Budapest (our 2 days on land). We checked out of the cruise ship, and into Hotel Victoria (highly recommend this place) for our next couple of days in Budapest. The hotel was just a couple of blocks away from where the ship docked and our room was ready at 9:00 in the morning (how lucky is that?)! We dropped off our stuff and headed out.
Over the next two days we would do a lot of walking, crossing the Danube River several times while checking out the sights of both the Buda side and the Pest side. We were again lucky with the weather, and had sunny skies both days. Budapest is a fascinating city with a lot of history. Old buildings are being restored to their former glory and the city evokes a turn of the century era of grandeur. We really enjoyed our time there, and would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in European culture.
We started our walking tour by crossing the famous Chain Bridge to the Pest side of the river. Opened in 1849, and considered to be one of the modern world’s engineering wonders, it was blown up during WWII but quickly rebuilt. Rather than cables holding up the bridge deck it has links like a bicycle chain.
At the other end of the Chain Bridge, on the Pest side, is the extravagant Art Nouveau Gresham Palace, now a Four Seasons Hotel. Out front was a sculpture that stood about 4 stories tall titled “Budapest Girl”.
We strolled down Váci Street, the main pedestrian shopping street in Budapest.
Cute planter ornaments on display along Váci Street.
Some of the restored buildings in Budapest.
At the far end of Váci Street is the Great Market Hall, the largest indoor market in Budapest – sort of like an expanded Granville Island Market…but it’s been around about 100 years longer.
After lunch in a nearby restaurant (Chicken Paprikash, of course), we headed out to other neighbourhoods. This is close to the Parliament buildings. A memorial that featured both a classic winged sculpture, and a modern interpretation of a crow.
One of the older buildings, covered in city soot, that was under restoration.
Still many buildings like this – where the exterior is crumbling, showing the brick construction underneath, though many are now being restored.
As we circled back over the Margit Island Bridge on our way back to the hotel – we passed our (former) cruise ship, still parked in front of the Parliament Buildings. ‘Couldn’t help but wonder who was having “my” martini this night.
We stayed at the modern Hotel Victoria, offering tea in the afternoon. So we to took a break from our hours of walking to take advantage of the offer. What a surprise that was! While the hotel is very modern, the tea is served in a room (accessed through the lobby) that is actually in the building behind the Hotel.
The hotel's tea room is in the home that used to belong to Jeno Hubay, a violinist and teacher that lived in Buda at the turn of the century. This was his music room where he taught students. A complete contrast to the modern hotel, it was literally like going through a glass door and stepping back a hundred years. They’ve done a terrific job of restoring the room to it’s former beauty. What a surreal experience it was finding this.
Our second day started on the Buda side, heading back to Castle Hill to see more of Fisherman’s Bastion and the Palace grounds that we didn't see on our ship’s excursion.
The hill is filled with catacombs, caves and tunnels, and we came across “Dracula’s Chamber Labyrinth“, and ventured in. What the heck, it was a sunny day – we needed to get out of the sun and into some dark, damp, claustrophobic caves. Vlad Tepes (Dracula) was imprisoned here during the 15th century.
The place is dark and spooky. Plus the ceilings are low and dripping wet in places. With the help of some dark lighting, piped-in mist and weird opera music, it gave the place a suitably unsettling atmosphere. It was interesting, weird and entertaining – if you like that sort of thing.
Back in the sunshine, we checked out the old palace, which is now home to several museums. These horsemen (and a horsewoman) stood in formation for a time. I think it was just for the photo op – ‘cause we saw them later having a smoke and a beer in the old palace grounds - I'm guessing they're not real guards.
Next to the relatively modern palace buildings, they have maintained the medieval palace.
One of the towers of the medieval castle.
These dramatic statues from the Soviet Era were along a side street as we walked down from Castle Hill.
We wandered around Pest looking for a local favourite “Langos”. We eventually found it (something like a beaver-tail but with savoury toppings like ham and cheese). It filled us up. Totally. So instead of going to the world famous Gerbeaud restaurant for a desert – we just headed home, coming across workers setting up for what looked to be a charming Christmas Market.
We headed back to the Hotel (for their Happy Hour) as the day grew dark. The views from the river are spectacular at night, with all the buildings lit up.
The Chain Bridge with the old palace buildings in the background. After our Happy Hour, we finished the day in a local restaurant with some Goulash and beer, a perfect end to our time in Budapest – a beautiful city with a lot of history and a lot of style.
The iconic Parliament buildings. This was the view from our hotel room. Budapest is a place that will be easy to bring to mind - beautiful, historic and timeless. This entire trip would be one to remember - we did so much, saw so much. And doing a river cruise was a great way to take the stress out of moving from one local to another. With Scenicº all excursions, tips, drinks, and events were included in the price - well worth it. Despite all we did - we didn't owe a dime at the end of the cruise. We highly recommend it.
The End