Day 9 - Budapest (Part 3)

CITY WALKABOUT

It was cold and blustery outside. Little drops of rain fell from the gathering clouds. We turned the corner after the restaurant and found ourselves outside the Tourist Information Center. The lady manning the counter was a large pretty girl with a bored expression. We persuaded her to find out more about the Hop-On-Hop-Off City Tour tickets which we ended up buying. The tickets cost 6000 forints each and included a 1-hour river cruise.

Not sure where to start our city tour, and not wishing to stir her any more than we already did, we walked past the Chain Bridge towards the boats docked along the Danube.

Danube Promenade

Széchenyi István tér

Inner City Parish Church

River cruise boats

Buda Castle

Petofi Ter Pink Line Stop No: 5 Left: Danube Promenade

CHAIN BRIDGE

completed in 1849

oldest bridge

Pest side of Chain Bridge

Buda side of Chain Bridge

First permanent bridge across Danube

Four stone lions at edge of bridge in 1852

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Day 9 - Budapest (Part 2)

The family of five explored the length and breadth of Kossuth Ter while we, having decided to go on the Hop-On-Hop-Off City Tour walked towards one of the buses to inquire. The blocks of building after the Parliament were quiet. Tram lines crisscrossed in a chaotic pattern of lines. By and by, we reached the Danube Promenade. More stone statues appeared. By this time, we were swamped with so many that we no longer cared who or what they did to be where they were.

Salamon Ferengz

Széchenyi István tér

Wandering in no particular direction, we found ourselves outside Tokio Restaurant, a Japanese restaurant at the intersection of Zrinyi utca. They were not opened for business until half an hour later so we walked along Zrinyi utca towards a distant church.

The building along this stretch looked grim. The street was washed by a sea of faces, mainly tourists. Looking down after taking the above shot, my eyes fell upon a young man at the corner carrying a paper cup filled with water.  He dropped to his knees to cajole his unleashed poodle, pointing at the cup of water now placed on the raised curb next to the street. . The pooch took a few dips at the water but could not be persuaded to drink more. The owner picked up the cup and got to his feet to follow the pooch as it turned the corner towards another street. Near him was the manhole below.

manhole

ST STEPHEN BASILICA

St Stephen's Basilica

The church was a major tourist attraction and it was located way, way, way in front and one had to rub shoulders with hordes of tourist so ... yup! I did not make it to the end. Besides, the attraction was the mummified right hand of St Stephen, Hungary's first king and I wasn't particularly fond of mummies so ...  right!

We walked towards the church to an intersection where a copper figure stood. He was an old Hungarian policeman from the early 1900s. Many stopped for selfies next to him, rubbing his pot belly affectionately. Remembering that our goal was the Hop-On-Hop-Off city tour, we did an about turn towards the Tourist Information Center near the Danube Promenade. By the time we reached the intersection, the Tokio Restaurant was opened for business and not a minute sooner for a 15 minutes hailstorm came in our wake.

The restaurant was popular among the local white collared. We took a seat at a quiet corner and ordered a chicken teppanyaki and some udon noodles to be washed down with hot green tea.

A young Caucasian couple took the table next to ours. The girl was furious. She wanted to know where the boy went.

"When you entered the car, I asked you several times where you went. You did not tell  me. Where did you go?" she demanded to know. The boy looked away. The girl raised her voice. I paid attention. Not getting any response, the girl glared at the boy. 

The silence blended into the aroma of our food. Mine was presented on a huge white platter. The chicken was cut in one inch cubes and grilled. Next to them were one shitake mushroom, two pieces of capsicum, cucumber slices and a slice of eggplant, all grilled. It was not served with white rice so I ordered some. The best part of the meal was the white rice. The next best was the hot green tea.

Outside, the wind turned blustery and tiny drops of rain continued falling. As we stood to leave after paying the bill, I wondered where the family of five went. (They were trying out the Hungarian Goulash at a restaurant near us.)

Meanwhile, the girl at the next table smiled precociously at the boy. When they first entered the restaurant, he was seated on a chair across from her. Now they were seated together, their arms entwined, the issue of where he went lost between my chicken teppanyaki and the udon noodles.

PART 3

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Day 9 - Budapest (Part 1)

Our rooms were on the 6th floor at the top of an intermediate commercial building where the access through the glass security door was via a PIN. This glass security door led to a small vestibule which ended at a short flight of stairs going up to another glass door, which when opened revealed a small lift surrounded by dark rooms. Walking out of the lift on the 6th floor, we arrived at a narrow passage between two rooms. One was labelled STAFF ROOM while the other had a NO ENTRY sign. A glass door diagonally across from the lift between the two rooms opened out onto a partially covered rooftop-floor where lavender and other flowers grew within a circular flower bed. Half of this flower bed was under the shade.  A lounging chair was placed near the shaded part of the flower bed facing a wooden bench placed by the wall leading to an open door. Inside this door, a young girl sat at her desk on the left. Next to her were about five to six dining tables and chairs with an adjoining kitchenette. All the bedrooms opened out to this dining area.

The receptionist was a pretty girl in her early twenties. Mr Seventeen suggested that the online review for the Tower Terrace apartment was high on account of her pretty face. Her living quarters were behind the door marked NO ENTRY, one of two rooms connected by a narrow passage after the lift on the 6th floor.

Budapest is essentially a city divided by the Danube. On the hilly side to the West of the Danube and dominated by the castle is Buda. The flat plains on the opposite side dominated by the Parliament building is Pest.  The two parts of the city are connected by at least eight bridges.

