Budapest, Hungary

Bupapest, Hungary (Photo Gallery)

With 3 weeks left on my stay here in Europe, I have covered all the cities in my “must-go” list with the exception of Zurich, Switzerland. Thus when my friends suggested spending the weekends in Budapest, I obliged with no expectations. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

The city known as Budapest actually consists of three cities: Obuda, the oldest section, with Roman ruins; Buda in the gently rolling hills on the western bank of Danube, famous for its historic Castle Hill; and bustling Pest with its shopping, government and commercial districts on the flat plain of the east bank.

In actual fact, the beauty of the city almost conceal it’s scarred past. Budapest siege in 1944-45 was one of the most violent struggles in WW II. It is said that only 2 out of 200 buildings here were still habitable after the war. The communist government invested huge sums in reconstructing the city into its original style.


Danube River & Elizabeth Bridge (Erzsebet Hid)~
We started our tour by heading to the hilly areas of Buda while our stamina was still at the highest level. As our hostel was in Pest, we had to cross the Danube river. No other city along Europe's most celebrated river embraces it as much as Budapest, with nine bridges linking the two sides, and major attractions along the river. The nearest bridge to our path, the Elizabeth bridge is a great spot to catch an overview glimpse of the river, the city itself and my new hairstyle :)

St. Gellert Statue~
Just across the bridge, at the St. Gellert hill foot, we were greeted by St. Gellert’s statue. The hanging bridge across the waterfall offers a good spot for panorama photo-take in case you are too lazy to climb to the hill top.

Citadella~
The struggle up the hill top brought us to Citadella. It was built to monitor Buda's inhabitants after the failed War of Independence. Since then, the building has been used as a prison camp and an anti-aircraft battery by German forces during World War II.
Still scarred by bullet holes, the building today houses a restaurant, café and a museum while the area around the Citadella commands some of the most breathtaking views of the city.

Liberation Monument (Felszabadulási Emlékmű)~
A short walk from the Citadel is the 14-metre high Liberation Monument commissioned by Admiral Horthy, Hungary's World War II dictator. The original design, which featured a female figure holding an aircraft propeller, was commissioned after the death of Horthy's son who was killed in a plane crash during World War II. It's said that when the Red Army arrived in 1945, a palm replaced the propeller and the monument came instead to symbolise liberation from Fascist rule. It was here that we took a short break, gulping away ice-cool cola while enjoying the fantastic views.

Funicular (Budavari Siklo)~
Descending down the hill was much easier but the prospect of having to climb another to Buda Castle brought shocking expressions to our faces. Thus, it was great relieve to have discovered the Funicular. The carriages are lovingly maintained, and although modern, have an antique look and design.

Ticket : HUF 650 (Up hill), HUF 450 (Down hill)

Turul Statue (Turul Szobor)~
The statue of the Turul hovers menacingly near the top of the funicular. This mythical Hungarian eagle, cast in bronze with wings outstretched, is said to have sired Almos the father of Arpad, who led the Magyar conquest of the Carpathian Basin in the 9th century.

Royal Palace (Budavari Palota)~
We have now reached the top of Castle Hill. In contrary to its name, there is no castle here, just a Royal Palace. The streets at the top of the hill are the oldest in Budapest, dating to the Middle Ages when this community was a refuge from invading Mongols. Erected in the 14th century and rebuilt in Baroque style 400 years later, it was the residence of Hungarian kings for over 700 years.

Today it embraces the most visited museums and galleries in Budapest, such as the Budapest Historical Museum, Hungarian National Gallery and National Library. There have been palaces built here since the 13th century. However, they seem to have been frequently razed to the ground, most recently during the hand-to-hand fighting between the occupying Nazi and the liberating Russians towards the end of the Second World War. It has since been rebuilt in its original grand style.

Matthias Fountain (Matyas Kut)~
At the back of the palace, stands the intricately worked and majestic scene of King Matyas hunting. He is surrounded by his dogs with Szep Ilona (A peasant woman who fell in love with him unaware that he was the king) gazing up at him. At the onslaught of World War II, the statue was disassembled and parts of it were hidden in people's gardens for safety. It was only reassembled after the war.

Holy Trinity Square (Szentharomsag Ter)~
As we descend on Castle Hill we stumbled upon the Holy Trinity Square. Treated as just another snapshot item by most of the tourists, the solemn meaning behind the Holy Trinity column is often lost amidst the frantic clicking of camera shutters. It was built by Buda's Council in the early 18th century to serve as a lasting memorial to those who died in the devastating plague of 1691. At the foot of the column, the biblical King David is depicted praying for an end to the plague.


Matthias Church~
Just beside the square, you won’t miss the 800-year old Matthias Church with its Gothic spire and multi-colored tiled roof. This is where the nation's kings were crowned and royal weddings were held. Although looking like a Middle Age gothic structure, most of what you see today was built in the late 19th century, with a few earlier elements incorporated. In addition, its excellent acoustics make it a favorite venue for organ recitals and orchestral concerts.

Fisherman's Bastion~
Just behind the church, you will see the most beautiful structure in Budapest. With it’s snow white towers, you are more likely to associate the sight with fairy tales than with soldiers, although it is the latter who are the rightful users of a bastion. Well, try again. The funny thing is no one seems to know why this is so named as it has certainly never been called on to defend anything. Among others, a story goes that in the old days this was where the fishermen defended Castle Hill from.

Almost fairytale like in appearance, The Fishermen's Bastion is made up of seven round towers - each one symbolising the seven Magyar tribes that effectively gave rise to the nation a thousand years earlier. If I’m not mistaken, it looks exactly like Disney’s logo……don’t you think so?

