The Breathtaking Beauty of Budapest – Part 2

As we stepped out into the early morning sunshine on our last day in Budapest, we found that the hustle and bustle of the typical business world of traffic and rushing people darting helter skelter had radically changed.

The regular people on the streets of Budapest was now only a trickle while a new workforce had replaced the business attire from yesterday.  In their place, hundreds of workers were setting up huge speakers along the banks of the Danube River and draping them across a couple of bridges.  The streets appeared relatively empty, no buses or cars were evident.  Even the bridge traffic was sparse – very odd.

Coming towards us was a woman with huge bundle of colourful helium ballons and we asked what was going on?

“It’s St Stephen’s Day” she chimed as she continued on her way.

Who is St. Steven you might ask?  St Steven is considered the founder of the Hungarian state and ruled as King from 1000 to 1038.

King St. Stephen who was both a King and a Saint. And as we were about to find out, this is a big event.  We could spend the next few pages on detailing his heroics and legends but instead we’ll give you some suggested hyperlinks at the end and carry on for now.

Our mission today is the Buda Castle District.

Since our tickets were still active, we took the HOHO across the Danube River and up the long hill to the site of Buda Castle and Fisherman’s Bastion and concluded that we could get our exercise from walking about there and walk back down the hill and across the nearest bridge to where our Viking Longboat awaited.

As with many great plans, in the end, we outsmarted ourselves.  Today was St Stephen’s Day and basically the majority of the city and surrounding areas were in town to celebrate.  Therefore all the roads near the river were closed to all traffic except those of us using our own two feet.

So far so good, but when we came down to cross the nearest bridge, it was closed to even foot traffic as the workers had to hang their ginormous speakers with associated cables and sharp metal objects.  However, we are getting ahead of ourselves.  First, let’s catch our HOHO to the Castle District and enjoy a few hours on to of the hill.

Buda Castle Hill Funicular This funicular, which first opened in 1870, is the second oldest funicular of its kind in the world.

A system of weights and counterweights is used to help to raise the carriages up and down the hill. The funicular is the fastest way to get to the top of Castle Hill, and is exceedingly popular because of its panoramic views out across the Danube. 

Enjoying some of the statues, plaques and amazing walkways on Buda Castle District and along the Buda side of the Danube River.  We did this exploration in early morning so we could be back across to the Pest side for the promised Aerial Parade where Hungary starts the festivities with fly overs of a large variety of planes and helicopters.

Buda Castle which was  known as the Royal Palace rests on Castle Hill and it is a UNESCO World Heritage site.  It crowns the western banks of the Danube River facing the Parliament Buildings on the Pest side.

The Castle is no longer the residence of the Hungarian Kings and has now been transformed into the Hungarian National Gallery, The Budapest History Museum and the Szechenyi National Library.

The day we visited there were extensive renovations being carried on so we could not access inside.

So instead we explored the stone paved streets with medieval houses, shops, and restaurants along the crooked stone walkways.  Then we climbed a tower nearby to catch a great view from above of the river and Budapest.

As mentioned earlier, we planned on walking down the hill, across the nearest bridge and back to Pest.

However, by this time the nearest bridge was closed.  Then the next one was closed.  2 more kilometers further down the road we could see the Liberty Bridge and some traffic actively coming and going across it.  A possible solution in the making. 

We walked to a hotel near the bridge and asked the doorman what was the best way to get across as the access to the walkway was closed.  The kind gentleman called a cab for us and at last we got to the other side. Yea.

When I totaled up the distance we walked that day we exceeded the just over 9 miles and although it felt longer we were happy to do it.

Everywhere throughout the city, Budapest will surprise your senses with finely wrought doors, painted windows and carved masterworks of art adorning buildings and in the street.

It is so amazing to see these Works of Art so readily displayed in common areas or hidden in little alcoves as casual ornaments and fixtures.

Budapest is full of architectural and artistic surprises on both sides of the Danube River.  We were only there for a few days and yet thoroughly enjoyed the unique blend of Eastern Europe meets Western Europe at the crossroads where so many people have lived and worked and played for centuries.

There are so many stories of our stay in Budapest and we will gradually fill these in.  But for now, we are going to say goodnight to Budapest and onto one of our next adventures.

Budapest is one of our most highly recommended cities to visit.  What are you waiting for?