Budapest

---

I am going to have to start this with a disclaimer. This was the last leg of an almost month-long journey, I got a bad cold from my Croatian friend, and it rained the entire time…. but I was sadly not impressed with Budapest. I know, I really wanted to like it too.

Let me just say - the city itself is absolutely beautiful and I loved the architecture. I love the history of Hungary and I made sure that I got my fill of it. But for a city that seems to pride itself on tourism, I felt like the local people themselves resented tourists. They were not mean exactly, just not friendly and often annoyed. But let's go back to the start…

We pulled into the train station and I said good bye to my Slovenian friend before hopping in a cab. I didn't see and ATM and he said he would take me to one. But he also took me to the wrong hotel; he claimed it was an accident but I kind of doubt it. Either way, I was still in a great mood and it was not that expensive. My hotel including the reception staff was quite nice. I really liked my room except that the walls were extremely thin so you could hear just about everything from your neighbors, to the point of when someone knocked on their door I jumped up and opened mine. After setting down my luggage, I decided to go for a stroll to the nearby river - my hotel was in an excellent location right near the Liberty Bridge. Seeing Castle Hill from the bridge at sunset was a great start to the experience.

For dinner, I had noted an Argentinian restaurant near my hotel and I went in. The waiter was the friendliest waiter I had the whole time. I got some small taste empenadas and a New York Strip steak with mashed potatoes and a wonderful glass of Malbec. It was expensive but was also the first time I had splurged on a meal on my entire trip. Also, I know it was not authentic Hungarian, but I just wanted a good dinner at this point. I felt bad because I still had no money and when he ran my card, there was no place for a tip. He told me not to worry about it and to have a great trip. I felt guilt for the rest of the night. I almost returned with a tip but the cash machine spat out huge bills. Oh well.

The next day I decided to go on a little walk which turned into a big, big walk. I crossed Liberty Bridge and first checked out the Cave Church. They perform services in this quaint little church built within a cave along the banks of the Danube River. I got the audio guide and paid my money; at first I was a little turned off as the first couple of audio stops were propaganda type places, but once you go into the church itself, it was very nice. However at one point on the guide they preached to you, but I quickly skipped it.

After this I walked uphill some, but it was raining and I still felt sick, so I just walked along the banks of the river to the Castle. This whole area was very well done. The Erzabet Bridge spanned the Danube halfway through the walk and I thought about who it was named for: Elizabeth of Bavaria. If you have kept up on my blogs, I talked about her some on my Vienna trip. She was a very popular queen here and it was here that she felt more at home. I also stopped to photograph a statue dedicated to her in a park. She has many things named for her in this city.

I thought I might come back down to check out the World War I museum, but never did; they had giant statues of soldiers at the entrance which was just breathtaking. Instead, since I came on the opposite side of the main entrance to the Castle, I walked up and up and up stairs. At one point there was an escalator and then later more elevators, but I just walked up and it was lovely. On this side of the castle are the old walls and ramparts that were reconstructed. The palace and castle were heavily damaged during World War II. Once I got a nice tour of the outer castle grounds and gardens, I went inside to the museum. This was three levels of history and I loved it. I spent a few hours here and was amazed about some of the history I never even heard of and was particularly impressed by many of the photos on display, like the WWII photos after the bombs.

At this point, I was exhausted so decided to walk to St Matthew's Cathedral but when I got outside toward the main entrance, my fatigue got the better of me and I decided it was time to go. There I saw the funicular that takes you from the bottom to the top - there was a long line so I didn't miss much. Down and down and down I went and crossed the Chain Bridge to the Pest part of the city. Here there is a large pedestrian street with lots of shops. Closer to the castle are more high end shops whereas towards my hotel are more souvenir type shops and cafes. I was desperately hungry, but only wanted something light, like a sandwich. There were no sandwiches to be had and I was close to tears - I could not eat goulash or the meat heavy Hungarian foods. I wanted bread and lettuce and a little slice of flavor only. Nope. I almost brought myself to McD's but instead I tried a burger joint where you build your own cheeseburger. It was good, but heavy. Then I walked back to the hotel, with a few little side trips off the main street. I passed out as soon as I got back, but made myself get up and go out for dinner. Down the street I went to a nice little restaurant and tried their beer and at a pork chop with mushroom sauce and rice - very very good. But again, the waiters seemed annoyed or something. Weird.

The next day, I slept in which was easy with the heavy rains. Fortunately, the breakfasts here are pretty good so afterwards I made myself go outside and bought a Hop-on-Hop-off ticket. I should have really done this the first day as it is transportation all over the city to the main sights. So I went to the Parliament building which was one thing I had to see while here - the architecture here is incredible. I was too tired to go inside to another museum so I went back to Andrassy Avenue and saw the Opera House before stopping at Franz Lizst Square for lunch. I went to a less busy cafe where I got … eh, I don't even remember, so I guess it was not all that good!!! I got back on the bus, intending to go to the baths (I had packed my swimsuit and sarong), but it was raining and even though I had only been gone for two hours, I was completely wiped. So I wound up going back to the hotel, stopping at the Central Market first to check out their merchandise. The bottom floor is covered with mostly foods to buy while the upper floor is mostly handicrafts and souvenirs. I found the same types of purses I had previously bought my sisters in Italy - Italian leather. Love. I was going to come back for them the next day but later that night I found a street store where they were sold and got one for each of us.

The next morning I checked out and walked in the rain to Gerbeaud cafe; this is listed in the 1000 Places to See Before You Die. I got a late breakfast here and while it was good, it was so not worth the money. I did get an alcoholic coffee-ish drink though, which was more of a dessert than coffee. So, I sat and read my Kindle and waited for my ride to the airport.

All in all, the city is absolutely gorgeous with incredible architecture and an intriguing history - all very true. Theoretically, I should love it right? This is right up my alley. But I just felt something was missing; maybe if I was younger I would have liked it more. Or maybe it was just the rain!

---

Photos

Buda Castle
funicular - glad I didn't wait in line

Gerbeaud
Supposed to be one of the 1000 Places to See Before You Die. I was not impressed.

Budapest
Statue of Elizabeth

Comments

[Sharnell]

I can finally catch up on your travels!
Its been so long since I've been able to read a blog and i miss it! I love your candid descriptions and awesome pictures. So happy for you to be able to travel and explore. Love ya girl! Until next time :)

[lexispence10]

Hi Hot Mama
Thanks so much for reading again! When does school start? I miss you and think of you often - we were such good travel buddies! I hope to see you in October/November.