Having successfully located the tour departure point the previous day, I felt almost like a native as I navigated the metro from my flat to the State Opera House. Even though more people took this tour than the Bratislava tour, the bus did not fill completely. In fact, a family that took the Bratislava tour also took this tour, an occurrence that did not occur again.
Our guide joined us at the departure point and capably described the sites that we passed in English (with an adorable quasi-British accent) and Spanish. When she spoke in English, I attempted to ignore her while journaling so I could pay attention to the Spanish, hopefully gaining skills in the language through near immersion. Thanks to the fact that we had to drive through Vienna to get to Budapest, I learned more about the city than I did on my walking tour the next day.
We stopped first at Hero’s Square, a grand plaza adorned with giant statues representing the 8 Magyar kings who came to together over a millennia before to create Hungary.
We arrived around 11. Immediately our guide talked about lunch, practically never stopping talking about lunch, from the types of meals to the price but never mentioning if we could opt out. The day had just started. I did not wish to eat traditional Hungarian dishes much less spend 15 or more euros on it. Thankfully, she confirmed when I asked her individually that I could choose another option.
I took off immediately for the grand castle-esque building I could see on the other side of the small pond/lake beside the restaurant building. I wanted to see all the history I could so I walked as quickly as I could up the impressive walk to a medieval-style castle wall and gate.
The tower gate offered the possibility of a climb to the top for only one euro. Of course. I plunked down the euro and climbed the much smaller number of stairs than I expected. After reaching the top, I took several pictures and wondered at the presence of an odd mannequin placed at the far end of the short castle walk.
This mannequin spurred thoughts questioning the authenticity of the building and those I could see on the other side.
Once back on the ground, I discovered that the entire complex began as a part of the millennium celebration back in the 1890s. When Hungary celebrated their thousandth anniversary, they created an expo to show off the best Hungary had to offer. As part of the expo, organizers commissioned recreations of iconic Hungarian architecture from across the country. These only slightly scaled down buildings had a short expected life span but as with other World’s Fair Monuments like the Eiffel Tower and the Gateway Arch, the public liked the building so much that they stand there until this day.
While admiring the exterior of these buildings. I looked for a souvenir shop. When I found it, I learned that although Hungary is an EU member state, they do not participate in the single currency. I tried so hard to make sense of the conversion rate but to this day, I still think I made mistakes. I even left the shop thinking the items too expensive only to return just before meeting back up with the group when I got a better handle on it and figured out the actual price of the souvenirs I wished to purchase.
Once back on the bus, our original guide briefly rejoined us to introduce the three new local guides, one for English, one for Spanish, and one for Japanese. Thankfully, only the guides giving the tour in English and Spanish used the onboard microphone. The guide giving the tour in Japanese spoke directly to the handful of Japanese speakers who joined us for the second half of the tour. The first guide departed the bus; she would rejoin us for the return journey.
Immediately, I realized that I much preferred the original guide as well as the the guide who gave the tour in Spanish to the new English-language guide. By the time we arrived at the point where we departed the bus for the walking tour, I seriously considered going with the Spanish language guide. I probably would have enjoyed the tour more, not because Budapest disappointed – far from it – but because I would much rather go with a guide who could understand the discomfort she might inflict by holding her umbrella in such a way that I had to keep practicing my limbo skills to avoid getting poked in the eye. Someone else even pointed that out to her but she did not react at all.
As can be inferred by the umbrella reference, midday brought some rain. Of course, I had not brought that free cover from the previous day because the weather channel did not indicate any possible showers. Thankfully, this rain did not last long, only long enough to work on my reaction time.
Over the course of this short walking tour, I learned a lot about this fascinating city, country, people, and language. For example, I learned that Hungarian shares language roots with not the Romance languages or Germanic languages of the surrounding countries but with Finnish, the language of a people who live hundreds of miles away. I also learned other interesting tidbits but nothing else that struck the same way in my brain. Most of the time, unfortunately, I spent wondering when this portion of the tour would end and regretting my decision to stay with the English language guide.
