Budapest Part 2

 Sunday and Monday, July 14 & 15, 2013

We got an earlier start on Sunday morning, determined to do more with our day, since we felt the previous morning had been a bit of a bust.  We set out into picture perfect weather: temperatures in the high 70s, blue skies scattered with a few puffy clouds just to add some texture, a calm breeze.  Our plan was to head toward the river and cross over the Chain Bridge to explore the Castle Hill complex on the Buda side of the river (Budapest was actually once two separate cities; Buda on the west side of the Danube, and Pest on the east).  The hill is dominated by the enormous domed, Royal Palace, which is now the National Gallery Museum.

In front of the Chain Bridge

Gazing up at the Royal Palace/National Gallery

Gavin had thought that Ewan would enjoy taking the funicular tram to the top of the hill.  We crossed over the historic and interesting Chain Bridge (a suspension bridge made of huge chain links bolted together, rather than cables), stopping along various points of the bridge to snap photos of this very photogenic city.  Once we reached the other side, Ewan took one look at the long line for the funicular and declared that he would rather walk to the top. 

The funicular trams that Ewan amazingly chose NOT to ride!

Gavin and I exchanged bemused glances and encouraged this motivation, as we zigzagged our way up the steep path to the top, stopping along the way of course at the various vantage points to take in the expansive view of the river and city below.

About half way up to the top!

We reached the top of the hill and wandered slowly toward the enormous palace.  There were tons and tons of other tourists about, all edging toward the wall where they could take in the panoramic view of the Danube river, crossed by its graceful bridges, and dominated by the massive Parliament building just on the opposite side of where we were. 

View of Chain Bridge

View of Parliament

The Royal Palace/National Gallery

We wandered around for the better part of an hour before picking up a couple of souvenirs, and then walking north towards the church of St. Matthias and the Fisherman’s Bastion, a lovely decorative stone terrace spanned by charming round towers with conical roofs, each one with a different pattern carved into the eaves.  Of course this terrace offered more breathtaking views which we continued to soak in at a leisurely pace.

Church of St. Matthias

Fisherman's Bastion

Family Portrait

After we had our fill, we walked down to the hill toward the closest subway station.  We made our way back to our hotel to rest and regroup for an hour or so.  Our next stop was to be the Széchenyi baths.  Budapest is well known for the many of the thermal baths in the city, and we didn’t want to miss out on this experience.  We donned our bathing suits and once again headed for the subway towards city park.  We arrived at the entrance and figured out the logistics of what to do.  We paid for entry as well as a small changing cabin that we could use instead of the locker room.  We rented towels (with a hefty deposit!) and headed toward the swimming pools.  

Széchenyi bath complex

The boys soaking in the mineral water

This complex was quite massive, with three huge pools outside, and many more thermal baths, saunas, as well as rooms for massages and other spa services inside.  The building itself was quite impressive, painted in a golden yellow.  It was built in 1913 in Neo-baroque style, with graceful domes and arched windows.  The far pool was the coolest (or should I say, least warm), with a lap pool in the middle, and the first pool was the warmest.  Gavin and Ewan jumped right into the “cooler” pool, and I was slightly more hesitant.  I climbed in slowly, and the water was pleasant, but after about 30 seconds Gavin and Ewan took off toward the swirly fountains in the center of the pool, and I promptly turned around and took a seat on the bench in the sun.  I know it’s silly, and call me squeamish, but I just couldn’t handle the amount of bodies that were soaking in the water.  I got really grossed out and couldn’t do it--just not my thing.  I had to submerge myself just to say I had soaked in a Hungarian thermal bath, but once I checked that off my list, I much preferred to people-watch from the sidelines!  I found that much more entertaining.  It’s a wonderful vantage point to a slice of life where you see everything from speedo-clad, deeply tanned hardbodies to pudgy, middle-aged ladies reading their tabloid newspapers, to students, young lovers, lying on towels on the concrete, clinging to each other in graphic PDAs.  After the boys had their fill, they dried off and we took the subway back to our hotel and freshened up for our last dinner in Hungary.

Once again, our friendly concierge directed us to another fine establishment serving fantastic regional cuisine, this time more traditional.  We enjoyed live music by a festively dressed trio, and I sampled goulash, and duck breast, while Gavin started with a cold strawberry soup, followed by chicken paprikash.  They were kind enough to cater to Ewan, making him a simple bowl of pasta with chicken.  We sampled three different kinds of wine; a sparkling rosé, a light-bodied red, and to finish, we sipped on the deliciously syrupy Tokaji Aszu.  The service and food was phenomenal, and we were sad that our time in this lovely had passed so quickly!  What an enjoyable final night we had.

Fantastic wine and dinner on our last night in Budapest!

We had planned to leave for train to Vienna in the early afternoon just after 1:00 PM, which would give us time to make it to the Great Market Hall, which had been closed over the weekend, and it was something I really wanted to see.  It is the oldest and largest market in all of Budapest. 

Great Market Hall

We got up early, ate breakfast and packed so that we would have time to spend.  We took the subway and walked a couple blocks toward the river until we reached the famous market.  The building was cavernous and airy, with huge windows and lovely wrought iron staircases and details.

Overview of the market's interior

The bottom floor consisted mostly of produce and meat vendors, with a few booths dedicated to the ample varieties of paprika to sell. 

Salami galore!

Lots of paprika!

The second floor hosted several restaurants, as well as a multitude of booths selling all sorts of souvenirs and other goods with everything from purses and belts, to embroidered tablecloths, to jewelry, to t-shirts, to matryoshka dolls. 

I relished browsing slowly up and down the isles, snapping photos of the colorful, perfectly stacked produce, as well as gawking at the multitudes of varieties of meats; some quite appetizing (sausages, salami, smoked lunch meats) and some not-so-appetizing (pig feet, tripe, and other indistinguishable innards). 

We made sure to stop at a wine shop and pick up a bottle of the delicious Tokaji Aszu sweet dessert wine to bring home with us.

After an hour or so of exploring, Ewan was starting to lose his cool, so we finished off at a counter selling various bonbons and picked up a couple of marzipan Angry Birds for him, as well as a treat for Gavin and myself.  We then headed back to the subway and to our hotel where we finished packing up, checked out, and took a cab to the train station to head to our next destination: Vienna.