The Tale of Two Cities ~Budapest

There are so many places to visit in Eastern Europe and all of them are full of history and architecture and wonderful food. I'm not sure why I initially picked Budapest, Hungary for my vacation but I was glad I did. I hadn't even realized it was in Hungary before I started looking

for flights. As soon as you try and book a trip to Budapest you find out there are two individual sides to the city. There's Buda and Pest. It sounds like 'pesh' when the locals say it, more 'sh' than with the 't'. Anyway, you have to decide where you want to stay. Which side to stay in and which side to visit are big questions. Each side is a study in history and culture. The people are wonderful in both. The Pest side is busy and touristy and has the amazing Parliament building - plus big fancy hotels. The Buda side is more residential (this is a generalization) but it has the 'Castle' which is a must see and one or two fancy hotels but it is quieter and has more natural features.

Some History of Budapest

The history of Budapest is long and interesting. Remember I am not an historian but when I travel I delve into the local history to decide what I want to do and see. You tend to hear more about the newer history...the world wars and the revolutions...but the area is believed to have been started by the Celts. Buda is said to be the older side, and Pest was developed later. Romans moved into Buda/pest after them and then Hungarians. Next it was pillaged by the Mongols in the 1200s.

Wow! Talk about real history! It was recognized and inhabited by Hungarians once again but then the Ottomans took over for 150 years! Pest was conquered first by the Ottoman Empire and then Buda in the 1500s. Some of the unique architecture found around the city is from that time. In the 1600s, after it was once again settled by Hungarians, Buda and Pest were united as one. But that did not mean peace ruled. For the next several 100 years, various revolutions occurred which rocked the city and forged it into what it is today. Why was it so fought over? It's on the Danube

which was a significant route for both trade and transport throughout history. In fact the Danube is the second largest river in Europe and originates in the Black Forest in Germany and ends in the Black Sea. But here in Budapest it splits the city. Buda is the more residential quiet side and Pest is the more business and political side. Buda is hilly and Pest is flat. Buda has the historic castle on the hill and a several thermal baths. Pest has the parliament building and is up-beat and touristy - it has the huge thermal bath which is one of the oldest in Europe. Truth is you have to experience both sides. Bridges connect the two sides all along the Danube. And of course, even the bridges have their own history, from being opened by an Emperor to being bombed in World War II.

A full day of walking around Pest

I decided to stay on the Buda side. I found a lovely little hotel about 40 feet from the main bridge - the Chain Bridge or sometimes called the Lion Bridge because lions sit on the landside posts. This bridge is at the bottom of the Hill. I was able to walk across it and be in the grass plaza in front of the Four Seasons Hotel. The square or plaza is surrounded by hotels and tourist stores. I walked over there one morning and stayed out all day exploring Pest.

Many streets make for wonderful strolls with lots to offer. If you walk straight through the plaza from the Chain or Lion Bridge and take the road at the far right corner near the 'Las Vegas Casino'. It should be Dorottaya Ulitza. It will take you to the large cobbled square with no cars or traffic in it, the Vorosmarty. (I did not have a picture of it so this is a photo by Andreas Poeschek, fotografikus.hu) If you are there at the right time it has a Christmas Market and it said to be wonderful. There are shops and restaurants and sometimes stalls in the square. Continuing along that road (although it changes its name to Vaci at the Hard Rock Cafe) will lead you out of the square into a narrower street with apartments and stores along it. There is a mix of everything. Some stores are kind of swanky - like Pandora or Swarovski Crystal and exclusive clothing stores, but right beside them will be a souvenir shop and Burger King. You will eventually come out at Duna Ulitza a wide thoroughfare. Be careful crossing this.

Once you cross the street, continue past the Matild Palace Luxury Hotel. There are more nice restaurants and cafes full of character all along this street. Just past the Nyary Pal Ulitza, is a Belgian waffle place you should try if it is still there. If you keep going (after stopping for some food of course) you come to another very busy street - Fovam. There are several big roads together. They are all heading to the Liberty Bridge. You could go check the bridge out while you're there.

Across those streets is a huge warehouse that is worth a visit. It's actually a big covered city market near the Liberty Bridge - Central Market Hall. This is another tourist area and everything is available in the market from food to clothing to tourist trinkets. It has a second story as well.

Architecture in the city is wonderful. It ranges from Gothic to Baroque to Renaissance to Soviet. Pest has many of the old government buildings. Big thick walls and high, almost gothic windows can be seen. There is a section in Pest that has no cars - the square mentioned above. Short streets might open up to a big square with cobblestones and pigeons. Food vendors and tourist stores abound. But just a little further and you find nicer restaurants and stores with better quality products. You can find everything there if you're there long enough.

Visiting Parliament - the other end of Pest

Then there's the parliament building. It is said to be the largest Parliament building in the world and is referred to as 'Gothic Revival.' It is elegant and plush - and huge. I booked a tour to go inside and see it. Going in is like entering a fancy opera house. Upholstery and furnishings are burgundy and dark wood. The ceilings are painted like the old Italian cathedrals. Moldings and trey ceilings are etched in gold - paint or real? I don't know. The parliament

meeting room itself is also impressive. Before entering there is a place for the politicians to put their cigars. It shows the age of the parliamentary system as well as giving a little insight into the lives of the wealthy back in those days. The guide said the cigar holders are not used any more.

