Tuesday 14th February 2023

 Buda Castle: Matthias Fountain: Palace of Sandor:

St. Matthias Church: Fisherman’s Bastion: New York Café: The Budapest Eye

It’s just after 8.30am, we have enjoyed a delicious breakfast and we are on our way out to explore!

Our hotel is situated on the eastern side of the river. This morning we are heading across the River Danube that separates the city, into Buda.  Buda is hilly, whereas Pest is flat.

Taking a tram, we headed towards the oldest bridge in the city, the Chain Bridge. Our intention was to walk across the bridge and then head up to Buda Castle.

Our first impression of the city was of stunning architecture on both sides of the river; both of us reached for our cameras and started taking pictures of interesting buildings and statues.

As we walked from the tram stop to the bridge, a policeman informed us that due to the renovation of the 150 year old bridge, we could only cross it on public transport.

So, we stood outside a beautiful imposing building and waited for the bus which would take us across the Danube.

Although it was a little chilly, it was a glorious sunny day with clear blue skies

On reaching the Buda side of the city, we stood for a while admiring the views along the river before taking the funicular ride from ‘Adam Clark Square’ up to Buda Castle, which is also referred to as the Royal Palace.

I specifically wished to see Matthias Fountain, which depicts a hunting scene.

Perhaps due to the time of year, the fountain wasn’t working, but, wow, it was still worth seeing.

The grounds of the castle were home to various other statues too.

 

 

 

 

 

A lady stopped Dave and enquired if he knew where the changing of the guard took place.  He didn’t, and neither did I but as I enjoy seeing a little pomp and circumstance I stopped another passerby and asked the same question.  The young lady who answered the question in excellent English wasn’t aware of a ceremony either.

Musing amongst ourselves, we commented that we hadn’t noticed any guards but recalled that the President’s Residence was situated in St. George’s Square, the square which is situated at the top of the funicular.

Suddenly, we heard drumming and we quickly walked towards the sound. Arriving in front of the Presidential Palace, known as both, the Palace of Sandor and also the Alexander Palace, we immediately noticed the sentry boxes were empty.

 

 

 

 

 

A moment or two later a guard playing a drum led six guards to the front of the palace.  Then we heard many sirens and multiple black vehicles swung into the area in front of the palace. There were large sedans and people carriers.  Suited chauffeurs jumped out of their pristine vehicles.

Guessing that a conference was taking place and perhaps the president and dignitaries were due to leave, we stood with other folk gathering in front of the building.

However, after standing just a few minutes, we decided to continue as planned to St. Matthias Church.

 

 

 

 

 

This gothic style church with its beautiful steeple is a majestic sight. It has an unusual colourful tiled roof; the tiles were added to the roof in the 19th century when a major renovation took place.

Budapestrians have been visiting a holy building on this site since 1015.  In its history, a mosque once stood here. Also believers of both the Franciscan and Jesuit branches of Catholicism have worshipped here. Today, it is a busy Catholic church.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Its colourful and interesting interior was apparently inspired by orientalism. The place has colourful pillars, frescos, stained glass windows and tiny chapels.

The coronations of Hungarian Royalty have taken place in this church for hundreds of years.

After hot coffee in a branch of Starbucks which overlooked the famous Fisherman’s Bastion, we explored the sight.  The original walls of this so called bastion were once part of a castle.

Today, its terraces and walkways offer sweeping views across the Danube. Hundreds of years ago, a fish market stood below the walls and a guild of fishermen protected the area.  It therefore became known as the Fisherman’s Bastion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I marvelled at the intricate detail on the statue of Stephen I of Hungary atop his horse.  The impressive statue took the sculptor ten years to complete and was unveiled in 1906.

Of course, we took advantage of the position of the bastion to take some photos.

This one of the Parliament Building is one of my favourites.

Using the funicular again, we headed back down to the river and walked along the bank of the Danube in the direction of Margaret’s Bridge.

There were many sirens, we had heard lots earlier close to the President’s Palace and now they seemed almost continuous. Budapest is of course a busy capital city.  However, I nicknamed it the ‘City of Sirens’.

 

 

There were lovely views across the river especially of the Parliament Building and we stood for a while taking shots with its reflection in the river.

