The weather forecast for our first day was rainy and cold, so we got out our umbrellas and prepared to go around Budapest. We decided not to do any walking tours and just explore the city on our own. We started the day at the
. It's the largest and oldest indoor market in Budapest, and was built around the 19th century when the outdoor markets became too chaotic and crowded.
tiles. Zsolnay refers to porcelain pieces made by a Hungarian company Zsolnay. The factory was established by Miklós Zsolnay and is apparently is quite famous producer of stoneware and ceramics. It receive worlwide recognition for its innovative frost-proof products.
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| Fresh food produce |
The market consists of two floors. The first floor is primarily for fresh produce (meats, vegetables, fruits, cheeses) as well as candies, spices, and bottled foods, while the second floor has some eateries where you can buy ready-to-eat food, and stalls selling souvenirs and local handicrafts. We had a quick breakfast then walked around the market looking at the souvenirs. (We only visited two floors, but I later found out that there's actually a 3rd floor - the basement - where the fish market is).
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| View of the market from the second floor |
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| Souvenirs and local handicrafts |
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| Souvenirs and local handicrafts |
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| Souvenirs and local handicrafts |
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| Some food at the eateries |
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| Some food at the eateries |
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| Paprika is also really popular here |
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| Jams |
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| More foods |
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| More foods |
After visiting Central Market (which was in Pest) we crossed
Liberty Bridge (Szabadság híd) to get to Buda.
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| Liberty Bridge behind us |
Budapest gets its name from the two sides of the city
Buda and
Pest which are divided by the
Danube River, and were joined into a single city in 1873. The Pest side is considered the city center and was built on a plain, while Buda lies on a hill and has
Gellért Hill and the
Castle District.
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| Buda on the left, Elizabeth Bridge in the middle, Pest on the right |
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| View of Buda from Liberty Bridge |
On the South side of Buda (on the other end of Liberty Bridge) is Gellért Hill.
Gellért Hill (Gellért-hegy) is a 235m hill that overlooks the Danube River. At the top of the hill is the
Citadella, a former fortress that supposedly offers the best panoramic view of the city (we didn't make it up). The
Liberty Statue is situated in front of the Citadella (it's on the right of the picture below) and commemorates those who sacrificed their lives for the independence and freedom of Hungary.
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| On Liberty Bridge with Gellért Hill in the background |
Gellért Hill was named after Saint Gerard, a bishop (turned saint) who was thrown to his death from the hill during the pagan rebellion in 1046. He's also one of the patron saints of Hungary. The Citadella was built by the Austrian Habsburgs after defeating Hungary in its War of Independence in 1849. The hill was chosen due to it being a strategic site.
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| Statue of St. Gerard near Elizabeth Bridge |
We spent some time enjoying the view from Gellért Hill, then walked along the riverbank in Buda, and crossed Elisabeth Bridge to get back to Pest. We made our way towards the city center admiring the architecture despite the gloomy sky.
Our plan for the day was really to just walk around Budapest checking out several sights. We stopped by the
Dohány Street Synagogue also known as the
Great Synagogue, is the largest synagogue in Europe (second largest in the world). We didn't go inside, but admired the pretty architecture from the outside. It was built in the Neo-Moorish style, thus the designs you see on the outside. Can only imagine how beautiful the interior must be.
Next up was St. Stephen's Basilica. As we were walking to the Basilica, we spotted an open air market in
Elizabeth Square (Erzsébet tér). We were pretty hungry, and the rain had subsided, so we decided to have lunch there.
Much like Czech cuisine, Hungarian cuisine is loaded with meat -- lots of meat stews, sausages, and kebabs.
I tried some t
öltött káposzta (stuffed cabbage). It's cabbage stuffed with meat and rice and then topped with some sour cream. The dish was suprisingly spicy, and I later learned that the cabbage of Hungary is often pickled. It had such an interesting taste. Tried some Hungarian wine as well, which was recommended to me by the vendor, and went perfectly with the
töltött káposzta.
Then we were at
St. Stephen's Basilica named after Hungary's first king, and along with St. Gerard, another of the country's patron saints. The Basilica is also known as the Budapest Cathedral and is the largest church in the city. The dome is 96 meters high, the exact height as the Budapest Parliament Building. The equal height of the two (they are the two highest buildings in the city) supposedly sumbolize the balance between church and state in Hungary).
