As an anniversary present this year, R booked us a weekend break in beautiful Budapest. It was initially intended to be a 3 day trip - arriving on Friday night and leaving on Monday evening. The best laid plans of mice and men etc. resulted in us doing a 'Travel Man' 48 hour trip instead. What R thought was a flight returning at 5pm Monday evening (ie. 17:00 hrs), turned out to be 7am Monday morning. He didn't notice this until it was too late to change our tickets. We're still not sure what happened - either R without his glasses mistook the 7am for 17:00 or, when he paused during the booking process, the site reformatted and he assumed everything had remained the same when it hadn't. Either way, we had lost a day and had a really early start home! To add insult to injury, our outward flight was delayed, so we eventually arrived at our hotel at 3.20 on Saturday morning.
Despite the setbacks, and the fact that it took us virtually a week to recover from the exhaustion, we had a fantastic time. We stayed at the Hilton Garden Hotel in the centre, walked and used the metro system to explore, and feasted like Kings in the many vegan restaurants (all with GF options) that Budapest had to offer. There was even a GF bakery opposite our hotel - I was very happy!
Here then is a quick, photo heavy summary of our mini holiday:
View from outside our hotel towards the Basilica:
GF Bakery with many vegan options:
Basilica of St. Stephen
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On the way to the Central Market Hall, we wandered by a yarn shop. It would have been rude not to go in and have a little browse! A skein of sock yarn may or may not have found its way home with me. :O) The Central Market Hall:
There was paprika galore and we bought tins for us, the neighbours and the girls:
The food section was downstairs, and arts and craft stalls were on the upper level.
Whilst we were nearby, we took a quick look at the green iron Liberty Bridge. Turul birds (or mythical eagles) perch on golden balls, balanced on each pillar:
Our next destination was the Liszt Museum, so we took the metro, passing through several very sweet underground stations:
The museum was the former home of Hungary's greatest composer and, as well as the odd personal artefact, housed a huge collection of pianos.
The male receptionist at the museum had presumably been chosen because of his marked similarity to the great man himself. I tried and failed to take a surreptitious photo of his fabulous hair!
Having explored the museum, we were feeling that a little lunch was in order. By happy chance, there was a vegan bistro directly opposite. The sun was shining and we took a seat at a table outside, happily tucking in to our vegan omelette with roasted veg (me) and tofu 'Eggs' Florentine (R):
Sorry, I forgot to rotate this one:
I happened to comment that the sky had suddenly turned ominous, when the heavens opened and Biblical rain descended. We hastily scuttled indoors, feeling very cosy as the weather raged outside. Not wanting to leave only to get soaked, we were forced to share a slice of vegan cheesecake to go with our coffee whilst we waited for the storm to abate. Luckily, we were prepared with cagoules. Others were hastily fashioning raincoats out of plastic bin bags before venturing out.
I had 3 items on my list for the afternoon, one of which we only knew about because of Richard Ayoade's Budapest programme! Luckily, they were all in the same direction, so, suitably fortified by lunch, we set off.
Budapest's neo-Gothic Parliament Building, which contains the Crown Jewels. As we were pushed for time, we merely admired it from the outside. Tours, however, are available:
Not far from the Parliament Building sit 60 pairs of iron shoes, set into the concrete of the embankment of the River Danube. They are a memorial to the Hungarian Jews who were shot on the river bank in the winter of 1944-45. Thousands were murdered across the city, as the antisemitic Arrow Cross Party ran amok in the streets. Terrified Jews were forced to remove their shoes, before being shot next to the river, the water conveniently carrying their bodies away. Shoes were a valuable commodity during WWII, and the killers could either use them or trade them on the black market. During that terrible winter, the Danube became known as 'The Jewish Cemetery'. The memorial was both striking and heartbreakingly poignant.
The sentiment behind the monument is still very relevant today:
View across the Danube:
Suitably sober, we headed off to find the statue mentioned in Ayoade's Travel Man episode - a statue of Colombo and his dog, situated at the end of Falk Street. I'm a big fan of Colombo - I used to watch episodes with my mum when I was young - and the statue commemorate's Peter Falk's Hungarian roots. The dog's head was shiny through people patting it. We saw another statue, similarly fondled, the following day. That had also been mentioned in Travel Man, but more about that later ........
