Day 9 - Budapest

5 Mar 2010

We took some shots from our train cabin en route to Budapest and I have uploaded one of the better shots here.

Scene from train while en route to Budapest

We finally arrived in Budapest at about 8.30 a.m. and were greeted by taxi touts as we got off our train coach. The first guy offered EUR 15 to get us to our hotel and refused to budge when we asked for a reduction. We ignored him and went with the second guy, whom I managed to negotiate down to EUR 10. Having to negotiate like this reminds us of our native Malaysia where many taxi drivers still refuse to go by the meter.

It was a coincidence that our cab driver was planning for a trip to Zakopane, Poland and hence needed some Polish Zlotty and we also had some Polish Zlotty to get rid off. I paid him about PLN40.00, which was close to EUR 10.

He offered to drive us around various sights in Budapest for 5000 HUF per person for about two hours and claimed that the price was similar to what regular bus tours offer. We took up his offer because we only had one day in Budapest, did not want to waste a lot of time and he seemed like a guy who could be trusted. Later that night we found that we've been ripped off. The hop-on, hop-off bus tickets to various tourist attractions only cost 5000 HUF per person for a period of 24 hours.

Budapest is combination of two 'districts', i.e. Buda on one side of the river Danube and Pest on the other, just like Shanghai (Pudong and Puxi). Buda is the older district of the two.

We visited the following main sites since we only have a day:

• Citadel
• Buda Castle (Royal Palace)
• Matthias Church
• Fisherman's Bastion
• St Stephen's Basilica
  
• Parliament
  

Citadel
Views of the Danube from the Citadel were simply breathtaking and in my opinion, better than the view from Charles Bridge in Prague. I'm not about to give a history lesson here - the Citadel is basically a fortress, built sometime in the 19th century atop the Gellert Hill by Hungarian forced labourers. It was occupied by Austrian troops, until a compromise was struck with the Habsburgs in 1867.

Here are some of the pictures we took at the Citadel.

The Danube, as seen from Budapest Citadel

Another view of the Danube from Citadel

Liberty Statue

The Liberty Statue is a reminder of the liberation of Hungary from the Nazis by Soviet troops during World War II. The Liberty Statue is very prominent and can be easily seen when you're driving along Buda or from Pest across the Danube.

Art inspired by Socialist Realism (Soviet influence)

Before going to our next stop, Royal Palace, we bought some souvenirs on our way down from Gellert Hill, where the Citadel is Located.

Citadel and its bombarded walls

Royal Palace (Buda Castle)
Here are some shots from the Royal Palace. The views of the Danube and Parliament were just plain spectacular. I would rate the view of the Danube to be more beautiful than Prague's Vlatva river.

Chain Bridge, as seen from the Palace Grounds.

Palace grounds

Outside government house

Parliament as seen from Royal Palace

Monument of Prince Eugene of Savoy

Eagle sculpture - Palace grounds

St Matthias Church

St Matthias Church, located within the confines of Buda Castle hill, was next on our visit list. Unlike the majority of churches we visited before Budapest, which was filled with Baroque styled interiors, Matthias Church was designed and constructed in grand Gothic style and architecture.

Square outside Matthias Church

Matthias Church interior (Gothic hall section)

The church interior was airy and not crowded, probably because of the low season. Portions of the church were under renovation and repairs and we initially couldn't locate the entrance. The entry fee was 500 HUF per person, which was equivalent to about EUR 2.00.

Saint kings

Pews from Matthias' Church

Fisherman's Bastion
The Fisherman's Bastion is a terrace located by the banks of the Danube (Buda side). You can get a nice view of the Danube from here. There's nothing much going one here apart for some locals selling their wares and also people gambling (probably because it's winter).

Statue of Stephen I (foreground) and Fisherman's Bastion

Statue of Stephan I flanked by two towers from the Fisherman's Bastion

St Stephan's Basilica
During the evenings we strolled towards St Stephan's Basilica, which was accompanied with a pedestrian-only square at the front.

St Stephen's Basilica (front)

St Stephen's Basilica (main altar)

Square in front of St Stephen's