Day 5 - Walking in the sunshine (Wednesday 17th April 2024)

What a difference a little sunshine makes! The sunshine and no rain presents this lovely city in a very different light. I guess the same could said for any and every city.

Last night Emily booked walking tour of Budapest. The tour is “free”. Just “donate” to the tour leader what you think it’s worth. A large group gathered at the statue of Queen Elisabeth of Hungary, known as “Sisi”. She is a much loved person amongst the Hungarian population having adopted the country as her preferred place of residence and then playing a part in the elevation of Hungary to a position of influence in the Austro-Hungarian empire in the mid-nineteeth century.

 

When all the expected guests had gathered at the meeting point we were split into two groups and off we went in different directions. Our leader was a local woman named Lara. She was energetic and cheerful. Having been doing this gig for 12 years she had the process down pat. The sun peaked through the clouds from time to time but the wind was still bitterly cold. My lightweight Macpac “puffer” jacket is doing a pretty good job. To her credit at every stop we made Lara found some sunshine to deliver her “lesson”. Over the next 2.5hrs we saw and learned about the important buildings, landmarks and events that took place in central Budapest, ranging from architectural perspectives to societal perspectives to political perspectives. I reckon I don’t really need to say this, but walking tours are the only way to get a good introduction to a new city.

 

The tour finished at the Hungarian parliament buildings, made in the likeness of the buildings of the English parliament in London but 2m longer! I gathered during our tour that Hungarians (well, Lara at least) take quite some pride in their country, their cities and their people being equal to or better than their contemporaries. It seems the first design requirement of the parliament building was that it had to be bigger than the English one! From here we wandered down to the Danube to get that iconic shot of said building, but it can’t really be done because you’re too close. We’ll get one from the river tomorrow.

Next on Emily’s free walking tour was a visit to the “castle district” on the Buda side of the river. To get there we walked across the famous Three Chain Bridge. Interestingly, the bridge is open only to pedestrians, two-wheeled vehicles, public buses and taxis. I must say it’s in very good nick. Can’t be too long ago that it received a fresh coat of paint. The “castle district” is dominated by Royal Palace which sits on the top of the escarpment that plunges sharply down to the Danube. The easiest way to get up the escarpment is by the ancient funicular, a short and very expensive (on a Euro/minute basis) but very handy option. At the top is the Royal Palace which has seen far better days. Indeed, it’s presently a hive of restoration activity having been neglected for such a long time after WWII and during the subsequent Soviet occupation. I’m sure that whenever it’s finished it will be another jewel in the Budapest crown but right now it’s essentially a construction site good mostly for the excellent views of the other side if the river back in Pest.

 

From here we visited the Matthias Church a few hundred meters along the ridge. It’s a lovely “little” church that has been standing on the site since the 11^th century although it doesn’t feel or look 1000 years old.

I suppose it has been rebuilt and renovated once or twice in that time! King and Queens have been coronated their and Popes have visited too so it’s pretty important to Budapest. Strangely, it’s not named after a saint, like just about every other Roman Catholic church I can think of, it’s formal name being the Church of the Assumption of the Buda Castle. We always like to spend 20 minutes just sitting in a quite place when walking around cities and town to have a rest and re-energise. You can’t beat the peace and quiet of a church for that!

It was getting towards the end of the day and the cold wind was still blowing strongly so we boarded the funicular for the journey back down to the river. From there we walked back to the Jewish quarter where Emily’s hostel is, dropped in on said establishment so she could offload some stuff and then proceeded 25m down her street to a really funky bar. Don’t know what it was called but it’s generic term is a “ruin” bar. It’s an old warehouse that’s been setup to look like an old warehouse but with a bar, more than one live music spot, old reborn chairs, tables and other furniture, real vegetation literally hanging from the rafters and colourful lighting all across multiple levels. We hand a couple of drinks and chatted with a lovely young chap from Basel in Switzerland for a while – we were sitting at “his” table, after-all – then proceeded to an Italian restaurant a few blocks away. As one would expect, the service and the food were both excellent as was the Chianti that accompanied the meal. We we in and out in an hour in between sittings which suited us and the establishment just fine. Out on the street we said goodnight to Emily and headed back for our hotel.

On the way home we wound our way down many streets and lanes past countless bars and restaurants that were still very much alive. At no time did we ever feel unsafe. Budapest has a really friendly, safe and comfortable vibe. We both really like it a lot.