We made our way back to our hotel at this point for a quick rest and a fortifying cup of tea. Then we headed out once more, this time for a wander around the Jewish Quarter, where the Great Synagogue was particularly impressive, before making for a nearby restaurant mentioned on the Happy Cow App:
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I opted for the butter 'Chicken' and R had mushrooms paprika. Both were accompanied by a dish of delicious pickled cucumber. It was very busy and we were forced to eat, sitting on a low sofa - not brilliant for transporting food to your mouth, and even less so for digestion. It was, nevertheless, very yummy.
It was dark by the time we walked back to the hotel, but the illuminated Basilica led us back like a homing beacon. Exhausted after our late night and early start, we were very ready for bed:
I couldn't resist taking these photos from the breakfast buffet the following morning. The man in charge of the fruit and salad section was very proud of his creations:
After breakfast, we set off walking towards the Castle Hill section of the city. This is the main entrance of the Basilica, we actually bought tickets to look around it on the way back:
We crossed a different bridge across the Danube. The Chain Bridge was the first bridge to link Buda and Pest. It was designed by an English engineer - William Tierney Clark. I think he was responsible for the general structure of the bridge, rather than the leonine decorations. Legend has it that, at the grand opening, a small boy exclaimed loudly that the lions had no tongues. So embarrassed was the sculptor, that he apparently jumped into the Danube and was never heard of again!
We ascended to the top of Castle Hill via a funicular. This was merely a week before the tragic events in Lisbon, otherwise I may have thought twice about it.
View from the top:
This was the second statue mentioned in Richard Ayoade's Travel Man. It's not readily apparent from the photograph, but a certain part of the horse's anatomy is shiny from the petting of tourists. The statue sits on a plinth, so a bit of effort is required to earn the alleged good luck. A sign now forbids climbing on the statue, not that I would have been tempted in any case!
Matthias Church towers gracefully over the historic district of the Old Town:
The Fishermen's Bastion, named after the fishermen who defended the ramparts in the eighteenth century:
The Old Town consists of 4 parallel streets, packed with colourful houses, monuments and small museums:
I was very tempted to buy a copy of Agatha Christie's 'Hound of Death' from this sweet second hand book shop. It was, however, very expensive, so I made do with a gentle peruse instead. From a nearby shop I did actually make a purchase - a traditional Hungarian pack of playing cards. Unlike the usual hearts, clubs, diamonds and spades, the suits are hearts, bells, acorns and leaves. I'm waiting for our next games night to try them out.
A flying nun appears to pass through the building on the corner of one of the streets. A convent used to occupy the spot:
We paused for a snack of guacamole hummus with pitta bread and fries at a local pub. R enjoyed a beer and I had a virgin mojito - very nice it was too!
After our snack we headed back down the picturesque streets, pausing to briefly explore part of the labyrinth of tunnels under the hill. Some were created by natural hydrothermal activity and others were man-made as cellars and bomb shelters. It was a little dark for photos.
Heading towards Buda Castle, we stopped to listen to the musicians serenading the diners at a hotel restaurant:
Buda Castle was referred to in the past as the Royal Palace. Again, owing to time restrictions, we only admired the outside:
Walking back towards the hotel, we purchased tickets to enter the Basilica of St. Stephen. The mummified right hand of St. Stephen forms an unusual, if rather macabre, highlight in a rear chapel. The dome was magnificent and we paused, briefly, to listen to part of the service which started shortly after we entered.
We bought a cinnamon bun and a traditional Gerbaud Slice from the GF bakery, to enjoy with a cup of tea back at the hotel.
We then headed back out to take a boat trip on the River Danube. Just as we embarked, the heavens opened again, and the rain ran off the overhead canopy, splashing directly onto my seat and soaking through to my knickers! It was a rather damp cruise. :O)
Dinner was again enjoyed at the Vegan Garden. This time I plumped for stuffed courgette and R had the vegan schnitzel.
The shared vegan creme brulee for dessert was a particular highlight!
Heading back to the hotel, we paused outside a pub to enjoy the musicians, who played the violin and the cimbalom (where strings are hit with beaters) brilliantly.
We set our alarm for 4am, to be up in time for our taxi to the airport and our early flight home. The return flight was uneventful and we were home and napping by 10.30am.
Despite the timings not going strictly to plan, I thoroughly enjoyed our anniversary trip and would heartily recommend Budapest to anyone thinking of a mini city break. The people are friendly, the food delicious, the architecture stunning and the statues are very shiny in parts!
Toodle pip for now. x
