We woke early and wandered down the road (Fortuna Utca), past the magnificent Matthias church, and bought provisions from a small supermarket called Prima which just happened to have a café attached so we had breakfast there.
The weather was still and heavy as we walked down the steep hill to what we later found out to
be Batthyany Ter. We walked along the banks of the Danube, with great views of the Parliament building, to the chain bridge, Szechenyi, and over it into Pest.
We were amazed to see several very large river cruise boats dedicated to cycling tours (hundreds of bicycles stacked on deck) and populated by what Ray likes to call Saga Louts!
After crossing the Danube, we wandered around Pest, past a rather temporary version on the London Eye in Erzebet Ter and after walking 2/3 miles, we were ready for a pit stop and sat down for a coffee and inevitable cake. We continued walking along the main shopping street Andrassy Utca (where all of the well known designer shops were represented) but by the time we arrived at Opera we were hot and a bit weary so we took the metro (very elderly but rather nice) to Varosliget park, the site of the famous Szechenyi Furdo (baths).
It was lovely to feel a slight breeze and the water and fountains made it seem a little cooler. Time for lunch and we found a very nice restaurant (Robinsons) with a shady terrace right on the lake - perfect. The food was quite international but was all very good.
More walking after lunch to arrive at the massive Hosok Ter (Heros Square) featuring the 7 chieftains of the Magyars as well as the tomb of the unknown soldier, and then took the metro to Deak
Ferenc Ter which the LLW immediately renamed Dead Ferret Square.
Ray discovered that the famous 16 bus stopped just over the road from Dead Ferret and we waited only about 2 minutes before it arrived and, driven by a Hungarian Lewis Hamilton, we sped up the hill to Buda and were back outside the Hapimag residence in super fast time!
We had been told that seeing Budapest from the river at night time was a must and so we booked a
trip with " Pizza and Beer". It did not seem possible to book without anything and we were wary of
the " dinner" option since the food tends not to be good and we wanted to spend time looking at
the sights. We set off just after 8 pm in what seemed a somewhat disorganised vessel but we
found a window seat and the views were truly spectacular. Budapest is a city which absolutely
bestrides the river on both sides and is well illuminated at night time, with the particular star of the show being the Parliament Building.
The trip was to last one and a half hours and after about 40 minutes with no pizzas or beer, we
asked when these would arrive to be told shortly. Ray managed to prise a couple of beers from them at the bar. A few minutes later the boat pulled into a bank and one of the personnel from the company rushed up to bring on board a large container of pizzas. Needless to say the quality left something to be desired, but it served its purpose.
The trip finished back at the Elizabeth bridge and we headed back the mile or so to the chain
bridge and picked up our No 16 bus close to Dead Ferret Square.
The weather was still and heavy as we walked down the steep hill to what we later found out to
be Batthyany Ter. We walked along the banks of the Danube, with great views of the Parliament building, to the chain bridge, Szechenyi, and over it into Pest.
We were amazed to see several very large river cruise boats dedicated to cycling tours (hundreds of bicycles stacked on deck) and populated by what Ray likes to call Saga Louts!
After crossing the Danube, we wandered around Pest, past a rather temporary version on the London Eye in Erzebet Ter and after walking 2/3 miles, we were ready for a pit stop and sat down for a coffee and inevitable cake. We continued walking along the main shopping street Andrassy Utca (where all of the well known designer shops were represented) but by the time we arrived at Opera we were hot and a bit weary so we took the metro (very elderly but rather nice) to Varosliget park, the site of the famous Szechenyi Furdo (baths).
It was lovely to feel a slight breeze and the water and fountains made it seem a little cooler. Time for lunch and we found a very nice restaurant (Robinsons) with a shady terrace right on the lake - perfect. The food was quite international but was all very good.
More walking after lunch to arrive at the massive Hosok Ter (Heros Square) featuring the 7 chieftains of the Magyars as well as the tomb of the unknown soldier, and then took the metro to Deak
Ferenc Ter which the LLW immediately renamed Dead Ferret Square.
Ray discovered that the famous 16 bus stopped just over the road from Dead Ferret and we waited only about 2 minutes before it arrived and, driven by a Hungarian Lewis Hamilton, we sped up the hill to Buda and were back outside the Hapimag residence in super fast time!
We had been told that seeing Budapest from the river at night time was a must and so we booked a
trip with " Pizza and Beer". It did not seem possible to book without anything and we were wary of
the " dinner" option since the food tends not to be good and we wanted to spend time looking at
the sights. We set off just after 8 pm in what seemed a somewhat disorganised vessel but we
found a window seat and the views were truly spectacular. Budapest is a city which absolutely
bestrides the river on both sides and is well illuminated at night time, with the particular star of the show being the Parliament Building.
The trip was to last one and a half hours and after about 40 minutes with no pizzas or beer, we
asked when these would arrive to be told shortly. Ray managed to prise a couple of beers from them at the bar. A few minutes later the boat pulled into a bank and one of the personnel from the company rushed up to bring on board a large container of pizzas. Needless to say the quality left something to be desired, but it served its purpose.
bridge and picked up our No 16 bus close to Dead Ferret Square.
No comments:
Post a Comment