Prior to booking the tour, I read reviews that mentioned a knowledgable but brusque guide. If I remembered her name now, I would mention it. However, I did not remember at the time either, her actions simply confirmed her identity as the referenced guide. I would describe her as Mary Poppins lacking all the whimsy and compassionate common sense. Picture a stern British schoolmarm from the late 1800s and make her Hungarian. If you do so, you might approach understanding her demeanor. Wander a bit too far from the heart of the group? Expect a lecture about the imposition placed on her since she had to speak louder and ensure we heard and understood every word she said. Ask her if you could leave the somewhat hokey souvenir shop she took the group to at the end of the tour as long as you made it back to the bus meeting point? (Mind you, she mentioned and carefully explained this option prior to entering.) Expect a lecture that while telling you that you could make such a choice that you would be an utter fool to choose such an option. I stayed in the shop not wanting to bother pressing the point.
Thankfully, the rain passed quickly so we had only one mildly unpleasant thing to deal with. The highlight of this short walking tour came shortly after the rain stopped and we reached Matthias Church on Castle Hill with absolutely gorgeous decorative tiles on many spinnerets along with all sorts of history that I want to learn so much more about.
Next to the church lay the Fisherman’s Bastion with its Neo-Romanesque lookout terraces. The Bastion holds centuries of history of its own starting all the way back in the mid-800s. I would have loved to enter both of these magnificent structures but contented myself with pictures of the exteriors since the Bastion cost additional money to enter and our guide allocated no time for entering the church.
The view from the Bastion more than made up for any above mentioned disappointment.
Budapest once existed as Buda and Pest, separated by the Danube River. Buda sits high up on a hill with its roads and dwellings flowing down to the river. At this moment, we stood at Buda’s high point and could gaze in wonder at the cities merging into one even with a river between them. What’s more, in the ten minutes of “free” time she gave us, I spotted a Starbucks (nestled right into history again) where I indulged my demitasse mug collection obsession and bought to represent Hungary.
Once back on the bus after the obligatory tchotchke shop, our guides shared more information as the organized portion of the tour wound to an end. Specifically, they pointed out things that we might enjoy visiting during our limited free time in Pest at the end of the tour. I found this the most helpful of all. At the drop off and subsequent departure point, she told us of all the necessary information but kept talking so long I risked wandering off so I could have enough time to actually see a few things she had mentioned.
I headed directly, after using the nearby fancy (free) hotel facilities, to the grand and gorgeous bridge. We had just crossed taking us from Buda to Pest. I have an obsession with all things bridges and rivers. I can’t explain it; I just take the pictures and revel in the beauty. This bridge? Head over heels obsession. I did not even mind the throng of pedestrians filling every inch. I reached the other side grinning from ear to ear, so in love with Budapest.
A beautiful island of flowers waited at the other end of the bridge. I photographed those as well as I could for Mom before moving to admire the cable cars that one could ride back up to the top of Buda if so inclined as well as a giant stone zero marking the 0 kilometer mark from which everything in Hungary was measured.
Before recrossing the bridge, I grabbed a bite to eat with my remaining Kroner. I got to the other side and started power-walking in the direction of a grand church the guide mentioned. I saw a tall, magnificently ornate building in the distance and mistakenly assumed it to be the church. It actually was the Parliament building.
I loved gazing at the city that surrounded me on either side of the river, hearing the gravel crunch under my feet, and listening to the sounds of the people inhabiting and visiting the city. Then I approached something I did not expect, something that stopped me in my tracks.
I had just noticed the massive strikingly red synagogue, the largest in Budapest, across the river. As I walked, my steps no longer crunched on gravel. I looked ahead and saw concrete and more people than I expected. I looked over to my left and a chill swept over me.
Bronze shoes. 40 bronze shoes placed on the edge of the riverwalk in memory of the Jewish men and women who lost their lives right there, shot by the Nazis so that the river would be their grave. Tears came to my eyes as I slowly, reverentially, made my way across the memorial. I had once read about the installation of this fairly new memorial and completely forgot its location.
The chill released me after I exited the memorial although I approached what I still thought the church with a renewed sense of history and its awesome weight.
Even though I never made it to the church, I thoroughly enjoyed photographing the grandeur of the Parliament building and the massive statues that ornamented the square.
I also discovered another unexpected bit of history, a museum dedicated to the 1956 Revolution and War of Independence, a museum I must return to visit.
I walked back to the meeting point with head and heart full. I declared then that I had to return to Budapest and stand by that declaration. On this trip, only Prague and Toledo matched or surpassed my love for Budapest.