We arrived in Budapest about 10AM & strolled down Vaci Utca to Big Market Hall - enjoyed seeing the produce and relished a couple Gosser with red cabbage and blood sausage (Hadn’t had any since my childhood).
We returned to our hotel (the Sofitel - ideally placed a block South of the Chain Bridge) to shed jackets and walked in shirt-sleeve sunshine across the Chain Bridge to the funicular which took us up to the Castle District wherfe we had stayed at the Hilton previously.
The afternoon sun was great for photos of Parliament, the river, & Pest from the Buda side. We relaxed at a nearby café after browsing the National Gallery, then returned down the funicular and crossed on the other side of the Chain Bridge to take better photos as we returned to our room.
We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Spoon - a restaurant located on a boat docked a block from our hotel on the Pest side. It’s somewhat less expensive than Gundel’s (others on the tour paid $200 at Gundel’s while our Two appetizers(pate plate & peppered flamed brie), two entrees (duck breast w/ foie gras & venison saddle) & bottle of Portuguese Red was $150) Got some great night photos of the Castle and Chain Bridge. Finished the evening with a complementary drink at the casino attached to the Sofitel.
The next AM we took the Metro subway (2 blocks South by Café Gerbaud in Vorosmarty Square) up the M1 (yellow) line to the City Park - 10 stops, about 15 minutes. A one-way ticket on Budapest’s clean, safe public transit is 240HUF, or $1.37US. The Szechenyi Thermal Baths have three outdoor pools each larger than Olympic swimming pools with water temps of 86, 101, and 104 degrees. The 86 pool is for lap swimmers, the 101 has a circular pool inside it with a substantial current which will move you around and around until you choose the narrow exit, and the 104 has massage fountains - jets to massage neck & shoulders - and chess boards for entertainment. Unlike the touristy Gellert Baths, Szechenyi is mainly locals - everyone in a swimsuit (lots of Speedos) -both young and old, men and women - everyone having fun. You can rent everything - suit, towels, changing room locked by English-speaking attendant who hands you a numbered aluminum tag on a string. We charged the 5200 HUF ($30US) on our credit card, saved the receipt, and when we left a few hours later they refunded us 2600HUF in cash. Morning rates are the most expensive, with evening rates discounted by almost half. Lots of people ‘take the waters’ every day - I certainly would if I could.
We left the thermal baths in the late morning and a short walk thru City Park took us to the NW corner of Hero’s Square. West of the Square is the Art Museum with Gundel’s Restaurant right behind it. We crossed the Square and entered the Metro which runs down Andrassy all the way to Vorosmarty Square.
Halfway back on the Metro we got off at Ontonagon to see the Franz Liszt Academy of Music. Just a block from the Metro exit we walked 2 blocks down café-lined Liszt Square to the Academy in hopes of hearing a mid-day student concert. While that didn’t happen, we enjoyed the courtyards on Andrassy which reveal shops, offices, and residences around a small open area with gardens, pools, sculpture, or a fountain. Every block contained 3-4 of these courtyards, so our walk from Ontonagon to Vorosmarty Square brought us back well past lunch time.
Walking down Vaci Utca - a long pedestrian mall - we were reluctant to eat where overpriced and under serviced, so we turned towards the river at the 2nd opportunity onto Regi Posta and within a block found a place with a Gosser sign serving lunches. Four Gosser, two big plates of pork medallions with potatos, onions and carrots in a thick paprika gravy with more crusty bread than we needed cost us 2625HUF ($15US). Service could not have been more attentive. We did have to put up with a little cigarette smoke but you can get that in many places. One of our better meals in Budapest.
Weeks earlier we had purchased tickets to the Hungarian State Opera, so we took the Metro at 6PM and arrived right in front of the Opera a few minutes later (we had to be at the box office ½ hour before the performance to pick up our tickets). Wonderful presentation of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly. The majority of the crowd was under 30 and included many children. Their opera is very inexpensive, offers great performances every day of the week, and was sold out, which disappointed a few in our group who hoped to pick up a ticket at the last minute. We had to wait a full three minutes for the Metro as they reduce service after 10PM.
