heroes Square and once we had made our way there we found another festival of sorts. We should have gauged that the day was slightly different as roads were closed and we walked a temporary pedestrian thoroughfare with others carrying flags and fair type foods. And what should be at the end of the boulevard – horse racing! They had closed off the round-a-bout, covered it with a layer of sand, built spectator stands, and horse races were run every ten minutes. I say races as they looked a bit staged and from what we could glean they were regional teams’ event. It was quite an event and at the turn there must have been about a ten deep crowd. The only downside to their day may have been the fact that they used the drained lake to park the cars in, which worked well until somebody left the water on and it was slowly refilling. Those who had parked early and near the front were going to need a horse to get to their cars. We had no such worries and ended up at a food festival where we tried local Hungarian fare (no Langos) all washed down with a local beer. We sat at shared tables and the two Asian girls next to us had goulash soup served within a large bread bowl – they could have swum in it. When we left they were still photographing it and for all I know they were still there as the organisers packed up. It was a wonderful afternoon and we saw the Pest Castle and the little known Museum of Agriculture; neither of which we went into. The Museum of Agriculture just sounds crashing without any need of reinforcement by going inside.



A Sunday in Budapest is, according to a website we were using, a family day and tourists are informed that nothing will be open. We went into the centre with this in mind and even chatted about how nice it was that a city still cared enough for family. Well, on closer inspection that website needs updating. Yes, some shops and buildings are closed but in a time of economic downturn there has obviously been a desire to get more cash out of the tourist wallets. The streets were alive with people; cafés were open, buskers played, street entertainers performed and tourists mingled amongst them. We wanted to improve our knowledge of Hungary so we headed straight to the National Museum (not Agriculture) – it is not large but it is very well done and (travellers tip) on a Sunday it is free. Once again we tried to give the lady at the front desk money and she refused. We spent most of our time in the 20th Century rooms reading as much as we could on how Hungary has transformed itself over recent years and the effects of both WW1 and WW2. Their early military war losses were overwhelming with over 50%!o(MISSING)f the 3.8m mobilised men killed, injured or made POWs. It was their conversion from Communist state to today being a free member of the EU – although they have not yet adopted the Euro - that was the most astounding. As a nation they had few choices after WW2, and in reality none that they could follow themselves so much was imposed on them. As the century went on it became far more apparent that economic concerns had to underline their decisions and in that way freedoms slowly came – and in very simplistic terms is why you can now drink a Grande Double Shot Skinny Latte on the steps of the Basilica.



Our treat for the final night was to go on a river cruise, which the most helpful of students assisted us with. She even walked us back to the meeting point so we would not get lost in the evening although this may have been influenced by her commission. The night time cruise was very enjoyable and allowed us to watch the city glide by as we listened to traditional music and ate a quite fantastic Hungarian buffet. I think I may have tried everything; goulash soup, cabbage rolls, pepper pork, paprika chicken and an array of salads including a new favourite with red cabbage. I do love watching people at buffets – there are the Homer Simpson types who should just do as he does and move their chair to the buffet; the sneaky eaters who make lots of little trips to make it look like they have not had much; the picky eaters who pile up the food and then eat nothing, and the worried eaters who stockpile food around their plate just in case something runs out – we had two next to us who brought back every course on the first visit including dessert and gave me a glare when I dared to suggest that they obviously knew something we didn’t. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see them sitting there with the life preserver round their neck. So we left our captivating table and went up on deck to take photos. It really is the most beautiful of cities and the Hungarian Parliament must go down as one of the wonders of the country. It is river side in the style of the Palace of Westminster in London and is a thing of beauty – we saw it from the river, from the Mathias Church, from our hotel and from every angle it was exceptional in its splendour.



I am not sure what I expected from Budapest but looking back I can only conclude that it is a wonderfully beautiful city. The locals were exceptionally friendly, were proud of their city and the authorities have obviously spent time planning for the influx of tourists but not spoiling what is there. These were two exceptional days on our travels and I will look back at them very favourably; the wine festival, the food festival, the horse racing, the Danube, the weddings at Mathias Church, the vista from the Buda Castle area were all magnificent and things I thought about as we met the 0550 shuttle bus back to the airport for our flight to Prague - usually just a short jaunt unless you are us and have to go via London – thank goodness for BA Lounges!


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