During the first century, the city began as a Roman outpost and slowly developed into a civil settlement. The horse riding Magyar (Hungarian) tribes arrived in 896 AD and discovered that converting to Christianity is the key to survival in Europe. This led to the Christian kingdom of Hungary founded by the crowning of the Magyar high chieftain's son (St Stephen) in the year 1001. St Stephen became a national symbol and the St Stephen's Crown, the Holy Crown of Hungary.

The city of Budapest was officially created in 1873. She was destroyed by the Mongols, captured by the Ottoman Empire, conquered by the Habsburg Empire (Austria) and devastated by Soviet troops. Perhaps this explained the hungry looks of the Hungarians and their general wariness towards strangers.

It was dark when I woke up. (Can you see a pattern here?) There were no birds chirping on this rooftop. Outside my window were the spartan rooftops of the surrounding building. No ornate carvings, statuettes, angels or gargoyles. Some had little gardens in them. Most looked dreary as rooftops are wont to look. Our room came with a balcony which could be accessed from outside via a small wooden gate about 3 feet high. The glass door leading to this balcony was locked so there weren't any way to exit the room but through the bedroom door, which led to the dining area where the receptionist occupied one corner by the door.

At about 6 am, we walked out of our bedroom and was greeted cheerfully by a matronly woman who called out "Yada-yada-yada!" (That's Hungarian for "Good Morning" in case you're wondering.) Acknowledging our smiles with her approving eyes, she dashed into the adjoining kitchenette like a woman with a mission. The pretty receptionist was not at her desk. Her's was the graveyard shift. I was in good spirit this morning for we were going home tomorrow. "Going Home" is the best part of any journey.

Since breakfast wasn't ready until 8 am, we wandered to the circular flower bed to "smell the flowers." The adjoining building was a floor or two lower. On the roof was a man watering the plants in his garden. He converted an area of about 10 feet by 10 feet to a rooftop garden with green hedges and pretty flowers. It was a refreshing sight.

No other living thing was in sight. The world was silent in this part of Budapest. We returned to our room to watch the minute hand worry the hour hand of the clock towards eight.

At about ten minutes to eight, we left our bedroom and took a seat at the dining table immediately outside. The matronly woman smiled as she busied herself in the kitchenette.

"Yada-yada-yada-yada-yada-yada," she said as she swung her hand in a big curve towards the kitchenette. (That's Hungarian for "The food is ready. Please help yourself."

"Yada-yada-yada-yada-yada," she added as she pointed at the coffee and teapot, the croissant and buns, the butter and jam, the cheeses and the eggs. (That's Hungarian for "We have coffee and tea, croissants and buns, butter and jam, cheeses and eggs. Take your pick.")

"Good Morning, Auntie, Uncle," greeted Tweedle-Dum as she appeared at the dining table. Behind her were the rest of the family. Each walked into the kitchenette and having filled their plates returned to sit at the dining tables.

"So ...  how are we going to the airport tomorrow morning?" My husband asked his buddy. Mr Nice-Guy directed the question at his son.

"I don't know. By bus or train ... maybe," was the ready answer.

Now, having gone through the various walkabouts of trains and trams, I was not too keen to embark on another one of those so behind closed doors, we had decided (my husband and me) that whatever their decision, we were booking a taxi to the airport.

"Okay. We will be booking a taxi from the hotel," my husband announced. What followed were the dings and dongs between the two school chum which resulted in Mr Nice-Guy's decision to engage a taxi for the morrow. That settled, we discussed our plan for the day.

A young Caucasian lad appeared at the kitchenette, picked up several bread which he proceeded to chew on and disappeared out the door.

In his wake came a large man and his wife. They sat at a table by the wall, the man showing a voracious appetite, the lady picking at her food. After looking intently at us for the better half of ten minutes, Mr Georgia (not his real name) introduced himself and ended up engaging us in a lively conversation. He had been to our part of the world and was eager to talk about his various exploit. The couple came from Georgia (a former Soviet Republic) and the man who was with an NGO was here for a conference.

For close to an hour, Mr Georgia chattered between mouthfuls of grub. It was amazing how much food the man could tuck into his belly.

Finally, we excused ourselves for we had plans, don't we? With Mr Seventeen in the lead, we took a bus to the Budapest Parliament along the Danube.

MUSEUM OF ETHNOGRAPHY

Museum of Ethnography
opposite the Parliament

on the roof

Taken from the Parliament

PARLIAMENT

The Crown of St. Stephen inside the Dome Room (closed on Monday)

FHB Bank Parliament's left

Kossuth Memorial Members of the first Hungarian Parliamentary Government Lajos Kossuth (middle) (National Hero) leader of Hungary's 1848 War of Independence against Habsburg rule (doomed to failure)

Kossuth Lajos Square

Karpatoktul down in the lower Danube Bosz a howl, a wild storm scattered her hair, scarlet forehead all in the storm itself, the Hungarian * Karpatok means "Carpathian Mountains, symbol of greater Hungary

Tisza Istvan Monument (former PM)

North view

North view

Parliament
South Entrance

Danube

Buda across the Danube

Szarvas Gabor

Prince Ferenc Rakoczi II (national hero) led 1703-11 War of Independence against Habsburg (doomed to failure)

Buda Palace Quarter

Attila Jozsef one of Hungary's notable poet from a poor background prone to depression committed suicide at age 32

Matthias Church at the center
across the Danube

Manhole

Kossuth Ter Massacre Memorial at Southern Ventilation Tunnel (1956 massacre of unarmed victims at "Bloody Thursday") Hungarian Revolution

60 pairs of cast iron shoes attached to stone embankment at the edge of the river bank, a memorial for victims shot into the icy Danube by the Arrow Cross militiamen. Near the end of World War 2 when Germany occupied Hungary, 400,000 Jews in countryside were murdered by German Nazis.

Shoes on the Danube

PART 2