It is possible to tour the inside of the parliament if they are not meeting at that time. Most of it is lush and roomy. If Parliament is not in you can actually go into the meeting room and try a seat. The seats themselves are not very comfortable but maybe that was to encourage quick meetings.

Outside, around the parliament building is a park with several memorials, one of which is an everlasting flame. Across the street you can still see bullet holes in the building from a rebellion. Bits of wall have crumbled from the damage.​ The area around the Parliament has been shot up, although much is fixed now. The Ministry of Agriculture building has the most obvious evidence of bullets with a specific history. The park beside the Parliament has a memorial to the revolution against Soviet Control (1956). This revolution started as a peaceful demonstration but the secret police and Soviet troops did not see it that way. They shot into the crowd who then tried to find safety along the edge of the Ministry of Agriculture building. Hungarian troops supplied the people with guns and the demonstration became a full blown revolution. This Revolution to get the Soviets out ended with deaths estimated at up to 3000 people although there are no definite numbers. Now there are iron balls stuck to the Ministry of Agriculture building to show where the bullets hit. I did not get a photo of that memorial but it is worth a visit.

Sites on the Buda side

Buda is the other side of the river. Buda has the mountain with the castle on it. You can see part of it from the Lion Bridge in my photo. To get to the top, you can take a gondola up or a bus or climb/hike it. The Castle area is pretty amazing. You've got old buildings, museums, churches, parks, restaurants, statues and vendors. Just visiting it can educate you on the history of the whole area. Buda also has, as I found out, Neanderthal caves... a little scary. You enter up by the castle and the caves must go under the mountain because you go quite far down.

They are dark and dingy. I know the tourist board or someone has added to it and made it more of a spectacle, but they have done a good job. It is educational at the same time. At one point, I was sure I was lost and thought I'd be wandering where ghosts lived forever... but I heard other humans and followed them to find my way out. I was just a little edgy when I came out and did look around nervously as I left the area.

Once again I was amazed by the history in Europe. Finding old Gothic designs and fancy Renaissance bits on the buildings was surprising. There are definite signs of the Ottomans or the Moorish type of architecture as well. During the Soviet rule much of the castle was destroyed because it represented the Hungarian people.

Some of it has been restored but much was lost. The castle on the hill is a must and the view of Budapest from there is beautiful. There are gardens and greenery. There are statues and sculptures and memorials. Once such memorial was to those lost to the Black plague. It was sad to see the huge numbers that died from the plague. This is something you see all across Europe but not in North America.

The Matthias Church is among the castle buildings and is beautiful. The roof is made of porcelain tiles and is very colourful. A statue of Matthias on a horse is in front of the church and he faces the church, not away as many statues do.

Other sites to visit

Back in Pest, there is a Heroes' Square that is in the other end of town at the end of Andrassy U and is too far to walk. I took the bus or trolley (not sure which it was now) to get there. It is set in a large park and has statues with horsemen on it. It is set as a memorial to fallen heroes. If you are there early in the day you can go explore the park behind this statue. I did not even get to see half of it. this park is where you will find the most famous and amazing thermal bath - Szechenyi Bath. This one bath has at least 16 or 18 pools. One other site to visit would be the St. Stephen's Basilca on the Pest side - a beautiful example of Budapest's architecture.

The 'House of Terror'

Another aspect of the Hungarian history occurred during the Soviet rule. There is a unique museum - I guess you would call it that - that shows what the Hungarians went through during the Soviet occupation - the tortures that occurred. This is the 'House of Terror.' First you walk through a room that has the history of the Soviet rule and the communist structure that was set up to control the

people. A huge tank occupies a main room. A small section represents the impact of the Fascist regime as well but there is a separate museum in Budapest that covers the Hungarian Holocaust. The 'House of Terror' is a reminder to what Hungary has survived -- it's for those people that were not only detained there but were interrogated, tortured and even killed. The building looks normal from outside but what went on inside is nothing even close to normal. To make it into a museum, the exterior was redesigned to stand out from the other buildings around it and you can see it from down the street. An overhang over the building has TERROR in huge letters. It is on the same street that you would take to the Heroes Square. I stopped on my way back from the square to visit this museum. Once you get through the story of how the Soviets took control and how the people were forced into labour on the Communist farms, you move on to more specific stories. Eventually you get to the basement. It has rooms that were used for torture and you can see some of the tools. I am sure that this is not even close to half of what really went on at the time. It was a terrible time for Hungarians and you come out of there saddened and amazed that anyone could treat other people that way.

Outside of Budapest

I took a day tour to visit small villages up and down the Danube. Historically, when the Danube was higher, it was the main conduit for transporting goods to the buyers. One area was the centre of export for grapes. That industry supported the whole region. Then the water levels in the Danube

River went down and the harbour was not deep enough for the ships. After trying to move the port down river and even changing to use smaller boats, the industry struggled. At the same time a disease hit the vines and the industry finally fell apart. The villages are quiet, almost empty now. One small quaint village, Szentendre, had at least three churches in it - all different styles. The streets are all cobblestones, the houses are made of various stones and patched together. As a result, they are really quite picturesque and interesting. Tourists are their main industry now. this village is known now as the Artist's Village and when I visited there were several artist shops with excellent jewelry and leather products. Now it is becoming quite famous for its art and I would suggest a trip to it is well worth it. I have jewelry from there and a little pottery dish. It sounds like now there will be even more choice for visitors. You can take a day trip from Budapest or even just a half-day - that is how close it is.