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Published: July 20th 2006
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Hello all
Well here I am, in Budapest! It's bloody hot here. About 38 degrees in the shade. Luckily I did the senisble thing and went on a hop on hop off bus tour around the city - so no traipsing around in the scorching, brain-dissolving heat like I was fool enough to do in Rome. Is beautiful city in two parts - Buda and Pest, straddling the Danube. Bits of it remind me of London. Theyve got heros square which has neo-classical art building at one end (like our national gallery) which is also an art gallery and then a massive collumn in the middle but instead of nelson - what looks like an angel. At the base of the column it was very different as they had statues of scary looking Eastern types (think marauding Turks and mongol hordes) and even the horses looked menacing- seemed to have barbs or antlers. Reminded me of those horses of the Ring wraiths in Lord of the rings.
Went to a labyrinth beneath the castle on the hill. Very atmospheric - there were cave paintings and sculptures in there and a font and most eerie of all - a fountain (pictured)
Wine fountain
In the labyrinth beneath the castle a fountain pours forth red and white wine from which poured forth a red liquid which I took to be representative of blood (we are in the Carpathians- Transylvania after all!). But apparantly was built by one of the kings who wanted wine on tap so to speak. You can smell it too and in my over-active imagination I thought it was the bitter tang of iron in blood that I could smell, when actually it was red wine gone to vinegar. There is nothing so creepy as that. Iád spend about an hour, getting more and more unnerved by the place - bz the statues, casting their sinister shadows, bz the dripping walls, the music thez were plazing and then to come across this candle-lit, ivy clad fountain, itá mouth pouring forth red liquid.. My brain said it was cheesz special effects and I knew it wasnát blood but it still damn unnerving nevertheless. Later on there was a "labyrinth of courage" where you're supposed to go through in the inky blackness, with nothing more than a rope to guide you. I did seriouslz think about doing it but I wasn't in the right frame of mind (even though I1ve done similar things elsewhere - Gibraltar etc)
Hotel Gellert
This is where I'm staying... and Iám ashamed to say I thought "fuck that" in then end and didnát do it. NEXT TIME!
Am in the most gorgeous hotel - Hotel Gellert which has a natural spa here - I think the Ottomans built it. I feel a bit over-awed bz the place to be honest and canát quite believe that little old me can actually afford to staz in a place like that. Itás the most famous hotel in Budapest - kind of gothic looking, overlooking the Danube. The breakfast is included and is the most sumptious affair imaginable. If only mz stomach could have done it justice at that time in the morning. There was all sorts of fruit, cereal, yoghurt, enlish fried breakfast, huge selection of cold meat, cheeses, fish, salad, cereal etc etc.
Hungarians are really friendly people - seem a happy bunch and go out of their way to help you. Big jewish community here and the second biggest singogue in the world - I saw it - It is absolutelz massive! Big red brig gothic affair. I literally gasped in awe as the taxi went over the bridge - at the citz in general being so beautiful and when I caught sight of where I was to stay. I said so to the taxi driver who beamed with pride and who then went on to tell me he'd visited London three times - not to see the city, but to go to Dire Straits concerts (I must say I was puzzled when he started listing places like the Hammersmith Palais as places he'd vistited!). Turns out heás a major fan and even named his son 'Mark' after (Mark Knoppfler of Dire Straits apparantly). To prove the point he showed me his son's name on his phone?!
Went for traditional hungarian meal last night - Goulash soup and cold platter and I have to saz that I chose the place (in a street full of restaurants) purely on the basis that the waiter looked like Vin Diesel haha!
Hungarians are hard to place. Their language is not indo-European and as such refer to their country as 'the odd man of Europe'. In fact the Hungarians are not originally European at all but their tribes conquered this region in the 8th century - they had come from Central Asia and you can definately see the connection in the styles of some of the statues, in their national costume and in some of the people. To look at - some of them look European and some of them look like people I saw in Central Asia - ie turkic or persian and some half way between. Kind of a mix I guess with the people in the region before they conqured it.
Wish I could staz longer but am off to Kosice in Slovakia tomorrow for Alex's wedding. There is so much to see and do here and I feel like I just got a glimpse. I went to the spa in the hotel first thing after I arrived yesterday. You get a toweling robe in your room and then head to the spa wearing that and swimsuit. A bit weird to go through a hotel in a towelling robe but everzone was doing it so hey ho. The spa lift is reallz old. Itás an old ornate metal cage type affair with a little old lady (well I donát suppose sheás there all the time). The spa itself consists of two pools - one hotter than the other. Itás very exotice - all columns, tiles, high ceilings and curved arches - all in the ottomoan style. There are two swimming pools and you can have massages too.
Right got to dash.
Dom x
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