Day 28: Touring Budapest (Part 1) and the Szimpla Pub
My first impression of Budapest was how similar it was to Paris in certain ways -- both were less modern and less polished than Vienna, with a river running through the centre, but both had breathtakingly grand buildings that made the city stand out. After a day of discovery, however, I quickly grew to appreciate Budapest's unique beauty. It is a city of such history and controversy that I've been able to understand and learn about through my course, and the city's character shines through much more so than Paris. The downtown core is also surprisingly modern and very dense.
Departing at 7:20 from Brno, our class arrived at the Wombat's hostel in the Jewish quarter of Budapest around noon. After a quick lunch nearby, we headed straight to the top of Castle Hill for a tour of the city, starting off at the Matthias Church, a 14th century Gothic church and one of the largest ones in Hungary.
Right behind the church is the Fisherman's Bastion, one of the best places in the city for a view, which we definitely took advantage of.
On one side, the magnificent Buda castle itself was right next to us.
Then there was the panoramic view of the city, which made for a great impression to start off our time here.
It was a nice sunny day to be out, although still a little chillier than I would've liked. We spent a couple hours walking around the top of the hill and taking in the castle exterior. I especially enjoyed the statues, which Budapest is full of. The one in front of the castle is Eugene of Savoy, Buda's saviour following the Second Siege of Vienna.
After descending Castle Hill, we headed down and across the Szechenyi Chain Bridge. All the buildings along the bank of the Danube were stunningly impressive.
On the other side of the city, we walked along the bank of the Danube and saw the Shoes on the Danube Bank memorial to the Jews who had been killed in Hungary in 1944-1945 at the end of the Second World War.
We headed along the bank, passing many majestic buildings and statues along the way. Budapest is truly a city of monuments. One of my favourites was Imre Nagy, leader of the Hungarian revolution of 1956, on a bridge with his head turned to the parliament building.
The most important and most controversial one was just recently erected.
It portrays an angel in distress, representing Hungary, and an attacking eagle with 1944 on its ankle, representing Germany. The statue is meant to portray Hungary as a victim of Nazi Germany during the Second World War, when they were in fact allies. This re-writing of history, which attempts to absolve Hungary of all crimes, is so controversial that a counter-monument is set up permanently right in front of it.
The counter-monument consists of photographs and stories of the true victims who died in the war as a result of the country's actions. Protests against it continue to take place every day.
Along the way until we reached the Parliament. It was a stunningly gigantic and imposing palace, 96 metres tall, since the Magyars originally came to Europe in 896.
We got a group tour to see the inside, which was equally beautiful and newly renovated. The standouts were the grand staircase and the circular room right underneath the cupola where the crown of St. Stephen was displayed and heavily guarded. Around the room were statues of great Hungarian Kings and Habsburg rulers, such as St. Stephen and Maria Theresia.
The halls of the building were on par with many of the palaces I'd visited over the past month, even surpassing some in grandeur.
After taking a ride down the Gothic elevator, we headed out for dinner. Right in front of our hostel, which is conveniently located in the most central downtown core, is a cute alley leading to a square of restaurants. I had the best meal I've eaten in weeks: French onion soup, spaghetti arrabiata, and a strawberry milkshake. The service was fantastic, which isn't always a given in Europe.
Our first evening in Budapest was spent at the Szimpla ruins pub.
Although I'm not usually a fan of pubs, this one was so unique and I had a wonderful time with the people in my program. Most of the pub was open-air, and it was made up of a variety of sections -- the food area at the back, the live performance area beside that, the quieter seating area upstairs, and stalls of drinks downstairs. The entire place was huge, constructed of old stone or wood, almost similar in layout to an outdoor market. There were seating areas, a stage where a jazz band played to an audience of all ages, and stalls selling beer, wine, and cocktails -- I had a Pina Colada. It was such a unique place and atmosphere and a great first night in the city.