How to pronounce “Budapest”: It’s “BOO-dah-pest” with the hard “s” sound, or “BOO-dah-pesht” with the “sh” sound, as in “she.” Either is accepted.
From Krakow to Budapest: This was not our best train experience.
Phase One: We were on the platform just fifteen minutes before our train to Budapest was scheduled to depart. Six minutes later, a train pulled up, and nearly everyone on the platform climbed aboard. Assuming that this must be our train, we boarded as well. We soon discovered that we were on the train to the Krakow Airport. So we got off at the first stop and took a train back to the Krakow station. Of course, the train we should have been on was now long gone. Our reasonably priced ticket was of no value. And the next train to Budapest would cost about four times as much and wouldn’t leave until 11:00 PM [that’s 23:00] and a 10+ hour wait.
Phase Two: We caught the right train this time and found our spot in a nice cabin designed to seat six, with three passengers on each side. At first, we were thrilled to have the whole cabin to ourselves, but that lasted only an hour. Sara and I were already lying down and sleeping when the train stopped, and four middle aged Polish men joined our cabin. So much for our cozy cabin and beds. After opening their bottles of vodka and whisky, they spent the rest of the night talking, laughing, and drinking. One guy in particular talked incessantly, and very loudly. So we endured six hours of drunken Polish talk, ending just an hour before our very early morning arrival in Budapest.
Historically, Budapest was two different cities on either side of the Danube River, with Pest on the flat, eastern side and Buda in the mountains on the west. We stayed in Pest (east of the Danube) in a nice apartment across from a small park, within the Jewish Quarter. From there, most of Pest was easily walkable.
Seven bridges cross the Danube to connect Buda and Pest, but the oldest and most famous is the Chain Bridge, originally opened in 1849 as a remarkable feat of engineering. During our stay, the Chain Bridge was closed for renovations, so we crossed the Margaret Bridge instead.
Hop On, Hope Off: We often take a Hop-On, Hop Off bus tour to familiarize ourselves with the key sights and the geography of a town. Here we opted for a 3-day ticket that was a bit expensive, but we used it for three days travel AND a cruise along the river AND a “free” walking tour. We think we got our money’s worth.
Visiting with the Russians: At a great restaurant just around the corner from our Air BnB, we enjoyed visiting with two young women seated at the table next to ours. They are students from Russia, studying here in Budapest. We told them we had visited Vietnam, and we felt regret over our country’s actions toward the Vietnamese. They predicted that down the road Russians will similarly regret and feel guilt about their current war against Ukraine. They also said the Russian population is not told the truth about what is happening. One said her mother called recently in a panic that a new world war was imminent. Did she need to stock up on groceries and supplies?
Our Walking Tour of Pest: From St. Stephen’s Basilica and later along the river moving up toward the Hungarian Parlaiment.
St Stephen’s Basilica, Budapest’s largest church, is named for St. Stephen, the first king of Hungary (c. 975–1038). It sits in the center of Pest, not far from the river. St. Stephen’s is 96 meters tall, the same height as Hungary’s iconic Parlaiment building. No taller buildings are allowed. The equal height of the two suggests the equal importance of the religious and the secular powers.
It’s a gorgeous church in Neo-Classical style and full of fascinating art. Our guide called our attention to the famous relic, “the incorruptible right hand” of St. Stephen himself. Legends claim that the holy right hand performed miracles, both before and after it was severed from Stephen’s dead body. Eventually the revered right hand landed in a reliquary here, in the church bearing his name. People still come to see and ask for their miracles from the Holy Right Hand.
Ferenc Puskás, revered by some as the greatest soccer forward ever, is also laid to rest in St. Stephen’s crypt. Puskás led Hungary’s “Golden Team” to a gold medal in the Olympics and to the final of the 1954 World Cup. Thus our guide boasted that St. Stephen’s Basilica holds not only “the incorruptible right hand” of St. Stephen but also “the infallible Left Leg” of Ferenc Puskás.
Shoes along the Danube is a small but moving monument in memory of the Jews who were massacred here by members of the Arrow Cross Party, Hungary’s fascist militia, during WWII. Jews were lined up on the riverbank and told to remove their shoes. Then they were shot so their bodies would fall into the river and be carried away. Today these “shoes” represent those left along the bank.
Hungarian Parliamentary Building: Sitting along the shore of the Danube River, this magnificent Parliament building is the most iconic image of Budapest, so you have probably seen it before. It’s the seat of the National Assembly of Hungary. The Parlaiment’s dome is 96 meters high in honor of the year 896 reflecting 1000 years since the establishment of Hungary. And there are 96 stairs leading up to the Cupola Hall. Also 365 towers, both small and large, one for each day of the year.
Oddly enough, Hungarians are proud of being Second Best in Europe on a number of fronts.
- Hungary has the 2nd largest Parlaiment building in Europe.” Romania has the largest, that monstrosity built by Ceausescu in Bucharest.
- Budapest sits along the fabled Danube River, the 2nd longest river in Europe.
- Hungarian is listed as the 2nd Hardest language to learn. Basque is the hardest.
- Budapest has the 2nd largest Temple in the world.
- Budapest has the 2nd oldest Underground in Europe.
The New York Café in Budapest bills itself as “the most beautiful cafe in the world.” Well, that’s a pretty large claim, and subject, of course, to personal taste. But it is certainly large, and ornately decorated in an Italian Renaissance style. Serving fine coffee and sumptuous desserts, to the sound of a lovely string quartet, it reminded me of the lovely Central Café in Vienna.
On the Buda side of the Danube: The Buda Castle is a large walled fortress sitting atop Castle Hill, overlooking the Danube and the city of Pest to the east. It’s part of the Budapest World Heritage Site (1987). During our visit, some buildings were under construction, but there’s plenty to see here.
Matthias Church, named for King Matthias Corvinus, is a beautiful neo-Gothic church, with its gorgeous white exterior and beautiful Gothic interior. Wow!
Holy Trinity Square is the open square and meeting place adjacent to Matthias Church.
The Fisherman’s Bastion, one of the most popular tourist attractions, is a series of Neo-Romanesque terraces with seven tall lookout towers offering an amazing panoramic view over the river and the city of Pest to the east.
Thermal Baths: Budapest is famous for its thermal baths, so we had to check it out. We chose to visit Budapest’s largest, most popular bath complex, the Széchenyi Baths with 3 large outdoor pools and 15 indoor pools. The huge outdoor pools can hold hundreds of people. The smaller, indoor pools offer a range of temperatures, so you can hop from comfortable to cold water, cold water to hot, and from hot back to cold. Or you can opt for a sauna, or even a BeerSpa in wooden tubs where you can soak in water treated with hops, malt, and yeast while drinking your beer. The BeerSpa did entice us, but we passed on it as rather expensive. At full capacity, the Széchenyi Baths can serve 1800 people. Yes, it’s a pretty big complex. We’ve seen pictures of the pools in winter as people enjoy the warm water steaming up into cold air as the snow falls over from above.