I made the
200 huf (just under €1) suggested donation and checked out the inside. The inside is beautiful, and is decorated by famous artists of the era. The basilica also holds St. Stephen’s mummified right hand, the Szent Jobb (Holy Right Hand).
We then went to walk along the riverbank of the Danube River, which also happens to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Below you have the
Chain Bridge,
Danube River, and the
Royal Palace (in the Buda Castle District) as seen from the Pest Side.
Chain Bridge (Széchenyi Lánchíd) was built in the middle of the 19th century and was the first permanent connection between Buda and Pest. The bridge was named after Count István Széchenyi he founded a society to finance and build the bridge. Story goes that in the winter, the would freeze making transportation across it impossible, leaving people stuck on one side. Because of this, the Count had to wait a week to attend his father's funeral, which led him to advocate the construction of a permanent bridge.
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| You can't tell but it was drizzling nonstop when I took this picture |
It was really really cold the whole day, plus it was raining on and off. But that didn't stop us from enjoying Budapest!
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| Our "why is it so cold" faces |
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| Our "yay, we're off to the thermal baths next" faces |
Further down along the bank, nearer to the Hungarian Parliament, we saw the
Shoes on the Danube Bank - a memorial built in 2005 to honor the Jews shot along the river by Arrow Cross militiamen during WWII. The Jews were made to take of their shoes and stand along the edge of the river. When they were shot, and their bodies fell into the river, it was their shoes that were left behind on the bank.
We continued walking on, enjoying the view.
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| Lovely view despite the grey skies |
Statue of Attila József, a Hungarian poet, near the Parliament Building. When I stumbled upon it I had no idea who he was, but I thought it was really interesting and wondered what the text meant. Later on I discovered who he was and that his statue was made so that he's sitting as described in his poem
"By the Danube."
Next we were off to the thermal baths in City Park, so we decide to walk down the famous
Andrássy Avenue (Andrássy út). The avenue was actually built to connect Pest city center with City Park. We didn't realize what a loooooong street it was (2.5 km), but thankfully the sun came out, and it made for a nice walk. Andrássy út is an elegant boulevard (and another UNESCO World Heritage Site) lined with famous (expensive) shops, bookstores, restaurants and cafés, and even an Opera House and several museum. Budapest has often been dubbed the "Paris of Central Europe," and this street is the city's Champs-Élysées.
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| The latter part of Andrássy Avenue, nearer to City Park |
We made it to Hősök tere or Heroe's Square, and it was the sunniest it had been in 3 days! Can you tell how happy we are to see the sun?
Hősök tere or Heroe's Square is one of the major sqaures in the city. The square was built in 1896 to commemorate the first 1000 years of the Hungarian State. In the center of the square stands the Millennial Monument which depicts a column topped by the archangel Gabriel, and seven Magyar (Hungarian) chieftains at the base. On either sides of the column are 14 historical figures of Hungary. On the left of the square is the Museum of Fine Arts, while the Kunsthalle (Hall of Art) stands on the right.
Right behind Heroes Square is
City Park (Városliget), a 302 acre public park (it's the largest park in Budapest). There are many attractions inside including a castle (which is actually a museum), a zoo, and ice skating rink and the thermal baths. The park is a really lovely grassy area, and I'm sure it makes for nice walks and picnice in the summer. One of the attractions in city park is
Vajdahunyad Castle. The castle was originally built to show the various architectural styles found in Hungary. Thus, you will see Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque buildings, facades, and doors all over the castle. Today it serves a museum, houses several exhibitions, and even hosts concerts in the summer.
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| Vajdahunyad Castle |
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| Gothic gates |
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| Baroque facade in the building that houses the Museum of Hungarian Agriculture |
Then finally we were at our last stop of the day: the
Széchenyi Baths (Széchenyi fürdő). Budapest is famous for its numerous thermal baths, and is even nicknamed the "City of Baths" or "City of Spas."
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| Széchenyi Baths |
The
Széchenyi Baths are the largest thermal baths in Budapest with 15 indoor pools and 3 outdoor pools. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived the indoor pools were closing, so we had to make do with the outdoor pools (the indoor pools are open until 7pm, but last entrance at 6pm. Outdoor pools are open until 10pm). We paid
4,500 huf (€15) for entrance and a locker, then finally got to relax in the pools. While they weren't hot enough for my liking (I was still a tad bit cold if I wasn't moving), it was a nice way to end the day. :)
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| Snapped a picture of one of the outdoor pools as we were leaving |
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