April 21st to 23rd I followed up my amazing birthday weekend in Barcelona with an equally amazing weekend in Budapest. It's actually pronounced Budapesht, though - our walking tour guide made sure to educate us tourists. Day 1 was jam-packed and day 2 was rather slow, so I'm mushing them together into one post this time around. Enjoy!
Day 1
We landed in Budapest just after 8pm on Thursday night and headed straight for our Air Bnb to load up on sleep for the next day; so, nothing of significance to report yet. We were up fairly early Friday morning for a day of walking tours and some independent sightseeing.
Sneaky peek at our Air Bnb
We did both of our walking tours through this organization here, which were all around great experiences - definitely recommend! Their meeting point was in Vörösmarty square, an area filled with stands selling food and a variety of souvenirs and crafty items. Word of warning, though, don't buy food here. Budapest is actually quite cheap, but this market was not, and the food wasn't anything to write home about.
Food stalls in Vörösmarty square
Little fun fact history: Budapest is actually the result of two cities merging, Buda and Pest (Pesht). The side with the market, that we were also staying on, and most other shops and such is Pest. The Buda side is most known for the hilly terrain and castles; it's also largely residential.
Standing on the Pest side, looking at the Buda side
The first half of the tour took us around Pest.
St. Stephen's is a Roman Catholic basilica named in honour of Stephen, the first King of Hungary.
St. Stephen's Basilica
The Hungarian Policeman was put up in the 1900’s to commemorate an officer who was always smiling, eating, and flirting. If you rub his belly, then you're supposed to be lucky in love.
Adam Brody still hasn't called, but I ain't mad.
View from the Chain Bridge
Castle Hill; you can see Buda Castle
Trekking up Castle Hill for some panoramic views
Well worth the climb
Beautiful view of Pest; you can see St. Stephen's Basilica directly down from the Chain Bridge
Sándor Palace: the official residence of the President of Hungary and the seat of the Office of the President
The beautiful Matthias Church is a Roman Catholic church located in front of the Fisherman's Bastion at the heart of Buda's Castle District. I really love the uniqueness of the building's earth-toned mosaic roof.
Matthias Church
Fisherman's Bastion, or The Halászbástya (rolls off the tongue), is a neo-Gothic, neo-Romanesque terrace on the bank of the Danube around the Matthias Church. I really think this guy deserves some kind of graduation beyond "terrace", but it is what it is.
Fisherman's Bastion
Some of Buda and Pest from Fisherman's Bastion
Chain Bridge: connecting Buda and Pest
The Shoes on the Danube Bank is a memorial made to honour the Jews who were killed by fascist soldiers in Budapest during World War II. It's a beautiful but somber memorial - supposedly representing how those innocent individuals had to remove their shoes before they were killed.
Baby shoes with candies and toys left inside
After the grand tour we headed back to the market square for a very overpriced lunch and some trinket browsing. Our next tour was going to meet in the same place, which was all very convenient for being in a new city. Around 4 in the afternoon we headed off on the Jewish quarter tour.
Some Art Nouveau in the Jewish Quarter
...and some more Nouveau
For this tour we visited the city's three major synagogues. First, the Moorish-style Grand Synagogue on Dohány street - the largest synagogue in Europe - followed by the Rombach and Kazinczy street Synagogues.
Dohány street Grand Synagogue
The Holocaust Memorial (or Emanuel Tree) is a weeping willow memorial located behind the Dohány street Synagogue with the names of Hungarian Jews killed during the Holocaust inscribed on each leaf.
The Holocaust Memorial
Ruik's Cube art: the cube was invented by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik
Rombach street Synagogue
Kazinczy street Ortodox Synagogue
Ruin bars or ruinpubs are very popular, and rightly so, in Budapest. According to my knowledge they are all (or mostly?) located in the Jewish quarter. Among the most popular, if not the most popular, ruinpubs is Szimpla. Szimpla is a huge pub with old mismatched items and nicknacks decorating the interior. The pub is popular with locals and tourists, day and night. They also serve some pretty delicious food; we stayed back after the tour and had a bowl of traditional goulash soup for dinner.
Szimpla
The room we enjoyed some goulash soup in
Popsicle made from real mangoes; most delicious one I've probably ever had
Our last excursion of the night was a trip to the Széchenyi thermal bath. Bath culture is huge in Hungary, so this was an experience we couldn't miss out on. The Széchenyi bath is reportedly the most popular and beautiful, so we forked out some moneys for a long sit in a giant tub filled with strangers. It was nicer than it sounds.
On our way for a soak in the Széchenyi thermal bath
Hősök tere (a.k.a. Heroes' Square) - along the way to the bath
Ayyy
Entrance to the Széchenyi thermal bath
Unfortunately, a good portion of the bath was closed and drained for renovations or maintenance (or something), so only one side was open. Ideally it would've been great to experience the entire atmosphere, but it was still worth going. The Blue Lagoon does take the cake, though, in my opinion. That's a difficult thermal pool to follow up.
Regardless, nothing feels better than a warm soak after two walking tours in one day
Day 2
Central Market Hall
We had to be at the airport by 4pm on Saturday, so we decided to have a slow morning and afternoon with a nice breakfast (french toast and fruit with coffee for only 5 euros!) and then a visit to Central Market Hall - the oldest and largest indoor market in Budapest.
A restored neogothic hall for traders with produce and pastries on the ground floor and handcrafted and souvenir goods on the upper floor
The Central Market Hall was an incredible experience. In case you haven't noticed, I'm a huge sucker for all things market - flea, vintage, food... all of it. The only downside was how crowded the area got as the day went on, but I can handle crowds if the place is worth it - and this market was for sure worth it. I had a delicious loaded-up hot dog for lunch and did some pretty decent damage on souvenirs and gifts to bring back home.
Smiling through the pain I just inflicted upon my bank account
That brings Budapest to a close! It was a busy couple of weeks with Barcelona and then Budapest, and I paid for it with a nasty cold once back in Leuven - but I'll take any amount of colds in exchange for the amazing travel experiences I've had so far. Next, I'll be bringing it back to Belgium with a post about my day trip to Ghent, so look out for that - thanks for reading!
- Alexandra :)
Post Comment
Post a Comment