Buda & Pest

While we know the metropolitan area as Budapest, it is actually 2 cities separated by the Danube River.  We are staying in Pest.  Today was sightseeing day, so off we went at 8:30 to have a bite to eat at a coffeeshop and head to some of the sights. We bought 24 hour passes to the subway, so we could ride as many times as we needed without having to continually buy tickets.  This was done at a window with a woman who spoke no English, but it all worked.  Surprisingly we have enough Hungarian to buy things, order food and say thanks.  

I'm going to comment again on the escalators in the subway.  They move FAST!  And believe me, you have hardly eyed the place where you are going to step, when it is away from you in a FLASH and you are hanging on to the railing for dear life down a steep incline.  At least today we weren't dragging luggage as well.  If you've ridden the escalators in DC, the ones that are really long, into the Metro stations, imagine those, at a steeper incline, moving about 3 times faster.  There are warnings that passengers should board the escalators at their own risk.  The exits are a little different as well, as the foot board where you step off is tilted up, like a brake, so you can hop onto the non-moving part and slow yourself down through a little physics. Usually when I get on, I am unable to keep myself from saying, Holy Jesus, that's fast! 

Today we took the yellow subway line out near the end of the line to go to some of the neighborhoods that have bathhouses, parks and Hungarian sights.  It is a charming little train the the chimes that warn you that the doors are opening and closing sound like cute organ music.  And the stations are tiled in white and brick red tiles - very nice and clean looking. 

Here's the train and station-ish.  

From here we went up and looked around at the largest public bathhouse in Budapest.  We didn't have our suits and had a lot more to accomplish - so off we went. From there we walked to Heroes Square, a monument park dedicated to all the famous Hungarians.  So famous I don't recall who they are, but here's a cool photo.

From here we hopped on the Metro a few stops and got out in one of the prettiest neighborhoods in Pest. Treelined streets and clean looking buildings for the most part.  And here on Andrassy boulevard  is contained the House of Terror.  A museum dedicated to telling the story of Nazi and Soviet occupation of Hungary from 1944-1989.  Not necessarily the most uplifting way to spend a few hours, but it was really interesting and we learned a lot.  It is housed in the building used by both regimes as the headquarters for their interrogation and execution units.  Yikes.  Some of it was downright creepy, starting with the doorman using a button to swing open the door, not grasping it and opening it as one might expect.  Outside is this sculpture:

Ok, so after this we were somewhat drained, but carried onward, because there was lots more to see.We then hopped back on the metro to head to the university area, which houses on of the best mathematics abroad programs.  We were unable to locate anyone from the math department, but at least we visited the university.  It had some funky buildings  and sculpture - 

  

Ok - so now onto the Great Market Hall. This is a large bazaar type shopping place- lots of meats, fresh veggies, etc. It was built in 1896 and is 3 stories of shopping.  We went though all of it.  We bought some treats for a picnic lunch and it was hard to keep the nasty pigeons at bay while we ate.  

Re-energized we headed for the Chain Bridge and Castle Hill.  This took us to the Buda side of town.  We took the funicular (that's two funiculars in one vacation!!) to the top of the hill.  There were great views all around.

This is a photo of the Chain Bridge.  Historic note - when the Nazis were defeated by the Soviets, they blew up all the bridges as they were retreating from Budapest. Bastards. 

This is a photo of the same bridge, but from the Buda side from the funicular.  

Then we went on a walking tour out of our Rick Steve's book.  Rick is a great guide and I would recommend his books wholeheartedly.  He's usually right on about what is fun to see, what not to pay for, and most of his walking tours are downhill from wherever you start. 

Us overlooking the town of Pest. 

Some of the sights we saw - many are recreated buildings that date to post-WWII, as most of Budapest was destroyed in the war.  Some of the buildings are historically accurate, and some are not. 

 

This is the Turul bird - a big creepy bird that flew around with a sword and supposedly he dropped the sword where the home of the Magyar people should be in the 9th century. Okaaaayyyyy. . .

This is King Matthias, last Hungarian king, and his pals on a hunting expedition. Including Ilonka, who fell in love with Matthias not knowing he was king, and when she realized he was king, and she would be entirely unsuitable as a wife, she killed herself.  Many Hungarian legends are gloomy and end with someone committing suicide. 

This is Matthias' church, which, like many Hungarian roads and buildings, is under restoration. It is nicknamed for him, because he got married here, twice. 

This is the Vienna Arch, under which you can pass, keep walking for about 10 days, and you'll get to Vienna.

 

Just past the arch, is the National Archives of Hungary.  We don't read Hungarian, so we didn't go here either.  Also, it might have seemed like work, so no thanks.

At this point we had been walking and sightseeing for over 8 hours, which seemed like 10 days.  We headed back into town, took some more metro trains, and went back to the hotel.  We relaxed in the spa for a couple hours, and are now hanging out in the room, packing, etc.  We head back to Paris tomorrow for two more days, and then home.