Tag: Europe

Another lovely day and we are off for a transport medley in the Buda Hillls. Firstly we took the metro over to Buda, then a tram to the beginning of the Cogwheel Railway which was built in 1874 and climbs 300m over 4km up through the suburbs to the top.

We saw a stall selling Kürtöskalács a popular Hungarian snack where a thin strip of bread dough is wrapped in a spiral round a stick and sprinkled with sugar which caramelises as it cooks over charcoal … and tastes delicious, slightly crispy and sweet, but not sickly … but rather sticky!

The Children’s’ Railway was just a short walk, a narrow gauge line built by Communist youth brigades in 1948 and now run by Scouts and Guides.

We took the train about 5km so we could climb the hill to the Erzsebet Tower, another Romanesque confection by the same chap who designed the Fishermen’s Bastion.

It is named for Empress Elizabeth wife of Emperor Franz Josef, who was a great favourite with the Hungarian people and affectionately called Sisi. She disliked court life in Vienna and Budapest was a refuge for her and she often stayed in a villa here in the hills. We got a great view of Budapest from the top.

Our transport challenge continued with a ride down the hill by chairlift or Libego in Hungarian meaning ‘floater’ … truly peaceful as we floated down between the trees. Once at the bottom a bus returned us to the city … so that’s 6 different means of transport, and a lovely way to spend a sunny day.

Maybe Hungarians have a special affinity for escape and brainteasers? Houdini, the most well-known escape artist in history was born in Budapest, his skill relying as much on illusion as on escape. He was followed by a chap who invented the most famous puzzle that spread worldwide – the Rubik Cube and Escape Games continue the trend with the first opening in Budapest in 2011. Others have followed taking advantage of rooms in shabby buildings available to rent cheaply, with minimum set-up costs. Now there’s a choice of some 60 venues offering everything from a trip down the rabbit hole to join Alice to Egyptian tombs or a medieval castle. We have been to one before, in Auckland, but it seems just one of those things we ought to do in Budapest and we chose The Wicklewood Heritage Game from Claustrophilia. We had great fun finding and solving the clues, but did need a couple of hints along the way. We just missed escaping on time but then we were a team of just two!

Afterwards we had dinner at Mazeltov, a chic style ruin restaurant serving middle-eastern food so there was Shawarma, or spiced chicken with salad for me and Shakshuka, eggs cooked in tomato sauce with peppers, aubergine and feta for Chris.

Today we walked over the Chain Bridge to the Buda side of Budapest. We thought we might ride on the funicular to The Var or Castle Hill, but the queue was long so we walked instead.

At every turn on the way up was another view across the Danube to Pest.

Then we concentrated on Buda itself which has apparently been ravaged and rebuilt 86 times over seven centuries with the last occasion being after WW2. We walked round the outside of the Royal Palace, which now houses the National Gallery but it was too nice a day to spend indoors.

Up close, Matyas Church and the Fishermen’s Bastion have quite a fairytale appearance which would have Disney proud, spoilt slightly by Hilton building their hulking hotel behind, and St Stephen sits proud on his horse.

We stopped at Budavari Retesvar where we bought take-away strudel for lunch, first a savoury one filled with cabbage, then we shared three sweet ones – plum, raspberry and curd cheese and black cherry – the sweet ones were definitely best!

Many buildings in the streets of The Var are painted in pastel colours and have muemlek plaques which detail their history.

There is limited traffic and the whole area feels as though time has stood still. We also noticed stone carvings, metal signs and the area is even still lit by gas lights.

We stopped for a cool drink in a shady cafe and while Chris had a beer, I had a Froccs, which is a spritzer of wine and soda, specifically with 100mls of wine and 200mls of soda. There are other names for other mixes. We retraced our steps back to Pest, passing a memorial depicting a young man falling to his death which we found out later was Mansfeld Péter who fought as a freedom fighter in the 1956 Revolution.

In the evening we planned to take the public ferry from a stop in the south of the city, from one bank to the other up the Danube to just past the Parliament building while watching the sun set on Budapest … but it didn’t turn up!

We resigned ourselves to drinking Aperol spritz in a park overlooking Elizabeth Bridge then returrned to Parisi 6 for dinner. We had another fabulous meal – zucchini salad and spinach filled deep fried tortellini for Chris and Jókai bableves, a local bean soup with smoked sausage followed by pike with sauté potatoes, sausage and pickles for me. We also shared a bottle of dry white wine from a local grape which was really delicious and finished with a complimentary shot of sour cherry Palinka … with rocket fuel like that, I’m not sure the flavour matters!

We began with the Museum of Applied Art, as much for the building as the exhibit, with its Zsolnay tiled roof and facade designed by Odon Lechner.

We were surprised when we entered as we felt we were in a Moghul palace, a style apparently chosen as at one time it was thought that the Magyars came from India.

The exhibits showcase the best of design both donated and bought to inspire Budapest artists and craftsmen. My favourite was a lovely iridescent floor vase.

While we were there, we listened to classical music played by students practising for a show of design and fashion that evening. I also chose a souvenir, a wonderfully tactile purple Birdy by Judit Karsay, one Hungary’s wave of new designers.

We took the metro under the Danube to Buda and from Batthyany ter, had a great view of Parliament.

We walked through the Vizivaros area and stopped for lunch at Nagyi Palacsintazoja or Granny’s Pancakes – one mushroom and one curd cheese with dill followed by an apple and walnut one for dessert!

On to Király Baths, one of the oldest remaining Turkish bath-houses in Budapest built in 1570 for the Buda garrison during the 150 years of Ottoman rule. The crumbling green C18 facade didn’t bode well, but we could see the green domes hiding behind the trees.

