With our internal time clocks still adjusting to the new location we were wide awake at dawn and ready to start our day of travel in Budapest.
After a fabulous breakfast suitable for a king we headed off to the nearest Metro station (Szent Gellert ter) near our hotel with the plan being to purchase three day passes for the Budapest public transport system. The plan came unstuck when the automatic ticket issuing system couldn’t cope with the 10,000 forint notes we had.
We decided to wait till later to get these passes and subsequently commenced our sight-seeing walk which started with the crossing of the Liberty Bridge over the Danube and then we followed the main street called Vamhaz Krt on the Pest side of the river. The weather conditions were ideal for our intended pedestrian meanderings with a forecast maximum temperature of 29°C. The sky was cloudless and we had a gentle breeze providing a cooling effect for much of the day.
Our travels took us along wide streets lined with avenues of trees and attractive city buildings. We ventured into some of the smaller side streets where coffee shops and open-air eating places seemed to abound.
We passed the Hungarian National Museum and walked on towards the Great Synagogue where we spent some time.
This stunning building with its crenellated yellow and red glazed brick façade and its two enormous Moorish-style towers is the largest Jewish house of worship in the world outside New York.
Great Synagogue, Budapest
Inside Great Synagogue
Garden, Great Synagogue, Budapest
Tree of Life, Great Synagogue
Having a seating capacity for 3000 worshipers it was built in 1859 according to the designs of Viennese architect Ludwig Forster thus containing both Romantic and Moorish architectural elements. The building was renovated in the 1990s largely through private donations including US$5 million from Estee Lauder who was born in New York to Hungarian Jewish immigrants.
The internal decorations of the Synagogue are spectacular with rose windows and wall and ceiling frescoes with multicoloured and gold geometric shapes. Both Franz Liszt and Camille Saint Saens played the 5000-pipe organ dating from 1859.
In the garden on the Synagogue’s north side is a memorial to the Holocaust. The garden has been established over a mass grave of Hungarian Jews murdered by the Nazis during the horrifying events of 1944-45. In the courtyard adjacent to this garden is a metal tree whereby the leaves of this ‘tree of life’ show the engraved surnames of some of the hundreds of thousands of victims from this terrible part of history.
Our next stop was at the Bascilica of Saint Stephen on Bajcsy-Zsilinszky street. This is the most important Catholic church in Hungary. It is a neo-classical cathedral in the form of a Greek cross and can accommodate 8000 worshipers!
Bascilica of Saint Stephen, Budapest
Its construction commenced in 1851 but the cathedral wasn’t completed until 1902. The façade of the basilica is anchored by two large bell towers one of which contains a 9.25 tonne bell. The dome is 96m high and we ventured to the top via two lifts and some steps to be greeted by what is described as the best possible view out over the city.
The interior decoration is a little gloomy but has spectacular paintings, marble sculptures, gilded frescoes and mosaic covered aches and domes.
Bascilica of Saint Stephen, Budapest
Inside Bascilica of Saint Stephen, Budapest
Behind the altar and to the left we followed a darkened corridor to the “Holy Right” which is the Hungarian nation’s most revered relic. This object of great devotion is the mummified right hand of Saint Stephen.
Mummified right hand of St Stephen inside Bascilica of Saint Stephen
View from top, Bascilica of Saint Stephen
We stopped then for a cold beer before continuing our wanderings along Andrassy Street.
We went in to the State Opera House but decided that the over crowded foyer was enough to put us off any thought of participating in a guided tour. This 1884 neo-Renaissance building is among the most beautiful in Budapest.
Our final part of the day was spent at the House of Terror. This building was the headquarters of the dreaded secret police and now serves as an evocative museum focussing on the crimes and atrocities of the fascist and Stalinist regimes prior to the uprisings of 1956.
The reconstructed prison cells, torture chambers and gallows are a chilling reminder of this desperately sad time in Hungary’s history. Among the frightening reminders of these terrifying regimes are video interviews with survivors telling of the ordeals and deprivation suffered in these relatively recent times. This three hour visitation was quite confronting to say the least.
Directly opposite the House of Terror we found the Franz Liszt Memorial Museum but with the sun close to setting we decided to head back home to our Hotel Gellert.
Franz Liszt Museum
Our return trip home was on the Metro and we were very impressed with the speed and efficiency of this underground railway service.
In the evening we had a meal in the Brasserie in the Gellert Hotel and then headed for bed after a very active day where we walked many kilometres and were on our feet for much of the day.
If first impressions are anything to go by, we all agreed that Budapest is a truly beautiful city with its stunningly impressive architecture and monuments, its open parklands and gardens, the mighty Danube River and the city’s very friendly citizens. We are looking forward to discovering more about this exciting metropolis tomorrow!