There are some lovely old buildings in Budapest, tall and bedecked with amazingly elaborate spires, ornate windows and large sculptures. Those on the hilly western side of the Danube River (Buda) appear to be very well maintained and really quite stunning. Unfortunately some parts of the eastern side that we saw (Pest) are not quite as flash, with many a flaking and peeling building in need of a great deal of TLC.
The public transport is interesting, not only do they have the underground metro trains, the efficient above ground trams and buses but there are also rubber tyred electric ‘trolley’ buses that get their energy from overhead power lines. Very cool.
The stunning Danube at night is a treat. We did a boat cruise and spent an hour gasping at the beautifully lit up castles, museums, the house of parliament and other grandiose structures. They have taken great care to use flood-lighting to very good effect to emphasise the stunning architecture of these buildings. That river cruise was possibly the highlight of our stay in Budapest, despite the blowy electrical storm that raged in that evening. The amazing horizontal lightning just added to the awe-inspiring views.
The place that we stayed in was a tiny tiny apartment that we rented mainly because it had a clothes washing machine, we had accumulated quite a bundle of soiled apparel by that point and it was time to scrub them up. Unfortunately the aforementioned washing machine turned out to be a monster that shrieked and screamed, jumping around smashing floor tiles and refusing to unlock the door to let our wet clothes out. After one long, difficult and nightmarish load we decided that it was preferable to waste hours in a laundromat for the remaining set of wearables.
One exciting adventure we undertook in Budapest was the Escalator To The Centre Of The Earth. To access one metro station we climbed aboard an escalator that was the match of any fairground ride, it plummeted at a high rate and a very steep angle down deep into the bowels of the planet. Down down down through an echoey narrow tunnel we went, clinging white knuckled tightly to the moving handrail. The trip back up to the surface at the other end was just as trippy, but at least we were glad not to have to climb up ten thousand steps.
We were really impressed by an archaeological exhibition in the National Museum, the number and quality of the artefacts were amazing. Dating way back into when Neanderthals were the residents of the Carthaginian Basin it followed through the palaeolithic settlers and the ensuing myriad tribes and societies that invaded and inhabited that fertile region of central Europe. Even the pre-bronze age artefacts were in surprisingly good condition and in plentiful supply. It was undoubtedly the most extensive archaeological display that we have ever seen.
We wanted ever so badly to buy a couple of sculptures from the Koller art gallery, but a pair of two metre high statues were never going to fit in our bags. We saw so much amazing art there, a true delight.
Was this our new favourite city?
It amazes me how many brilliant creators are forgotten. The sculptor who created all those amazing figures in the second photo is the equal of any of the greats. I think he may have been a bit subversive too. The ruler who sits on the throne looks very arrogant and pompous, and the statues of the 4 men holding up that section look very downtrodden holding up the burdensome ruler.
Love the vine-covered building in the picture after that.
Hungary. Homeland of one of the world’s greatest minds: John von Neuman. Brilliant mathematician, physicist, inventor, and one of the first computer scientists.
Are you going to go out and explore the gorgeous countryside? From what I’ve seen of their forests (pictures only, of course) you’d be crazy not to.
We are actually in Vienna right now. On this leg of our Grand Adventure we are doing all the big European cities via train. No opportunities to visit the countryside right now, that will come when we pick up our camper van in about a week’s time. Then we avoid the cities and cruise the country roads instead. We purposefully have no plans…
Haven’t managed to go to either Prague or Budapest. Now definitely on my to do list! Awesome photos as always ?
Beautiful! Cathy said if you are still there, a spa on the Pest side of the river is well worth a night visit. It’s an old 16th century Roman building with stars cut out of the dome for night viewing. Maybe called Rudas thermal bath. She went at 9pm with her friend who lives there, and they were the only ones bathing. Sounds divine after a long day sightseeing.
Definitely my fave city. Great photos!