Day 10, Thursday, September 20, 2018

Itinerary: Budapest

Time awake: 7:00

Odometer (in kilometers/miles) at start:

Weather: Nice all day as I recall, but hot

Steps: 30210

Asleep:

Map Link(s):

After finally getting out of our big bed, we headed down to breakfast, where another splendid feast awaited us. This spread may have had the most options yet, although the particular morsels were not as delightful as those at the Hotel Casa Marcello. We dined on the glass-enclosed porch overlooking the mall on Kígyó utca. The tables had white linen and a waiter came around and filled our coffee cups. It was quite fancy.

Somehow I had neglected to charge my cell phone the night before, so after breakfast, we sat in our room while it charged. Finally a little after 11 AM, we headed out to explore Budapest and wouldn’t return to our lovely room for over 12 hours. The first stop on the planned tour was the Great Synagogue (Nagy Zsinagoga). We found it but didn’t bother going inside because it didn’t look like anything special, cost too much, and we were running behind schedule. Continuing on, we wended this way and that for several blocks through a congested yet run-of-the-mill section of town and eventually emerged at Liszt Ferenc Square, a lovely garden area several blocks long and lined with charming café’s (and in the middle of which was a not-so-charming fellow relieving himself). I’m sure this would have been a delightful place to relax, but it wasn’t time to relax. It was, however, time to stockpile some euros, so we found a couple of exchanges, picked the more promising and cashed in $100 for €82. It was the only time on the trip we exchanged dollars for local currency. (All the others times we got cash, we withdrew from an ATM, which offered a better exchange rate, but after the fees it ended up costing about $1.50 more for every $100.)

By now we’d reached Andrássy Avenue (“Andrássy út” in Hungarian), which is a wide boulevard through the heart of the city linking Erzsébet Square with the Városliget (City Park). Per Wikipedia, the avenue is “lined with spectacular Neo-renaissance mansions and townhouses featuring fine facades and interiors.” And while the townhouses and shops were all quite cool, the air temperature was not—this was the hottest day of the trip. We reached Heroes’ Square in City Park about 12:20 PM. The sun and heat were starting to get to Sharon a bit, and aware of her reaction to those same elements the previous summer in Nashville during the eclipse, we stopped to get a bottle of mineral water at a little outdoor food stand called Zold Kullo. The water was really good. So much so that we should have gotten more. Soldiering on, we soon came to Vajdahunyad Castle, which was interesting but crowded. While there we decided to pay the five euros to climb the Gatehouse Tower, which was not crowded, presumably because other tourists had better sense than to shell out any cash for such a disappointing attraction. We climbed about 40 steps, looked around, and then walked back down. Admission did include a discount for the restaurant on the grounds, but we weren’t interested in dining there, so we gave the coupon to someone who was. At least somebody got something out of it.

One of the most famous attractions in Budapest is the Szechenyi Bath & Pools in City Park. And that was our next stop. We entered the building, but in order to see the famed pool, one has to purchase admission. As hot as it was, a dip sounded appealing, but not enough to entice us. And although we didn’t know it at the time, that dip would have been in thermal water at 38° Celsius (100.4° Fahrenheit). Instead we walked around the portions of the interior where the public is free to roam, at one point passing a sign advertising a massage and all the beer you can drink in an hour. That sounded like fun, but it was hardly the time of day to get hammered.

Back outside, we passed the Municipal Zoological and Botanical Garden while looking for Gundel Restaurant and then found the restaurant itself. This famous establishment looked elegant and luxurious, but also formal, stuffy, and no doubt expensive. So we walked on. And on and on and on. For about the next hour and a half we trekked through the bustling local neighborhoods of the city. Our route took down Szondi utca (street), then Terez korut (street), past the Budapest-Nyugati Railway Terminal, over the Margaret Bridge to Margaret Island (where the amusement park style eatery was closed), across the rest of the bridge to the Buda side of Budapest. (Note: Until it was connected by bridges in 1873, Budapest was two cities—Buda and Pest. See this link for more.)

Sharon had been growing increasing weary from the long hike, the heat, and lack of food, so I knew we had to find a place to eat and wet our whistle as soon as possible. But having walked so far, I dreaded the thought of settling for a dive. On the other side of the Margaret Bridge we were greeted by a barrage of urban noise from buses and construction. Our prospects didn’t look promising. We walked a block farther and turned down the quiet and shady Frankel Leo utca (street), and voila, we found just what we were looking for at the Gusto Cafe. We sat on the front porch and enjoyed a delicious lunch of beef goulash soup, salad with chicken, bread, and of course the obligatory drafts. And to our amazement, all that noise a block or so away, was not heard at all. While dining at the café, we overheard some local diners remark among themselves that we were Americans. It was said, or so we believed, to express the oddity of having Americans dining at the Gusto Café on Frankel Leo utca. And that is too bad, because more Americans should visit this oasis . . . or on second thought, maybe it’s a good thing.

Thoroughly refreshed, we left the café at about 3:45 PM and resumed our walk, generally following the Danube southward. We passed by the stunning Hungarian Parliament Building on the other side of the river and then headed up to the Castle District. Our first stop was for selfies in front of the steps leading up to the Fisherman's Bastion, followed by more selfies and a cup of ice cream from the terrace inside the Bastion. The structure looked to be century’s old, but in fact was built between 1895 and 1902 to celebrate the centennial of the Hungarian state. The best thing about it was the panoramic view it afforded of the Danube, Parliament, Margaret Island, etc.

Moving on we passed Matthias Church and other stately and marvelous structures. As it was nearing 6:00 PM, the time had come for another recess in which to imbibe a local malt beverage and the view of this great city as dusk descended upon it. And there could be no better spot for doing just that than at the Budapest Terrace, in part because that’s where we were. Two Soproni beers later, we left this most splendid of perch’s to continue our tour. The pressing order of business soon became finding a women’s restroom. We found one buried in the maze of terraces and steps in the area called Castle Garden Bazaar. I only mention this to point out that Sharon made use of the facilities without paying the required fee. It seems the bad girl jumped over the turnstile, so if you see the Hungarian gendarmes around our place, you’ll know why they’ve come.

Our last stretch along the Buda side of Budapest took us back down to the Danube and by the Gellert Hill Cave Church, which is cut right into the rock face. How cool is that! Then we started across the Liberty Bridge (Szabadsag hid), stopping for a selfie, which would wind up in our Christmas letter as the sole shot from our trip. Back on the Pest side we sought and found the For Sale Pub. The place was championed by Atlas Obscura, although I can’t imagine why. Maybe before being featured in that online publication, the tiny pub had its charm. On this night it was packed and exceedingly hot, service was an afterthought, and the band set up about two feet from our table. We finished our beers and then headed back out into the Budapest night.

By now it was 8:15 PM and we were getting hungry. It would be another two hours, however, before we settled on the Buddha-Bar Klotild Baalbek, a Lebanese restaurant at our hotel. In the meantime we walked back via Vaci utca and looked for souvenirs and a place to dine. I find it surprising that two hours elapsed from the time we left the For Sale Pub to being seated at the Klotild Baalbek, but that’s what the record shows. Anyway, we had some so-so lamb shish kebabs for dinner, along with a couple of beers. Afterward we stopped at a little store that stayed open late and sold cheap beer. We bought a few bottles and returned to our decadent red cave room at the Buddha-Bar hotel to drink them on our last night in this amazing city.

Per my smartwatch, I’d logged only 30,210 steps for the day. I say only because it seemed like a lot more, at least as many as the 33,327 on our full day in Prague, if not as many as the 36,266 taken in Berlin. Perhaps the heat made it seem like more than it really was.