Budapest, Hungary. 17th May 2017
The natural alarm worked early; sound sleep broke at 04:15. Lazed in bed. Must have fallen asleep again because when I next looked at the watch, it was 05:15, closer to our 'getting off the bed' time. The city is wonderful, notwithstanding the dirt/rubbish thrown on the pavement in a few areas. It is pretty easy to navigate too; mainly a criss-cross of roads or 'utcas' (streets), with the street names prominently displayed on a metal plate.
The river Danube is approximately 3.5kms. from Keleti station. Armed with a good city map, one cannot go wrong here. After a slightly delayed breakfast(we had to wait as the dining room was full) we set out. Got the 10:45 BIG BUS and rode up to Gellert Hill.
The approach to the hill was superb - an ascent passing between green woods. Once there, we had absolutely stunning, 360 degrees views of the city! We also examined hand made table covers which were exquisite but overpriced. After clicking away like crazy, we caught
the next BIG BUS; this was sometime around 12:15 or so. Took us along the now familiar routes and sights. The bus crossed one area/utca more than once. Finally, it moved into Andrassay avenue, leading straight to Heroes' Square. Andrassay avenue was nothing like what we had ever seen - a broad, clean road with a proper divider hosting trees and plants; and lined on either side by awe-inspiring buildings, each better than the other! It was mind-blowing stuff!!
At Heroes' Square, Urmila suggested that we alight and view the monument up close, as it looked very impressive from the bus. It certainly was very impressive! The back of the monument comprises two matched semi-circular colonnades, each with seven statues representing great figures from Hungarian history.
We then started walking along Dosza Avenue in the direction of Keleti station, guided by the BIG BUS map. Halted for lunch - tap beer, ginger ale, chicken breast grilled with basil leaves(Hungarian style) at a cute restaurant named 'Mirage' Cafe. Glad to say that the lunch was real and good. Followed it up with ice cream cones - Tiramisu and Strawberry. While Tiramisu was good, the other one had a sour taste, similar to the one tasted at Tichy, Vienna on 18th May 2014. Almost exactly three years ago! Turned right and walked straight between
rows of stone buildings, till we arrived at its junction with Nefelejs utca. Turned left; straight to our hotel. Purchased TUC minis (biscuits), a marzipan chocolate bar and Jana Mineral Water at SPAR, just across the street. Waited in the lobby as the room was yet to be cleaned. Lost patience after 15 minutes and went up anyway. it is now 15:56 and still no sign of housekeeping! The aircon which reception said had been repaired, still wasn't functioning satisfactorily. Plan to take the night bus tour, leaving from Maddach Square (near Astoria), at 19:00. Plan to visit Libri bookstore on the way.
Stepped out to go to Keleti station, at 17:15. Purchased a 24-hr ticket from their BKK information office, which was clean and neat. At the entrance, a guard stopped us and pointed at what looked like a ticket vending machine. On our saying, "24-hr ticket", he tapped the relevant button on the machine and out came a slip. I was wondering how could a ticket be obtained without payment, when i noticed the words 'No. 36' printed on the slip. Only then did I realise that it was a token, not a ticket ! As there was no crowd at all, we went to the window where our token number was flashing and purchased the tickets. Walked back to Keleti bus stop, boarded bus no. 178 and reached Urania. Spent some time at the bookstore but couldn't zero in on a good book on this extraordinary city. Walked towards Astoria and as we were wondering which bus to take to the parliament building, I hit upon the idea of using the metro. Descended to Urania metro station and following signs, enjoying a 'scary' escalator ride deep down into the earth, we found ourselves on the platform - spic and span. The train duly arrived and we rode it till Kossuth Lajos Ter, two
stops away. Came to the surface and were immediately greeted by the majestic building of the parliament. Went to the riverside and strolled along the length of this Hungarian grandeur, clicking away. Walked back to its rear and clicked more photos and shot videos. Trams no. 2 kept coming and going, and with their bright yellow colour, provided an interesting dimension to the whole scene.
Back to the metro station, to the escalator. Stepped on it and started descending. Urmila, who was behind me, suddenly developed cold feet and did not step on to it! I had no choice but to carry on, knowing that someone would help her. Sure enough, she joined me within minutes, helped by a couple of teenagers. Back to Astoria, walked to Maddach square and waited for the night tour bus. There was quite a crowd. The double-decker soon arrived and we occupied the lower deck, as the upper one was almost full. The next hour took us through fairyland - Budapest by night! The route took us along the Danube on either side and also to certain areas of Buda not seen this morning. The street lights on the quaint lamp posts as we descended from Buda Castle, looked mystical. The icing on the cake was the incredible parliament building completely lit !
Each of the bridges - Margaret, Chain, Friendship, Elizabeth; was lit! The magnificent edifices on the Buda side - the castle, Gellert hotel, the statue of liberty right up there, were lit! The boats on the dancing waters of the Danube were lit! It was fantastic stuff! Magnificent! Stunning ! Unbelievable! Unforgettable! It re-affirmed my morning's belief that Budapest is now my no. 1 city in the world - no mean achievement for it to have upstaged Prague! The roads, shops and restaurants looked enchanting too, as we sped along. Finally, at 21=10, we got off the bus at a traffic signal opposite Astoria hotel and made our way to the nearest bus stop. Bus no. 133E soon arrived and within minutes we were alighting at Keleti.
Ate fried rice with chicken followed by the famous Turkish sweet Baklava, at the self-service joint 'Turkish kebab and grill' . Good ! Back to our hotel, which is at a stone's throw from all these important spots - Keleti railway station, KFC, McDonald's and SPAR supermarket!
To Tata, tomorrow!