Inside all was sparkling white tiles and spotless and incredibly efficient as we paid, changed in a cabin and descended to the baths. This older part of the building was like entering a different world, subdued lighting and stone walls, with the octagonal pool below lit by star shaped apertures in the dome.

So we soaked in the middle pool, had a spell in the hotter pool, a steam and I plunged into the cold pool before relaxing again in the main pool watching the light come through the roof. A 30 minute massage certainly eased out leg muscles after all our walking and we left feeling quite relaxed.

That evening we took the tram to the area that had the old Jewish Quarter at it’s centre. We thought we’d check out another ruin bar called Instant, but also although similar to Szimplakert, it was far less attractive and early evening was almost empty, so we moved on … There were also several restaurants I thought we could try, but the only one we really liked was Mazeltov and it was completely booked, so we’ve reserved a table for Sunday. So with best laid plans and aching feet we dined at Bob’s Pizza, where Chris had pizza and I had the famous Chicken Paprikash, a stew made with paprika and sour cream and we shared a bottle of Egri Bikaver or Bull’s Blood, a famous local red wine which went down very nicely.

We had bought a day ticket for the metro so thought we’d make full use of it and stopped by the river on the way home to get some photos of Budapest at night.

Our flight arrived at lunchtime, and a short bus and train journey brought us to Budapest Rooms, a family-run B&B tucked down a quiet back street behind the Hungarian National Museum on the Pest side of Budapest. We were welcomed by Atilla who showed us our lovely big room with a high ceiling and overlooking the street.

We walked through Karolyi Garden …

… then on to Central Kavehaz, one of Budapest’s oldest coffee shops, which first opened in 1877 and attracted various writers and composers in its heyday.

I had to try the Dobos torta with layers of sponge and chocolate cream and caramel on top, while Chris had a flodni-fantazia flavoured with almond and filled with apple and both were delicious. The whole experience was very sophisticated … the grand interior, our smartly dressed waiter and the beautiful cakes. We couldn’t help worrying about an angel we saw as we were leaving … so many questions … where was she from … where was she going … was she a fallen angel … was she trapped or in safe keeping?

Approaching the Danube, we saw a figure of a woman high on the opposite bank holding a palm branch and discovered this is the Liberation Monument commemorating Soviet soldiers who died liberating Budapest from the Nazis.

We caught Tram number 2 …

… which took us along the riverbank to Kossuth Square …

… with the huge Parliament building, looking a little like an elaborate wedding cake, which we photographed from every angle. The architect, Imre Steindl started with Neo-Gothic and mixed in medieval and national features as well as his own style. His design was chosen in a competition and inaugurated on the 1000th anniversary of Hungary in 1896.

One of the runner-up designs was built opposite and is the Museum of Ethnography.

There are lots of statues in the square as well as soldiers marching round a flagpole looking very important.

… and an amazing view across the Danube to Buda.

Returning along the Danube Promenade we passed the Holocaust Memorial, lots of shoes on the edge marking the spot where hundreds of Jewish adults and children were gunned down by the Hungarian Facists in 1945. They were ordered to take off their shoes, and were shot at the edge of the water so that their bodies fell into the river and it represents their shoes left behind on the bank.

We then turned our attention to the view across the river in Buda where the most prominent feature is The Var or Varhegy which means Castle Hill. This 1500m long plateau, surrounded by walls and bastions, contains the Huge Royal Palace to the left and Matyas Church and the Fisherman’s Bastion on the right.

The Lanchid or Chain Bridge, designed by the English engineer William Tierney Clark and opened in 1849, was the first permanent bridge across the Danube in Hungary and considered a modern wonder. It was such an icon of Budapest that after WW2 it was rebuilt exactly the same.

Interestingly, it is a larger scale version of his earlier bridge which crosses the Thames at Marlow.

There is a good view of the bridge from outside the very swanky Gresham Palace, an Art Nouveau gem which has been beautifully restored and reopened as a luxury hotel. It was built by Gresham Life Assurance as company offices and residence for senior staff and opened in 1907.

Miksa Róth was commissioned to make the stained glass and ceramics came from the Pécs Zsolnay porcelain factory and no expense was spared.

The sculpture over the door is of the 16th-century English financier Sir Thomas Gresham, the founder of the Royal Exchange in London, looking like a jaunty captain.

 

We considered a cocktail in the lounge but it was a little early … and a little expensive! Outside, we saw a convoy of tour Trabants …

We continued on and our next stop was at the Vigado Concert Hall, opened in 1859 and recently restored and looking very smart. It is in the Romantic Style with a striking facade decorated with muses and the interior has a lovely painted ceiling.

 

Sitting on the railing by the tramline is the Little Princess, looking more like an imp in her tinker bell hat. She was created by László Marton in 1990.

Watching football was certainly not on my list of must-have experiences in Budapest, but Liverpool were playing in the final of the Europa Cup on our first evening and Attilla recommended Champs Sports Bar so we booked a table. Something that definitely was on our list was to visit a ruin bar so we thought we’d go for a beer first. They are uniquely a Budapest trend, so take a derelict building, fill it with wacky this and that, build a bar, invite a band serve some drinks and hopefully it will take off! Simplakert seems to have got the mix right as it was busy early evening and certainly quirky!

Returning to Champs, Chris was excited that Liverpool had reached a second final this year and hoping they would win this time! Alas, while the boys did play well, not quite well enough to win, but an OK game.

Another Liverpool bet that failed to deliver the dream! Chris’s next deluded dream is England winning the Euros, no bet placed yet, will report in next blog from France (couldn’t get tickets, shame that!) Fortunately the atmosphere was good and the food fine, although I had trouble finishing my Wiener schnitzel.