PestBuda

Friday 17th - Monday 20th October 2008

PestBuda - Being the amalgamation of the city of Pest and Budain in the 19th Century it could have easily been named that, but I agree it sounds better the other way round too. So Hungary has a very impressive history, and it’s easy to see the proud history with the large bronze statue at the corner of every street. In fact, they had so many statues they have taken some away and made a tourist park out of them.

Memento Park is a collection of Soviet statues installed during their period of occupation and it was worth a brief visit. After 1990, these statues were to be torn down, but the park was created to perserve this history. Getting out of town is always a good thing to do, so this park was a good choice as we had several connections of buses to get there. Check out our photos, but unfortunately they don’t emphasis the size of some of the massive ones.

We went to the state opera for a performance of Tosca. Megan knew all about what was going on, but I couldn’t understand Italian, or the Hungarian subtitles, so was relieved when I thought it ended after 40 mins. Then I discovered we had another two acts to go through. Luckily, the whiskey wasn’t too expensive at the bar. However, I should mention that the opera ticket was only about 10 AUD, and the lasagne dinner we had cost 5 AUD each. Definitely some bargains to be had.

We... Ok, Megan was very organised with Budapest. I can recommend anything touristy that is free in a city is usually worth taking advantage of. Megan discovered the tour of the Parliament house was free providing we showed our EU passports. The tour lasted an hour and gave us fairly exclusive peeks at the 1000 year old crown jewels, the main passages, and the cabinet room. The whole place was mighty grand, and we were told it is second to London parliament house in this respect.

Getting about was no bother, but be sure to buy the 2 or 3 day travel pass, rather than individual ticket books, as ours only lasted for a few trips..... And the Metro has the most train inspectors I have ever come across - no free loaders on the underground. Another remarkable point is the cleanliness of the street. After dodging the dog poo and other filth on the Viennese streets (that place is going downhill) for the last few months, I noticed that these footpaths didn’t even have chewing gum and the old men were out sweeping the leaves every morning.

Our Hotel was the only cylindrical hotel in Budapest, and Hungary (and maybe the world!), and on our 7th floor room with huge windows, we had a superb view of the whole city. This caused us to go to sleep with the curtains open. Although I was afraid to wake up to a glaring sun, I actually woke just before sunrise and sat up to witness one the most magnificent sunrises ever. I shook Megan, and got her expert opinion that this was a magnificent sunrise. She should know with the countless she has seen at sea.

We like a good bath, and I was hoping on its healing power as I was suffering a head cold. We made our independent way to the communal bath through the maze like change rooms, and when Megan found me I was not feeling any relaxing effects. I was trying to swim up some sweat in the cold pool I jumped into. Megan pointed out to me that the hot bath was on the other side, so I made my way there and things started feeling cosy. We then split up into the segregated spa rooms and I managed 5 mins in the hottest steam room ever - the man before me seemed fairly relaxed as he sat there, and he was my inspiration for looking tough and not reacting to the intense heat. Then suddenly he sprung up and barrelled out through the swing door yelping. I followed closely after him and jumped into the freezing plunge bath.

If you stayed away from the tourist traps, food was well priced. We found a chocolate cafe for a late breakfast and helped ourselves to as much as we could stomach. I justified the hot chocolate with whiskey as I had a cold and the chocolate fruit fondue... well it had fruit in it. Two more days of cakes and thick, thick hot chocolates eventually took its toll on us.....
Sum up - One of the prettiest city I have walked through. Do your bit for Hungary’s economy - visit Pest Buda, buy the transport ticket book and indulge yourselves in baths and chocolates. Having a cold is not compulsory.

Megan’s Turn:
Well, Sean has covered most of our trip to Budapest so I’ll keep this short. Without a doubt, my favourite part was our visit to the Opera. The building was so grand and ornate and despite having seats right up the back (the cheapest of course) the sights and sounds were fantastic. I am also so so glad that I read up on the plot of Tosca on Wikipedia before we went - the music alone was great, but having an idea of what the characters were singing made it more interesting.

My other favourite visit was to St. Stephen’s Basilica. The climb up the stairs took us right up into the inside of the dome, which was supported by huge wooden beams and iron scaffolding, and then onto a narrow balcony around the outside of the dome. The sun had come out and the views were great. The other interesting (and icky) thing to see was St. Stephen’s Holy Right Hand. The mummified hand is Hungary’s most sacred relic and is kept in a little golden cabinet, except for when it is paraded through the city once a year.

My Summary: I was unsure how we would spend four days in the one city and was a little worried that we might run out of things to do. I needn’t have been though, because we were really on the go the whole time and still didn’t get to see everything. Budapest is also one of the most beautiful cities we’ve visited so far. It is right up there with Sydney, which is saying a lot. And we definitely lucked in with the amazing views, sunrises and sunsets we watched from our cylindrical hotel room.

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