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Published: September 3rd 2007
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A Sunday is no way to discover a city and today we spent the lion's share of our time visiting the lower Pest 's lion-fronted landmarks.
We started the morning bright and early at 4:30AM, leaving the digs at the Hilton at about 6AM and visiting into the North of the Castle area, not to visit as we later did in the day, but to hit up the Mammut Shopping Center for some vittles. With considerable challenge finding acceptable dining establishments we decided to take matters into our own hands.
This included some pate, cheese, bread, water, Hungarian rose wine, pears, and the UHT milk that love (organic to boot) - just in case you were wondering what was on the menu. . . We then lugged this back the few hundred meters elevation to the Hilton. It was nice to see a busy area of the city as people were going to work and school (yes, others were working as you were dreaming about warming up the grill for Labor Day).
Exploring the Three Quarters We then broke out after stocking the fridge and crossed the Danube for the first time across the Chain Link bridge.
On Andrassy Utca . . .
Pest's equivalent of the Champs Elysees - relatively speaking, let's say. We walked past the Fours Seasons Gresham Palace Hotel and towards St. Stephen's Basilica. Like just about every other building, this is an imposing 19th century structure with twin towers, domes, and plenty of gold on the interior reflecting Eastern influences. We then worked our way up Budapest's "Champs Elysees" called Andrassy Utca, which was no where near the Champs Elysees but is charming and has plenty of potential once the country gets its feet under itself again. We passed the gorgeous Opera House which we could not visit until later and so relegated to another day for visiting. We discovered that the Train Ticket Office that our 2007 guidebook indicated had in fact moved and so we had to make our way to a train station to purchase our train tickets. We were told to go to the North station (Nyugati) but nightmares from China and some older blogs told Manny to forego that plan and head to Keleti which is the actual departure station. Of course the station was nowhere nearby and we got there exhausted after working through some pretty down and dirty areas of the city. We got a taste for what life would be like
A Mannymus with an Anonymus
One of Budapest's most famous landmarks, we're not sure why, but it was an unusual sculpture. away from the business suits and tour groups of the Hilton and tourist areas and I gently reminded Jennifer why we brought our "roughing it" gear. The train ticket purchasing experience was interesting as it further reflected the Communist feel of the station (not unfamiliar to the feeling one would have in China). We were charged a $100 suplement on top of the $250 ticket reservation for a double sleeper since we would share the cabin as different sexes. I still do not understand this logic but remember my reference to communism and then that falls into that vast void of intelligence.
We then worked our way up to the City Park, visited the Castle up there and then back down Andrassy Utca. We had coffee and cake at the Gresham Palace Coffee House, costing as much as a meal and then headed back to our hotel, absolutely exhausted with about 10 miles walking under our belt. Take note that it is more challenging in Budapest since it is a hilly city.
North of the Castle Area We walked this area at dusk which is known for some of its "older" churches (mid-18th century), and spectacular views
The Belle of Vashnayad
Jennifer in front of another portion of the "castle". of Parliament. This ironically where we had started the day at the supermarket so it was nice to see the city returning from work in the same area - very populous. THe churches were beautiful, but nothing overwhelmingly spectacular.
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Pat
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Cats are fine
Hi, The cats are just fine, except for the fact that my favorite grandcat now hates me. No need to worry, eating and no signs of being sick. Love your blog. Pat