Walking across Margaret’s Bridge, the city’s second oldest bridge, we noticed its unusual design.  It is a three way bridge. It has a bend in its centre where a road leads to Margaret Island, thus linking the island with both Buda and Pest.  The bridge is decorated with various statues including a stone sculpture of the Crown of St. Stephen, also known as the Holy Crown of Hungary.

Our next plan was to go to the New York Café, and we decided to take a tram.  Being of a particular age, Dave travelled free on all public transport within the city so we just wanted one ticket from the machine.

An old scruffy looking chap stopped us and offered us a ticket; he had a few in his hand, all of which were wrapped in cellophane.  Dave thought the chap indicated that it was cheaper than the machine.

Not being familiar with the currency I started popping coins into his hand, mistakenly thinking he would stop me when I had given him enough. Of course, he didn’t and apparently I paid him quite a bit over the odds.  Hey ho, I hope it helped him. The ticket machines tend to be a pain anyway, not accepting notes etc.

On the tram we enjoyed seeing more of the sights of this beautiful city.  Deciding to get off the tram at a major intersection known as ‘The Octagon’ which links two of the major avenues of the city; we realised we still had a fair walk to the café.  But, we were happy walking, absorbing the sights and sounds.

I had read quite a few reviews about the New York Café; the business boasts that it is the most beautiful café in the world.  It is Valentine’s Day and this is a treat for us!

The New York Insurance company once had its European headquarters in the city and they decided to build a coffee house and of course this is how its name originated.

As the 20th century approached, the place was frequented by artists, writers and editors along with members of the nobility.  Indeed, some of the capital city’s daily newspapers were edited in the gallery. The café has a reputation of having an atmosphere of ‘old glamour’ and being a ‘legendary’ café’.  Today, it is visited by all walks of life including thousands of tourists.

As we entered the café, we saw that there was a queue of about twenty people in front of us.  I’m pleased to say that the people were soon seated and fairly quickly it was our turn.

It was lovely to sit there admiring the ornate decoration. We ordered a couple of Hungarian Goulash soups and two beers.  The waiter informed us that we were free to wander and to take photographs of our surroundings if we wished.

Although most people did this at some point during their visit, they did not seem to get in anyone’s way.

A violinist and a xylophonist were amongst the members of a small orchestra, which enhanced the experience of our visit to this fabulous place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cost of our light lunch was worth every cent and I believe that it must be the most beautiful café in the world.

Heading back to our hotel we kept our eye open for anywhere offering boat trips on the River Danube but as we didn’t see any we enquired at the hotel.

Kate, the helpful receptionist advised that we could do a combined hop on/hop off bus that included a short trip on the river; however this wasn’t what we wanted. Neither did we fancy an evening’s dinner buffet cruise as we wanted to sit and enjoy the view, not be up and down getting food.

Of course, at a different time of year there would be many options.  I looked on the internet and came across a company offering an hour’s evening cruise for the following evening, so we decided to book it.

Later, we took the metro to the centre of the city to where the Budapest Eye is located. It is a much smaller version of the London Eye and the Ferris wheel offers views of Matthias Church, Buda Castle and other city sights.

It also gave a bird’s view of a man’s apartment, at one point during the ride; he was stood at his tall French windows, seemingly looking directly at us.

Hoping to find a traditional Langos & Goulash eatery, we followed the directions on a Google map. As we walked passed a couple of other traditional eateries; we stopped to browse their menus.

After 20 minutes or so, Google indicated that we had reached our destination but there was no sign of an eatery or anything else, we were basically situated at the end of a small street.

So, we retraced our steps and went to a traditional restaurant named Hâcek.  Dave ordered venison stew and a dark beer which he thoroughly enjoyed.  My choice was chicken fillet stuffed with camembert and cranberries which was delicious.

Back at the metro station, we purchased a ticket for me ( Dave of course travelled without cost) and went down to the platform.  However, transport police stopped us and indicated that the platform was closed. They pointed to a poster which gave directions to a different entrance to the underground via an intersection.

Back on ground level and after crossing a main intersection, we had no idea where we were or which direction we had to go. Luckily, we spotted a passing taxi and flagged it down.  It cost us just 6 Euro to return to the hotel.

It has been an absolute fabulous day!

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