Budapest : City of Senses ; Chapter 1

Buda and Castle Hill

I was in Budapest for 3 days on 26 to 28 of March 2009. This trip to Budapest was originally intended as a celebration of the completion of my Masters Dissertation and a chance to catch up with my pet sister Sariati. Our friendship goes a long way back since Australia, and we apparently never had a chance to travel together before. I could use a break from the stressful month. But I did not managed to get the project done in time. I was actually half hearted, and contemplated to postpone, but I had no choice as all flights and accommodation has been paid and arranged for, and I will surely pissed Sariati off big time. I am putting our friendship at stake so to speak.

Kaduk gave me a lift to the airport. Thanks mate. The Lufthansa flight took off on time but the journey to Frankfurt via Riyadh was a bit of a torture. We experienced some big turbulence and meals could not be served on Doha – Riyadh leg. Not even water. I did not get enough rest on Riyadh – Frankfurt leg either. My sleep was always interrupted by cockpit announcements, crews making up service rounds and the cabin light was not switched off until 4 in the morning. Well it’s no fun sleeping on a bumpy flight anyway (your head will be busy reciting prayers for a safe journey). After a short transit at Frankfurt Main, I finally arrived at Budapest Ferihegy at 9.20 am and quickly arranged for the Airport Shuttle. The weather was great, sunny with the temperature hovering around 4-10 degree.    

Sariati was already waiting outside the hotel when I arrived. It was good to see her again and she did not change as much as she said she was. Only maybe classier and .... bigger???

We both were pretty hungry. We found a Turkish restaurant at  Moszka Ter and had a brunch. I must say that the food was good and the price was affordable (In comparison with Doha). 

We did not bother to take a bus, but rather walked our way up the Castle Hill. It was a good way to burn those extra calories we just add into our bodies. 

A walk to Castle Hill

Castle Hill or Varhegy is a medieval walled city of Buda. This UNESCO World Heritage site was first settled in the 13th century and is where most of Budapest the last remaining medieval buildings are clustered. We felt like we were transported back in time. All the buildings were proudly standing in their former glories and are still being occupied. The Matyas Templom (Matthias Church) and the Fisherman Bastion are simply stunning. Their grand neo classical architecture was a testament of how great a kingdom, Hungary was. Standing proudly at the central square is the Szent Iztvan Statue, the first king of Hungary. 

On a street of medieval Castle Hill

Fisherman Bastion, the site of a medieval fish market

The view from Fisherman Bastion towards Pest was breathtaking. We can see all of Pest, from the Danube River that split the city, the Parliament House all the way to the horizon beyond. The business like Pest is flat, really an opposite to the hilly residential Buda. The jewel of Castle Hill must be none other than the Royal Palace or Kiralyi Palota. I have been to the Buckingham, and to my opinion the Palota was no way inferior. The palace  now houses Hungarian National Gallery and Budapest History Museum. We took the opportunity to escape the cold weather and visit the History Museum. The Museum exhibits collection of archaeological finds in Budapest that chart the time line of the historical moments in the life of the metropolis from the medieval Roman to its modern day history.

Danube River and Pest seen from Castle Hill

The Parliament House

    The Royal Palace

We had to walk downhill to Clark Adam Ter as the Funicular was closed for maintenance. Poor Sariati, the walk downhill including some detour that involved uphill climb put an extra pressure to her already withered knees, hehe sorry sis.  

We could use a soak at a thermal bath and a massage. We were equally tired from a long walk since morning. We hoped on a bus from Clark Adam Ter to Gellert Hotel. The driver did not accept payment on the bus. We later learned from a local lady on the bus that we need to pre-purchase the tickets before using any public transport, so we ended up riding the bus for free. The good thing was the driver did not make a fuss about it.

Gellert Bath is located inside a hotel, but we have to use a separate entrance at the back. It is a huge building. On the way, we saw a sign that reads “Going to the bath? First make an appointment for a massage” with an arrow to a salon. Happy campers as we were when looking at the sign, we did not give a second thought and went inside. Signed for an hour massage that cost us 9900 HUF (€33) each. It was a tourist trap. The salon was not even part of the bath but just an ordinary beauty salon. What really irked us was the massage was so mediocre it could have been given by a 5 year old kid. To add to our disappointment, the bath was already closed when we finally got there at 7pm.

Gellert Hill as seen from the Palace

Frustrated and tired, the cold weather doesn’t help either. We took a cab to the Parliament House across the river in Pest. I paid for the fare and went out straight away. Then I realised that I left my bag in the cab. I ran as fast as I could to catch the cab. I believe I could give Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell a real challenge with my speed. Luckily the cab was stopped by a traffic light.  

The view of Castle Hill at night seen from the Parliament was beautiful. It looks like an imaginary city from a fairy tale movie. We did not stay long though. It was too cold and we were hungry.

Castle hill seen from the Parliament

We had dinner at our hotel restaurant. I had Salmon steak with spaghetti while Sariati had Goulash as appetisers. We both had baked potatoes and roasted egg plants and zucchini for the main. The meal was great and the service was impeccable. The best part was it cost less than what we had to pay for the massage. The total on the bill for two was 9000 HUF (€ 30). 

We spent the rest of the evening chatting and catching up before retired.

Read the final chapter here

More pictures of Buda Here