A-maze-ing

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What better way to spend a wet day in Budapest then underneath it - in the Buda castle labyrinths.

We had no expectations as we had read some good and bad reviews about this attraction, but we actually really enjoyed them. Couldn’t say the same for Kaspar - he fell asleep - must have been the dimly lit caverns or the heart beat resonating through the winding tunnels and up through the wells on the discretely placed bose sound system (nice touch).

To get to the labyrinth itself you must descend a long stair case from Uri Utca. The caves are surprisingly long, and together with the partial lighting, dripping water from the walls and low cavern ceiling they were really quite spooky. Strategically placed stone figures and sculptures throughout, and a grotto with red wine pouring out of stone fountains made this something quite unique…part historical construction, part art gallery. There were also some reproductions of early cave drawings found in the surrounding hills around Budapest (think Tatunka from ‘Dances with Wolves').

Disappointingly there wasn’t much information about the history of the labyrinth throughout (you probably had to pay extra for that) but according to Cousin Marti (Budapest’s premiere tour guide and auditor), they were built before the castle to help move men, supplies, and weaponry from one place to another during times of war. Clever.

It was a bit of a mix between items of historical importance and fairy tales, but altogether definitely worth a visit. The photos we took on the digital camera don’t do it any justice, so hopefully the SLR shots will come out.

After our mandatory pit stop for a couple of hours we paid Nagymama a visit. While we were there Marti called and offered to come and baby-sit so mum and dad could spend a few hours in the city, just the two of us. Marti is a lovely woman!

Kaspar obliged and went straight to sleep so we headed down to Vaci Utca and found a Restaurant serving (supposedly) authentic Hungarian fare. It is a tourist resautrant on Harmincad Utca, and although relatively expensive compared to somewhere the locals would go, it seemed to fit the bill and we were even greeted by a gypsy looking character playing the violin. Sarah chose potato cakes with goats cheese and fried paprika, while Gabor had chicken paprika.

Gabor gave his meal a tick as it was almost as good as his Dad used to make, Sarah was pleased with hers - it was basically a plate of fat but tasted pretty damn good. Topped it all off with some beer and palacsinta (pancakes stuffed with a sweet cheese and drowned in chocolate sauce) for dessert, and you cant really go wrong.

We walked off dinner with a stroll across the lion bridge and along the Danube back home.

Budapest by night is a sight not to be missed, it really is very beautiful.

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Photos

red wine gives you wings
Entrance to the wine museum

Comments

[Zosia Szikszai]

Love the shawl!
Great picture with it - you've made your mother very happy!!!

[heath]

maze
...ahh, the amazing underground wine fountain, I still bare the stains...!