We had done the city bus tour and excursion to Danube Bend & Szentendre last December, so we skipped those outings the next day and instead enjoyed a sunny, breezy walk of the city. We walked up the Danube to Parliament & discovered that tickets were already sold out. Fortunately, the Museum of History right across the street was hosting the World News Photo Exposition. One covered the demonstrations earlier this year in Hungary protesting the re-election of a government that had lied about economic conditions before the election. Great pictures on a variety of subjects.
We continued up the river to Margit Island, accessible via Margit Hid (bridge) where we walked it’s length. Besides being a large park used extensively for recreation, it also contains two Olympic sized outdoor pools, an indoor competitive swimming facility, and thermal baths.
Leaving the bridge, we continued SE along St. Istvan and learned that most everything is either closed all day on Saturday or closes by 1:30PM. Hungry and tired, we decided Vaci Utca would still be open for tourists wanting lunch. We walked out of the first place after waiting too long, then by luck discovered Central Cellar & Wine Bar. What looks like a tiny store front becomes a large, well lit, clean, brick-walled place with an interesting menu. I had a perfectly done steak which came on a bed of fresh letchco (peppers) and which was topped by two large pieces of goose liver also done to succulent perfection.
The afternoon bus excursion the next day demonstrating Hungarian horsemanship was interesting - I didn’t know their bowmen could reverse saddle positions while fleeing pursuers who then became targets. The demonstration was followed by an included light lunch of spicy gulash (pronounced goo - yosh) with traditional music provided.
Toni - Here are some suggestions if you have extra time in Budapest.
Use their subway. It has English signs, is quick, clean, inexpensive and safe. Their subway stops at many of the things you might want to see while there.
I'm not sure if the Opera season includes August, but Budapest is second to perhaps only Vienna as a music-lovers community. Performances every night of the week with many young people in the audience. Inexpensive tickets.
Try the Szechenyi outdoor thermal baths. It is one of the subway stops - you can even rent a suit. We brought our own suits and rented a locked changing room and towels. With admission our total was about $15 US, and half was refunded back when we didn't stay all day. The locals have a yearly pass and 'take the waters' nearly every day.
If you like to walk you can easily cover much of Pest on foot. Buda is on the hilly West side of the Danube. Four walks detailed in the beginning of this thread are
(1) Castle District - cross the Chain Bridge, go up the funicular to Fishermen's Bastion, check out St.Matthias and the National Museum. (the cruise will include a morning bus tour that gets you to this area but the best views across the river are in the late afternoon with the sun at your back, and you can find one of the nice restaurants in the area)
(2) Go up the river and tour Margit Hid (Island). It is a huge city park much used by residents.
(3) Take the M1 subway line to Ontonagon and walk back to central Pest along Andrassy Utca (means avenue, pronounced 'ootzah'). Andrassy has upscale shopping and lovely interior courtyards to peek in.
(4) Find Cafe Gerbaud at the North end of Vorosmarty Ter (square). It is a subway stop. Go to the South end of the small square to Vaci Utca. It is Budapest's pedestrian mall/tourist trap. We had some great inexpensive meals venturing off Vaci Utca. When the pedestrian mall ends, continue two blocks more the the Great Hall Marketplace. If you haven't stopped for a bit by the time you return then definitely stop in Cafe Gerbaud for a cafe and one of their exquisite cakes or pastries. (they also have a full restaurant downstairs)
Try some Magyar comfort food - paprika laced stews with wonderful crusty bread. Goose liver is available everywhere. Sometimes it was presented multiple ways in the same meal.
Consider hiring a guide. I recall some posts on the River Cruise forum mentioning Budapest guides which can be found using the search function.
There are tunnels under the hilly Buda side which can be toured.
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