Thursday 30th June
We woke up early and hit the path before the heat of the day. We wanted to walk to the Houses of Parliament which we had seen from Buda Castle Hill, also Hero Square, the Jewish Shoe memorial and the Opera House, all before the temp hit 30.
We walked across the Szechanyl Chain Bridge (1849), the first permanent connection between Buda and Pest. There are 8 bridges along this part of the Danube and all were bombed by German forces and made unusable in the war.
When Buda and Pest united to form the capital of Hungary in 1873 they decided they needed an appropriate House of Parliament. The building is incredible, both from the river view but also from all the other sides, it's almost too much to take in. It is the largest building in Hungary, used more than 40 million bricks and half a million precious jewels and is lit up like a Christmas tree at night.
Walking about in the short time we have been here you can see why Budapest is often referred to as Paris of the East.
We also walked to Hero Square which again features the seven chieftains of the Magyar's and also has the tomb of the unknown soldier.
We found the Opera House and again the lavish decor and design almost feels over the top, but great to see.
Saint Stephens Basilica is incredible. There are not many tourists here compared to other European cities, if this was in Spain or France the queues would be miles long, we just wandered in.
After all this walking we felt we needed a refreshment stop. We found a tea shop that was amazing. I can't find the little note they gave me with the history but it was grand, ( I think 1825) over the top and we had the best hazelnut coffee torte with refreshing English breakfast tea.
The streets and avenues are full of beautiful lace ironwork, sculptures and art, it's quite a city, Liszt monuments and streets with his name...very cosmopolitan but still a bit rough around the edges
We walked across the Szechanyl Chain Bridge (1849), the first permanent connection between Buda and Pest. There are 8 bridges along this part of the Danube and all were bombed by German forces and made unusable in the war.
When Buda and Pest united to form the capital of Hungary in 1873 they decided they needed an appropriate House of Parliament. The building is incredible, both from the river view but also from all the other sides, it's almost too much to take in. It is the largest building in Hungary, used more than 40 million bricks and half a million precious jewels and is lit up like a Christmas tree at night.
Walking about in the short time we have been here you can see why Budapest is often referred to as Paris of the East.
We also walked to Hero Square which again features the seven chieftains of the Magyar's and also has the tomb of the unknown soldier.
We found the Opera House and again the lavish decor and design almost feels over the top, but great to see.
Saint Stephens Basilica is incredible. There are not many tourists here compared to other European cities, if this was in Spain or France the queues would be miles long, we just wandered in.
The right hand of Saint Stephen relic is in a separate chapel, incredible.
After all this walking we felt we needed a refreshment stop. We found a tea shop that was amazing. I can't find the little note they gave me with the history but it was grand, ( I think 1825) over the top and we had the best hazelnut coffee torte with refreshing English breakfast tea.
The streets and avenues are full of beautiful lace ironwork, sculptures and art, it's quite a city, Liszt monuments and streets with his name...very cosmopolitan but still a bit rough around the edges
Just behind the Houses of Parliament there was an incredibly moving art installation within a museum that had restored film footage of Budapest during WW2, shocking, sad, moving, sobering.
We then walked to the banks of the Danube where there is an art installation of cast iron shoes on the edge of the Danube where Jewish people were lined up and shot so the river would take the bodies away, the poor victims of this atrocity were made to remove their shoes first as they were valuable and could be used in the war effort.
Too sad and very moving.
Time for a retreat from the heat and something to eat. Sculptures for the day St Stephen and a man at the edge of the Danube contemplating his fate.
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