Church of Saint Anne~
Down the fill, you will find St. Anne church. This is believed by many to be Budapest's finest Baroque church.
Its elegant well-proportioned exterior is matched inside by the high altar statues of the Virgin Mary and St Anne. The oval domed ceiling fresco is also worth checking out.

The Metro~
By now, we have more or less covered Buda area. Next is to go across the Danube river to conquer Pest instead. However, 2 hills in a few hours had really taken its toll on us. We were exhausted and one of us even had a bad blister. And so, it was decided to cut short the walking and happily hopped on to the Metro which took us to the Parliament building.
Metro Ticket : HUF 150

Parliament Building~
Like so many others buildings along the Pest bank of the Danube, the best view is actually from across the river. From there, we made full use of our digital camera’s analogue zoom to capture the best picture we could manage. It was so huge that, we did not take many pictures when we were actually near to the building.

The Parliament is the largest and most decorative building in the country. Nearly 300 yards long and containing 700 rooms, it is still the largest parliament building in Europe. During its construction in 1902, Hungary was three times the size it is now. It became smaller as a result of having been shared out after the First World War - when Hungary was on the losing side.

Statue of Imre Nagy (Nagy Imre Szobor)~
This fine bronze statue commemorates Imre Nagy, Prime Minister of Hungary immediately prior to the 1956 uprising. Nagy, who had tried to introduce a more relaxed form of Communism in the country took refuge in the Yugoslavian Embassy after the revolution had been crushed. Then, after being given false assurances of safe passage by the Soviets, Nagy was arrested as soon as he left the safety of the compound. He was executed two years later and quietly buried in an unmarked corner of the main Budapest cemetery.

St. Stephen's Basilica~
This church is said to be second in size only to St. Peter's in Rome and can allegedly hold 7,000 people. Well, that 7000 people must be real skinny coz it doesn’t look big at all.

One interesting fact to note is that the church claims it houses the Hungarian Christianity’s most important relic – the mummified right hand of the founder of the Hungarian State and Church, King Saint Stephen, which is paraded around the city on his name day.

Chain Bridge (Lánchíd Hid)~
As we took the Metro, we did not have the chance to walk across the Chain Bridge earlier. But, it was not to be missed. After a yummy dinner, we went back to the bridge for some night view snap shots.

This spectacular bridge has an equally spectacular history. It was the oldest of the 9 bridges linking the two cities of Buda and Pest. The project was started in 1842 and completed in 1849. The designer and engineer was Adam Clark - a perfectionist Scotsman who also built the tunnel under Castle Hill. The tunnel is exactly the same height and length as the bridge. One of the many anecdotes about these landmarks says that when it rains the Bridge can be pushed into the Tunnel to prevent it from getting wet!
We did a few more kilometers of walking around the city to enjoy the night view before we retired to our hostel.

Andrassy Ut~
The next day, we took to the main street, the most elegant boulevard in town, Andrassy Ut. It’s was constructed as part of the nation's millennium celebrations in 1896.

My first glance at it was impressive. Huge and beautiful buildings are separated from the main road by grassy traffic islands and tall trees lined the street, reflecting good urban planning. Too bad that it was Sunday as the street looked almost deserted.

Opera House~
Along the street, we came across the Opera House. The facade of the building is decorated with statues of 16 of the world's greatest composers including Monteverdi, Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi, Bizet and Tchaikovsky.


Central Market Hall (Nagy Vásárcsarnok)~
We collected our car and and headed for Heroes Square but the road was blocked due to the Marathon event held on that day. While trying to take alternatives route, we got lost….yupppp…..I was the navigator :)

We were driving nearer to the Central Market instead and decided to stop over. The market is huge, covering the area of two football fields. It was too unfortunate that the market was closed on Sunday. Should have guessed :(

Autumn Marathon~
My mood was quickly lifted when I noticed swarms of sweaty people running in the distant. Yes, you got it right. It was the Marathon. As you know, jogging and marathon running has become a favourite sports activity. The Autumn Marathon, held annually provides an opportunity for thousands to prove their athletic skills and courage. It’s a nice race as it takes you around the most beautiful sites in Budapest.

Vaci Utca~
After the marathon (I followed and ran a short distance of 50 m haha), we dropped by the Vaci Ut street for some souvenirs hunting. This wonderful pedestrian-only street is lined with dozens of cafes, fancy shops and boutiques and some truly stunning architecture. Souvenir kiosks on the embankment offer postcards, T-shirts and dresses, or you can purchase from strolling women who sell handmade tablecloths, clothing n dolls. I thought I don’t have to spend so much in Budapest but this street crushed my hope :(
We had our lunch here…not very memorable though as it was expensive and tasted horrible.

Margaret Island (Margitsziget)~
It was planned for us to take a stroll in the park after lunch. The obvious choice will be Margaret Island. The most beautiful park in town is actually an island. Despite its central location, Margaret Island is extremely peaceful. The gardens, swimming pools, spa-hotels, tennis stadium, soccer stadium and 10,000 trees with rose-gardens make the island seem miles away from the bustle of a modern city. We spent some time here, took a stroll and watched the locals relax :)

Heroes' Square~
At last we arrived at Heroes Square after taking a long long tour around the city. Continuing from Andrassy Ut, it terminates opposite one of the best known groups of statues in Hungary, the Millenary Monument at Heroes’ Square. The centrepiece is a 36 metre Corinthian column supporting a 16-foot statue of Archangel Gabriel. In his right hand he is holding the holy Hungarian crown, and in his left the double Apostolic cross – just as he is supposed to have appeared in a dream to Hungary’s first king. At the foot of the column, stood seven statues representing the tribal chiefs of the seven Magyar tribes who settled in this area supposedly in AD 896. The square is embraced by two semi-circular colonnades, bedecked with statues of the most illustrious rulers in Hungarian History.

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