There was wonderfully sunny weather for the first full day in Budapest, but my first planned activity was sadly aborted. I had signed up for the RiverRide bus, similar to the duck boats in Boston, which both rode around the city and then plunged into the Danube. Alas the bus never materialized, and I was able to discover that due to low water conditions, presumably hindering launching and landing, the buses were not in service. At least I was able to get my money back at the RiverRide office without any argument. As I was already at Széchenyi István tér, I walked up the left bank and found the Shoes on the Danube, a memorial to Jews who during the Second World War were marched to the bank of the Danube, told to remove their shoes, then shot and dumped in the river. (Leather would have been in short supply during the war, hence the scavenging of the shoes.) Backtracking, I crossed the Széchenyi lánchíd (chain bridge) with the idea of exploring Buda. Alas, the funicular was undergoing maintenance that day, so I crossed back to explore (mostly) Pest. At Vörösmarty tér I stopped at store called Paprika that I’d seen earlier in the day and picked up a couple packets of the eponymous spice for Greta and Becky. Hopped on the metro (M1 to M3 to M4) to my first stop back in Buda at the Gellért gyógyfürdö (Gellert Baths.) Saw only the hotel that held them, as the baths were inside, but an impressive building. There was also a good view of the Szabadság híd (Freedom Bridge.) Then it was back on the M4 to Keleti pályaudvar (East railway station), which we had briefly seen in the dusk the previous evening as we were on the way to the ballet. A fine classic example of European railway stations. Ran into Linda here on her quest for a cycling jersey. Some of the recent issues with refugees had taken place at this station, but there was no trouble during our visit. Grabbed a sandwich for lunch inside the station. At this point it was in for a penny, in for a pound, so it was on to Nyugati pályaudvar (West railway station) via the M2 and M3. Not as good a vista here, as the station was more closely surrounded by buildings, and though worth seeing, was not as grand as Keleti. Returning to Deak tar on the M3, my next stop was Szent István Basilika (St. Stephen’s Basilica.) There was a photo shoot on the steps with a model in a bridal gown. The church was yet another Baroque masterpiece, which required a donation to enter, but the stained glass by itself made it worth it. After finishing at St. Stephen’s, a short ride up the M1 brought me to the Opera House for a tour. Not as large as the Vienna Staatsoper (by Imperial Diktat,) it was every bit as grand. Inter alia, there was a separate stairway for the Emperor, as well as his own private box and anteroom. There were multiple groups touring simultaneously, each in a different language, though the English language group seemed to be the largest. At the end of the tour a soprano came out and sang a few chestnuts to put a lovely cap on the event. This was enough sightseeing for one day, so the M1 brought me back to the hotel. As an aside, the mass transit (metro and trams) in Budapest were really first rate, even the older M1 line that had been refurbished. Cars and stations were clean and trains ran frequently. Some of the signage might be improved, but even so I never got lost. Arrangements had been made earlier in the day for Gary, Doris, Linda, and me to meet John (Dsurney) and Mary Ann for dinner, but there was some confusion about time. Linda didn’t get back until Gary and Doris had to leave to meet the others, so I agreed to wait for Linda, who eventually showed up, and the two of us went to dinner at Tigris, a really elegant restaurant near Széchenyi István tér. After dinner, at which the sommelier provided us with two different red Hungarian wines, we walked out midway on the chain bridge for a fine view of Budapest at night. Then back to the hotel on the M1 to conclude a full day.
Day two pretty much demanded a return to Buda via M1, Széchenyi István tér, the chain bridge, and Clark Ádám tér, where now the funicular (sikló) was operational. It was a surprisingly quick ride up, and I made my way first to Mátyás templon (St. Mathias church). The now annoyingly customary ticket was required for admittance, but it was a remarkably lovely Gothic church, quite the finest seen on this trip. In back of the church was the Halászbástya. the Fisherman’s Bastion, which might have come out of Disneyland or a movie set. Wandered north from there, then circled back toward the sikló. Found a restaurant nearby off Szent György tér where I had a sandwich for lunch. Walking back to the funicular, I stumbled on a changing of the guard ceremony at the Sándor palota, a government building, first in front, then at the side entrance. I had a ticket for a 1:30 tour of the neo-Gothic Parliament building, so it was back down the funicular, recrossing the chain bridge, and hopping on the #2 tram to the Parliament building. There were enormous crowds there for the same thing, and tours were once more being given in several languages. There was also an understandabale, if nonetheless irritating, security checkpoint as at an airport that had to be negotiated when entering. The building was quite ornate, and pictures were allowed, except directly under the dome where the crown of St. Stephen is located, and which has some military guards around it. After finishing the tour, there happened to be another changing of the guard on the east side of the Parilament building to watch. My last excursion of the day was back to Vörösmarty tér and Paprika to get myself a bottle of tokay to take home. Then on the M1 to the hotel to drop off the wine, and on to Hösök tére (Heroe’s Park) where I saw the Millenium Monument, the exterior of the Fine Arts museum and the Palace of Arts, a castle, a pond (drained, but probably used for skaters in season), and the building for the Széchenyi fürdö (Széchenyi Baths,) which once again were inside and not directly visible. I returned to the hotel to freshen up, and then went for dinner with Doris, Gary, and Linda to the restaurant Menza, where we met John and Mary Ann. We had a wonderful meal with conversation to match: a terrific finale in a fascinating city to a great two weeks.
The next morning was departure day. Regretfully there were so many things I wish I’d had the time to see or to see in greater depth, but it was also good to be going home again. My group to the airport was the Ohioans Greg, Merry, Don, and Marianne, who were also changing planes at Munich. We said goodbye after Munich passport control, and caught our respective flights. Got into Boston, made it through the incredibly annoying customs checks, and caught my bus back to New Hampshire. Roger picked me up at the Exit 5 bus station and drove me home. I had misplaced my house keys, so I ended up using the extras in the lockbox. (The regular keys materialized from somewhere in the suitcase a day later.) The whole trip turned out to be more interesting than I’d thought possible.