Budapest, Hungary

Now that we had a good rest in Santorini, we were back ‘on the road again’. The longer than expected stay in the island of Santorini, meant that we had to forgo our planned stops to Turkey and Egypt. Having no regrets about skipping them this time around (choosing to rest, instead, and saving them for later), we headed to Budapest. Using our alliance of airlines, the city of Budapest happened to be the only city connecting Athens to Europe, other than London,  - so, onto Budapest it was.

Hungary, as you may know, is one of the Central and Eastern European countries that have been under the oppression of Soviet Union, until not too long ago. Stepping into the country that was once behind the iron curtain, we expected heavy security at the airport. We had the passports all ready to be handed over and readied ourselves for long questionings. Instead, we found that there wasn’t even a single customs line (did we have all those pages added to our passport for nothing?). We just breezed thru the airport, without even being checked. Apparently, since Greece and Hungary are part of the European Union, they did not require us to go through customs again; since we entered EU in London.

My first impression of Budapest, as we were driven into the city center, was that it still felt heavy and oppressive. The massive stone buildings of its past glory days, that lined the streets, looked old and neglected (surprisingly many were covered with graffiti). It may have been because it was getting dark and drizzling, or that the first Hungarian that we encountered (an airline employee no less), happened to have the demeanor of a KGB interrogator. Our mood, as we drove in, was to not expect too much and to quickly move on. Our outlook changed in the next three days, however, as we toured around the city, experiencing the beauty and glory that earned the city two world heritage site designations and the title "one of the most beautiful capital cities" in the world.

The morning after our arrival, we decided to be tourists and took a city tour, via the Hop-On & Hop-Off bus. This is the grand Opera House on Andrassy Ave., one of the first stops on the tour. In the front, on the right side of the building, is a statue of Franz Liszt, a famous Hungarian composer who composed their national anthem and was a virtuoso pianist, but better known as the father-in-law of another well-known composer by the name of Richard Wagner.

The city of Budapest is divided by the Danube River; into the eastern Buda side and the western Pest side. This is the tunnel that leads into the Castle Hill area – the Buda side of the city. There is also a funicular (sort of a train ride) right next to the tunnel that can take you up the hill, if you don’t want to hike up.

We got off the bus at the Palace and started to walk towards the Buda Castle. There were tulips and spring flowers, of all colors, lining the walkway leading to the Castle. The sun was out, high and bright, and presented the city to us in vibrant colors, on an ideal spring day.

The Buda Castle now houses the Hungarian National Gallery & the Budapest History Museum inside its grand buildings.

The Castle was the residence of Hungarian kings since 13th century but was destroyed and rebuilt many times after the invasions by Mongols, Turks, and during the 1848 War of Independence. What is standing now, is the neo-Baroque style of architecture.

Of course, where there is a building of significance, there is a statue of someone, equally significant.  In fact, I don't think I've ever seen more statues anywhere else, other than in Budapest. 

In Budapest, nothing was ordinary, even its iron gates had to be ornate and artistic. There was a ring or a key of some sort, in the bird’s beak, which I’m sure symbolized something.

This is the view from the Buda Castle across the Danube River,via the Chain Bridge.  If we had more time, we could have chosen to visit Vienna, 5 ½ hrs. by fast boat on the Danube River.

On the left is the Matyas Templom (Matthias Church), with its colorful tiled roof, and on the right, is Halaszbastya (Fishermen’s Bastion). Matthias’ Church was undergoing extensive renovations.

This is a photo of the Parliament building from the Buda side of the city, across the Danube River. It is the largest building in the country and was constructed in 1884-1904.

The Chain Bridge (Szechenyl Lanchid) was built in 1849; it’s one of the best known landmarks of the city. The bridge is the oldest among many bridges connecting the two sides of Budapest.

In the Pest side of the city, at one end of Andrassy Avenue (dubbed Champs Elysees of Budapest), was Heroe’s Square. The Millennium Monument had Mach angel Gabriel atop the huge column. The Museum of Fine Arts and the Art Gallery were next to the square.

The Szechenyi Spa was located behind the Heroe’s Square. Budapest is well known for its natural hot springs with medicinal powers. After a tiring day of playing tourists, we were able to relax there. We spent 2 hours in the numerous pools (more than 10) of all different temperatures and sizes; both indoors and outdoors; partaking in the natural ‘healing’ thermal waters of Budapest.  More so than by its medicinal waters, we were more impressed by the surrounding palatial looking architecture.  Of all the different hot springs we’ve experienced around the world (in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, New Zealand, England, Germany, & Hungary), we would have to rate the experience we had in Hakone, Japan as our favorite.

After the sunset, this was the grand Buda Castle, at night, across the Danube River. The scenery at night looked even more majestic.

The Chain Bridge all lit up at night. Our hotel was on the Pest side, only a couple minutes walk from the bridge.

The Liberty Statue at the Citadel.  The Citadel used to be a fortress, since it sits atop Gellert Hill, with the most important lookout in the city, but now it’s a museum. The most gruff and unfriendly of all the people, sat in the ticket office. It looked like his job was to scare people away. Needless to say, we made a speedy exit, without entering the premises. Joanne told me that he must have suffered from torture or something like it, during the Soviet dictatorship.

These are the souvenir items, on a cart, sold at the Citadel. I told Joanne that instead of buying and having to carry them home, I’d just take its pictures.

We stepped out for lunch, and since it was Easter weekend, we were treated to a Hungarian folk dance performance at the Vorosmarty Terrace.

The Terrace was filled with numerous outdoor, tented restaurants that were busy with visitors.

Our menu for lunch (and for dinner since they served the same) were extra large sausages, chicken kabobs, and beer - I would say a good combination for a meal anyday.

Before our departure from Budapest, on Easter Sunday, we visited St. Stephens Basilica.  The giant, painted egg was donated to the city by the Croatia’s Tourism Dept.


We got to enjoy Easter service inside the Basilica. The inside was not only beautifully and ornately decorated in tons of gold, the acoustics were terrific. I especially enjoyed the choir and the organ. It was too bad that we had to catch a flight and didn’t get to stay for an evening concert that was being held there.


Except the drizzle that greeted us when we first arrived, we enjoyed the warmth of the spring sun, every single day that we were in Budapest. The hotel that we chose was a boutique hotel in the best location of the city and the reception staff in our hotel couldn’t have been nicer; the Starlight Suiten Hotel receives our thumbs up. Location wise, it was right behind the Four Season’s Hotel, but it didn’t charge its five star prices.  Despite having to get used to stoic looking faces, by some of the citizens who seemingly still lived in the old communist era, we were definitely happy to have stopped at Budapest.