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Published: January 28th 2014
Parliament Building
Dreamy building housing stark realityAt 8:00 we sailed into Budapest – Ian was quick enough to eat breakfast and video our entry. I followed with Deirdre a little while later, after going back to the cabin for a jacket – it was sunny but chilly. The waterfront is stunning on both sides, featuring a magnificent, very large Parliament Building, which we later learned is based on Westminster embellished by a large central dome. (Nora, our guide, had a great store of dry political jokes. “Why was the Parliament built with a dome? Every circus needs a big top.” “If a war starts, check which side Hungary is on - and join the other side.”)
Across from Parliament is the huge Palace and Sailor’s Bastion. No royalty ever lived there (Hapsburgs preferred Vienna), and none of it has been used for purpose – our guide said actually its main purpose was to create a visual balance across the river. In every direction we saw more beautiful buildings and church spires. Lots of bridges cross the Danube, especially the famous Széchenyi (Chain) Bridge; it was the first large suspension bridge built in Europe in the nineteenth century and the first across the Danube joining Buda and
Fishermans Bastion
Strange and intricate, overlooking the Danube Pest. (As an historic artifact, there is still a free ferry for individuals.)
An hour later we were on buses for our city tour with Nora, a charming woman who spoke English with a Scottish accent. She instructed us on the proper pronunciation of Budapest (pesht - “no one wants to be a pest”) and on how to tell whether you are in Buda (hill) or Pest (flat).
Beginning in Pest, we drove along old streets to
Heroes’ Square . Nora reminded us of the many films shot in Budapest, particularly
Evita). Certainly there are endless streets with nineteenth century buildings, all looking used but not derelict. Heroes’ Square is a wide square with over-sized, dramatic statues celebrating Hungary’s history, starting with
St Stephen and ending with some modern heroes. These last replaced some Communist era replacements. The whole was built but not finished in 1896 to celebrate Hungary’s 1000 anniversary.
Near where our bus parked was a much more interesting, modest, decorative, brick building housing the
Museum of Contemporary Art. On the other side of the square was a long Grecian-styled building, now hosting an Andy Warhol exhibition. We were told yesterday that he is proud to have been
Heroes Square
Imperial grandeur over 1000 years! born a Slovak.
Driving on, we passed the
Széchenyi Baths, where thermal pools cool the 75 degree Celsius spring water. These were built in the nineteenth century. In Budapest there are also older Turkish baths and the Art Deco 1906
Gellèrt Bath. I had read that the Gellèrt Bath was the best. Nora, however, when I asked for directions, didn’t recommend it. It is full of tourists; whereas, the Széchenyi is used by both visitors and locals. She recommended taking the
underground, also built around 1896 and the earliest European underground.
On the Buda side, the bus took us up through narrow streets and pedestrian precincts to the top of the Palace Hill. The few streets converge at the top, making the experience simple for tourists. Nora led us and commented only long enough to get us our tickets on to the
Sailors Bastion – called that because sailors raised the funds. (On seeing a local
Trabant car Nora joked: “How do you double the value of a Trabant? Fill it with petrol.”) In our free time, which quickly disappeared, we strolled and took pictures. The temperature remained cool although the sky was almost cloudless. Nora gleefully exclaimed about the “delightful”
Szechenyi Spa
A grand site for delightful soaking in hot baths! temperature because it broke a terribly muggy, hot spell of over 35C temperatures.
Returning to the ship by bus required returning to the Pest side on one bridge, driving to another bridge, and crossing back to Buda. The main (very busy) road in Buda has only a few access points for vehicles on to the small, parallel side road where the ships dock.
For some reason we all needed long naps after lunch and the schedule was for free time, probably a euphemism for time to pack. Eventually I did do some packing.
About 4:00 Deirdre asked if I wanted to walk along the riverfront. This quickly escalated into a walk across the
Chain Bridge. Once on the Pest side, I recognized the Marriott and was guessing our way to the tomorrow’s hotel. We couldn’t rest at just thinking, so putting memory to the test, we did find the
Kempinski Corvinus. We entered through the back, walked through the wood-paneled mall with little shops to an expansive lobby in a restrained, posh style. We were very pleased as we retraced our steps to the Marriott. At which point Deirdre pondered aloud about our ability to walk to the next
Chain Bridge
Guarded by lions modelled on the Trafalgar Lions of London bridge, the
Elizabeth. Near the bridge we had to walk around some construction to find the on-ramp. I loved the graphic quality of this white painted suspension bridge that exposed all the cables. On the other side, we had to walk around a few more streets to get back to the river promenade but we both really enjoyed the 1¼ hour walk.
Port Talk was very short and was followed by a fifteen minute slide show, a synopsis of our trip. Not all the photos were actually taken on this trip, but it was intriguing to revisit our trip, since we are all having trouble keeping the days and cities in the right order.
After dinner a Hungarian folk group performed - about six instrumentalists and four dancers. The senior men of the group played wonderful solos. One played a small guitar with astonishing speed and complexity. The other played an instrument we couldn’t see but may have been a zither. The two male dancers did a lot of the boot and leg slapping that is so rhythmic. The women dancers wore skirts bordered with embroidery and soft white “peasant blouses” with embroidered accents. They also sang in
Hungarian dancer
Lively music and dance a growly, nasal manner that was good to listen to for a short while but would wear on someone uninitiated if attending a longer performance.
A last stroke of luck was to have a night cruise of Budapest’s riverfront, all lighted. Our ship was the first in a stack of three at the dock, so the captain had to negotiate with the Harbour Master and the other two captains to leave and return to our place. Good negotiator! It was so chilly and breezy that many people fetched blankets from their rooms. Deirdre and I shared one over our knees.
The views were breathtaking. All the buildings that looked magnificent in the daylight were magical at night. The bridges were fully lit, with the Chain Bridge as the magnificent focal point, picked out by small lights as if it were trimmed with pearls. I also liked a bridge that was painted green and was lit with a green wash. We sailed forward down river (we had travelled up river), did a pivot turn (what fun in the long narrow boat!), sailed all the way to the end of the display, pivoted again, and back to our mooring almost
Elizabeth Bridge
... with Chain Bridge in the background under the Chain Bridge. The evening’s charm was accentuated by a drink of champagne and cassis, which I knew about but had never tasted.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
A river cruise
The music, the architecture, the joys of rivers cruises. Looks like fun.