Seeing Hungary from Budapest

Richard at the lookout with Budapest in the background
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After a long trip we finally arrived in our last country, Hungary. As I have a Hungarian background, it was a country I was looking forward to seeing. I was definitely not disappointed.

We primarily based ourselves in Budapest, the capital, as backpacker accommodation is harder to find outside the main city and nothing is further than 2-3 hour by train.

I'm definitely learning how to make goulash when I get to London

We stayed in a hostel in Pest (east side of the Danube), which being very close to the river was an excellent location. The hostel was run by a guy named Tom who was a really nice guy. Staying there felt more like you were staying in a share house with your flatmates.

Traditional dancers at the Wine Festival
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On our first day we got the hop on/off bus around the city to get our bearing and get a look at what we'd want to see in greater detail later. The city is absolutely beautiful, from the river to the streets and architecture. We hopped off at Gellért Hill and visited the Citadella (Citadel) as it is not easily accessible by foot. From the hill we were able to take gorgeous photos of the entire city. We had lunch at an atmospheric underground restaurant called Lázár Vendégloje. We both had goulash which, contrary to its depiction outside of Hungary, is a soup with a strong paprika flavour. Oh, and its fantastic; I'm definitely learning how to make it when I get to London. After lunch, we went up to Buda Castle where there was a wine festival going on. We sampled some very tasty wines and watched some of the traditional dances on stage.

Looking down over the Danube from the Palace
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We decided to keep the wine glasses, although I'm not sure how they will survive the flight to London. As much as I would have liked to have sampled wine for the rest of the afternoon, we had some sights to see! We moved on to the Fisherman's Bastion, which is not too far from the castle on the bank of the Danube. It had some amazing old architecture and statues, including one of Stephen I (first king of Hungary).

The next day we decided to spend time in Pest (east side of the Danube) and see all the places we only saw from the bus the day before. We headed to Hero's Square, and beyond to city park where we saw Szechenyi Baths (from the outside). In the park is also a natural spring that you can drink from (though you have to buy it). Elena and I had a 500ml glass each, which was interesting. We then headed back towards the Danube and had a look at the Opera House and then to St Stephen's Basilica (the 4th largest in the world!) where we climbed to the top of the dome. We then took a tour through the Dohány Street Synagogue, which was really sad experience because of how the building was used during WWII, holding Hungarian Jews before they were murdered.

Heroes Square
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Heading to the north of Pest we went to see the Parliament building. It was here that Elena discovered my claim to fame at Szalay Utca (Szalay St), and proceed to pose for many photos in front of the street sign. That night we went out for dinner and drinks with a few people from the hostel. We ate at a restaurant where the ground was completely covered with peanut shells, and we soon discovered why; we were immediately given a bowl of peanuts and told to throw the shells on the ground.

On our third day we made a day trip to several towns. Our first stop was Szentendre, a beautiful small town of cobbled streets and museums on the outskirts of Budapest. We wandered around there for about an hour and ate cake at a tea house before continuing on. Our next stop was Visegrád, named after the castle that sits atop its hill and home to Solomon Tower and the ruins of the Palace of Matthias Corvinus... none of which we saw due to time constraints coupled with their distance from the main road. Our final stop for the day was Esztergom, birthplace of Stephen I. Esztergom contains the largest church in Hungary, the Esztergom Basilica,. Nearby there were the ruins of Esztergom Castle, now Var Museum. Unfortunately it wasn't open so we could only really see it from the outside. After we arrived back in Budapest we met my first cousin once removed (my Grandmother's niece), Halasz Judit, for dinner. Judit (Judy) is a well known celebrity in Hungary, and my claim to fame.

Elena outside the Szechenyi baths in Budapest
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On the fourth day we rested... at Szechenyi baths to be precise. The baths are made up of 20 or so indoor pools of varying temperature, 3 outdoor pools (also heated, but less so) and several stream rooms and saunas. Its a very relaxing way to spend the day, and a great way to wind down at the end of our trip. After a few hours, we finished up with a back massage and headed back to the hostel to relax for the rest of the day.

For our second last day in Hungary was a day trip to Pecs. Pecs is an old city in the south of with a strong Turkish influence. We were only able to spend 2 hours there so we were forced to draw out a ordered trek across the city. All in all, we were still able to 19 different attractions, from churches to ruins, without feeling terribly rushed. St Peters basilica with beautiful and definitely worth visiting. In fact, there is so much in this town that I would have liked to have spent some more time here just to enjoy it. Of all the cities we took a day trip to in Hungary, Pecs is definitely one I would have preferred to stay a night in.