A Few Days in …. Budapest (Part 1)

Our November Trip to Budapest

Ever since arriving in Poland people have been telling us how beautiful Budapest is.  So we added it to our list of destinations, and were able to go there Oct 31 - Nov 3….

When we ask people when is the best time to visit a particular location, the answer is usually "the spring".

It would take an entire spring to visit all the places we've been told visit in the spring….so it's a good thing we can visit in other times of the year.

Even in the fall, Budapest is a beautiful city…whether the air is crisp or moist, or skies foggy or sunny….there are many incredible views and beautiful sites.

After arriving at the Liszt Ferenc International Airport (named after the famous Hungarian composer Franz Liszt), we retrieved our luggage and found an ATM.

The Hungarian currency is the "forint", and the exchange rate is roughly 200 forints = 1 US dollar.  We decided to start with about $100 worth of currency, which is about 20,000 forints….and were a bit surprised when the ATM delivered a single currency note for 20,000 forints.

In our travels, besides learning to convert currency, we have also learned to use the local public transportation.  So rather than take a shuttle to the hotel, we rode a bus, took a subway, and walked a few blocks.  A shuttle would have been faster but not as adventurous.

This picture is of a manhole cover in the sidewalk, featuring the logo of the Hungarian postal service.  It wasn't near a post office so we're not sure why it was there.

Mark was great in carrying our luggage up the stairs from the subway.

Our destination….

 The Intercontinental Hotel is located on the Pest side of the Danube River….just a short 15 minute walk away from the subway stop.  Below is the hotel as seen from the Buda side of the Danube.

Budapest was actually two separate cities - Buda and Pest (pronounced "pesht"), that were united into one city in 1873.

In the elevator lobby on the ground floor of the hotel was a beautifully carved wooden relief mural.  This is a small section of the mural.

After checking into the hotel there were only a few daylight hours left.  But we were anxious to get our feet on the streets of this beautiful city….so we explored around the hotel.

The first site to visit was St. Stephen's Basilica, where we would attend an organ concert later in the evening.

Inside there are beautiful wall sculptures....

….ornate ceilings and walls….

 ….and a very special exhibit….in this metal replica of a church or palace is the right hand of St. Stephen….

St. Stephen was the first king of Hungary, from 997 until his death in 1038.  He adopted Christianity and enforced adherence in his kingdom under threat of severe punishment.  He was canonized 1083, and as part of the ceremony his remains were removed from his tomb.  It was found that his right hand was still completely intact, in spite of the fact that the rest of the body had disintegrated.  Miracles were said to have occurred during the canonization proceedings.

After visiting the Basilica we saw our first of many bronze street statues….

….and walked on the beautiful Chain Bridge.

The Hungarian language is said to be very difficult….even more difficult than Polish, which has been challenging for me to learn and use even after two years of lessons and living here.  Most of the signs we saw had very few English translations, so the sign below would be most helpful to English-speaking customers.

Due to our travel schedule we hadn't had much of a lunch, so were ready for dinner a little after 5pm.  We found a restaurant near the Basilica but had to wait until they were ready to serve dinner, closer to 6pm.  Like most Europeans, dinner time is usually later….around 7pm.

I'm holding a small pumpkin or squash that was used as a centerpiece.

For our first dinner in Budapest, Mark and I split a stuffed chicken and salad, made for two persons. The food was delicious…but there was no way I was about to eat a half a chicken! 

During dinner our kind waitress taught us how to say "thank you" in Hungarian….köszönöm….the ö is pronounced like the double "oo" in "foot".

After dinner we explored a few nearby streets….

…. and eventually stopped at a quaint cafe that served desserts.

We shared gofri (similar to "gofry" in Polish - a dessert waffle), with raspberry ice cream and whipped cream - the house specialty dessert.

Simply delicious!

At 8pm was the organ recital inside the beautiful Basilica.  It lasted for 75 minutes, without an intermission.  One third of the program was organ solos, another third was organ and flute duets, and the other third of the program was the organ accompanying a vocal soloist with a rich and deep bass voice.

This event was one of our favorite activities…the music was simply beautiful!

We walked back to our hotel, leaving the beautiful Basilica….

….and enjoyed this great view on our walk to the hotel.

The picture below is the Buda Castle, across the Danube from our hotel.  This was the nightly view from our hotel window….breathtaking!

Not even a full day in Budapest….and our visit was already rich and rewarding.