Yearning to see a bit more of Eastern Europe, Roz, Lana, Dave, Iain and I headed to Budapest in Hungary for the weekend (7-9 September), and let's just say that we were not disappointed. Ariving late on the Friday night, we headed to the hotel on the Buda side of the river. Far more lush, green and scenic than the Pest side, we were pleasantly surprised as we strolled through parks en route to the castle the next morning.
The Castle area, alive with the odd Korean tour group was festive and quaint. Festive as the annual Hungarian Wine Feast was on and quaint as the baroque architecure and cobbled streets definately gave it a charm of it's own. Stopping for a coffee in the Fisherman's bastion (a Unesco heitage site) overlooking the Danube, one really got to appreciate the magnificence of the Chain bridge (which first joined the two cities of Buda and Pest across the Danube) and the Parliament building.
After coffee, we headed inside the ornately adorned 'Our Lady' or Mattius church to eavesdrop on a tour group and glean some local knowledge before heading for the labyrinth underneath the city. The Labyrinth is where the locals took shelter from Mogol invasions and more recently in WW II. A windy maze of tunnels, complete with stone sculptures and cave drawings. The best surprises was an underground wine fountain and the labyrinth of courage. Courage was needed in the inky darkness as we bumped into one another, but luckily we had a smoker in tow as Dave whipped out his lighter to lead the way.
Emerging out into the daylight, we then headed down the funicular to walk over the chain bridge to Pest. In Pest, we strolled around, stopped for lunch a spot alongside the Danube, headed past parliment, up St Stephen's Chapel and into the State Opera House. Nearing dinner time, and with weary feet, we headed back up to the castle district and found a quaint Hungarian restaurt for some Goulash.. and yes, more Hungarian wine. Seranded by a violinist, the atmosphere was typical Hungarian (complete with a complete lack of tourists and only locals eating there). The next day, we took a long walk up to Margaret Island and strolled around the park, stopped for Hot chocolate before heading for some lunch. A horse ride and a last trip up to the castle completed our Hungarian trip, before we caught a cab to the airport. Definanately a place to revisit.
