Budapest Part 1

Budapest Part 1

2 - 9 January 

We, with Emily (Geoff and Julie were already in Vienna) left Ljubljana on Friday, 2 January and caught a train to Vienna for a one night stopover. 

Lots of snow on the ground from Ljubljana to Vienna.

The train to Vienna was uncrowded and comfortable.

We arrived in Vienna late in the afternoon and went for a walk around Stephanplatz and the Ringstrasse before going to a restaurant for dinner - Vienna Schnitzel was delicious! It was a clear, cold night but the lighting made it very pretty.

The next morning, we did a Jewish Quarter walk. Fascinating history of the Jews in Vienna and Austria, both hundreds of years ago as well as WWII, when 65,000 were murdered. And we had forgotten (or didn't hear of?) the attacks in the 80's, the ISIS attack in 2020 or the cancelled Taylor Swift concert in 2024.

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Just after midday we caught our train from Vienna to Budapest. More crowded than yesterday's train, but it got us to our destination.

And what a terrific spot to stay in.

We don't have a car but we don't need one. There's a buses and trams virtually at the door, as well as a metro on the corner with trains coming every 3 minutes.

The underground is easily reached by either, trams run to the Danube... couldn't ask for more. if you are 65 and over, all travel in Hungary is free! Lucky for some!

Our apartment is on the Pest side of the river. It's spacious, warm and comfortable.

This is the view from our lounge room window, on arrival and a few days' later after a good snow fall.

Geoff and Julie arrived here on our second day, and that night we went on a sight-seeing trip along the Danube through the city. It really is quite beautiful.

The following morning - very cold!- we did a free city walk and learnt a bit of  Hungary's history.

This walk ended near the river so we walked the short distance to the famous shoes on the edge of the Danube memorial to the Jews murdered by the Hungarian fascists near the end of the war. Very sombre. To save ammunition, victims were tied together and the middle person shot before being pushed into the freezing water, ensuring the drowning death of those either side of the one shot.

Robyn and I returned a few days' later after a fall of snow. 

Words fail us.

(Apparently - thanks Charlie!) no visit to Budapest is complete without a trip to the New York Cafe, claimed to be the most beautiful cafe in the world.

It IS pretty spectacular - as are the prices. They have to be able to pay the pianist I guess.

After our early coffee here, we caught a tram down to Parliament House for a booked tour.

It's gorgeous. 

We then walked across the Chain Bridge to the Buda side of the city and caught a bus up the hill to the castle and Fisherman's Bastion, part of the wall and towers overlooking the Danube.

The soviets were determined to outdo the west and America during the Cold War, so the first eastern McDonald's ever built, here in Budapest, was a beautifully appointed fast food restaurant. Disappointingly, they've modernised it somewhat, and a lot of the former grandeur has been lost.

We visited St. Stephen's Basilica and paid to enter the church and walk around the dome.

The church is highly decorated and beautifully maintained.

While being sacrilegious was not the intention, we may have crossed a line in throwing snow at each other whilst up there. 

We visited Hero's Square, and then headed out to dinner to a restaurant that served traditional Hungarian fare. Snowy walk! Fortunately it was just around the corner.

Budapest is home to one of the largest Synagogues in the world. We did a tour here and learnt a few things about the worshippers here and the Jewish faith, as well as, of course, the horrors they've endured.

It was sad to hear the guide say that Jews in Budapest don't endure the torment that other Jews around the world do, in places like Australia.

It's awful to know that we're viewed as a dangerous place by some.

At the end of WWII there were so many bodies in the ghetto, and not enough space to bury them, mass graves were dug in the grounds of the synagogue and more than 2000 victims laid to rest.

There's a silver tree with leaves with names, as well as symbolic graves to commemorate these people.

 

Budapest has a central market stall. We had a look around at the crap for sale to tourists (not us, surely!). Paprika is EVERYWHERE! It's the national spice that goes into lots of soups and stews.

Budapest is well known for its thermal baths. We visited one afternoon. It's a pretty strange sensation gathering one's towel, swimmers and thongs, all the while looking out the window at the snow coming down!

And yes, they were warm and we stayed a good while.

We farewelled Emily for a week or so as she headed to Bratislave, Innsbruck, Munich, Nuremberg and Leipzig before she catches up with us again in Berlin (Flix bus runs everywhere!), and said goodbye to Geoff and Julie, who headed to Prague and Munich before returning to Australia.

The next day was beautiful; sunny and still, so headed down to the river for an aimless, crunchy walk through the city and along the Danube.

So that's us up to date... deserted and abandoned by family in Budapest. 

We're here for another week before we move on to Potsdam via an overnight in Munich.

I'm (John) typing this up on a snowy day while Robyn has gone to a large shopping centre with a Tesco's for some pantry items we're struggling to find in the local small SPAR supermarkets.

We'll do lots of local exploring, making use of Budapest's fantastic, affordable local transport. Over 65s travel for free (just travel with photo ID if questioned) while two, seven and 14 day passes are available for tourists and locals alike.

No need to ever look at a timetable, every tram, bus, metro and train is exceptionally regular.

Next update as we leave Budapest (probably?!)