Day 1 – Time to explore!
Well, this was my first trip out of the country since lockdown, and on entering the airport I realised just how much I had missed my overseas adventures. My trip was originally supposed to be a visit to Prague, but when my flights were cancelled it involved a re-think. Budapest is a beautiful city, and I certainly wasn’t disappointed with my second choice. I was lucky that my flight times enabled me to get four full days in Budapest and visit all the main points of interest. The only annoying thing was that my outbound flight ended up being delayed by 4.5 hours which meant that instead of arriving at my destination in the early evening, I didn’t arrive until the early hours of the following morning – good job I was flying late in the day!
I stayed at the lovely Palazzo Zicchy hotel which has lots of character, a great atmosphere, and an interesting history. It was also in a great location for exploring, as it was just outside the main bustle of the city. One of the great things about Budapest is that everything is easily walkable, so you can see the main sights quite easily without having to pay a fortune for transport to get you everywhere.
So, my first day involved walking to the National Museum of Hungary. It costs about £3 per person to go inside, but it was unfortunately closed when I arrived because it is not open on Mondays. Still, it was an impressive building, and I took a few photos before moving onto the Dohany synagogue, which is built in a Moorish style and is apparently the second largest synogogue in the world. Just behind the synagogue is the Raoul Wallenberg Holocaust Memorial Park, and this houses a memorial that commemorates all the German Jews who were killed by the Nazis. For £14 you can take a 45-minute walking tour here that can be guided or done yourself at leisure.
Next, I moved onto St Stephen’s Basilica, which is a Roman Catholic Basilica and honours Stephen, the first king of Hungary. Before 1920, this was the sixth largest church in Hungary. I then walked along by the river where I could view the beautiful Gothic style parliament building. The original location for this building was somewhat argued about before it was built. Finally, though, a change in parliament enabled an agreement to be made, and the location by the river was the chosen location – just perfect, in my opinion! Whilst down by the river, I also spotted a number of iron shoes lining the bank and wondered what they represented. They are apparently a haunting tribute to all the thousands of Jews who were killed by the Arrow Cross. The 1940s-style shoes are positioned to look as if people have just stepped out of them, and there are 60 pairs along the bank of the river. They are true to life in size and detail and were sculpted by Gyula Pauer.
Eventually, it was time for a lunch break, and a well-needed coffee. Budapest has numerous cafes along by the river and in the town centre – so, deciding where to go is your only problem! The rest of the day involved a trip past the market and long walk along by the river before heading back to the hotel and off to find somewhere to eat in the evening. I was lucky that the hotel has a great little restaurant just over the road, and just ahead, up the road opposite, a whole new world of cafes, bars and eateries awaits! It is worth noting that the river Danube that runs through Budapest actually holds the history behind the name ‘Budapest’. The west side of the river is known as the Buda and the East side is referred to as the Pest.
