Budapest, Day 3

Snow flurries today but no snow stuck on the ground. Our great hotel guy Greg has been really helpful suggesting things for us to do. Today he said we should get on the ring tram and ride it from here to Buda north of Castle Hill, then back to Pest, around south of the big market to the Buda side south of Gellert Hill. We could see a lot and save wear and tear on our feet, so that is what we did.

First we had to walk back up Andrassy Street to the Octagon to catch the tram. On the way we passed the Opera House (we passed it yesterday too, but somehow missed taking a photo).

The building dates from the 1890s. The Hungarians wanted to become a legitimate European capital and that meant they needed an opera house. Emperor Franz Josef provided half the money, on the condition that the building be smaller than the opera house in Vienna.  So the Hungarians complied, building an opera house smaller than Vienna's, but exceeding it in opulence. It was said Franz Josef was not pleased.

Here's another cool lion we saw along the street. And my sister tells me that that "badger" from yesterday is probably actually a lion - she said he looks like one in medieval paintings.

Speaking of Franz Josef -  Hungary was part of the Habsburg empire for a couple hundred years. The Hungarians wanted independence so the Austrians came up with the Compromise of 1867 - Hungary was granted "home rule" where most matters were administered from Budapest instead of Vienna. Franz Josep was Emperor of Austria, but only was King of Hungary.

Here is the inside of the tram. Once again I say that I wish we had public transportation like they do here, so we didn't have to get in the car to go everywhere. But then I was talking with a shopkeeper today and mentioned how great their transportation is here, and he said they wish they could get in their car and drive everywhere.

 A view from the tram.

After the tram we walked to the bridge and then across. We were south of Gellert Hill, and south of most of the interesting stuff. The buildings along here were newer but the whole area seemed a little seedy and run down, the buildings needed repairs and painting in a big way.

I don't know what this building is - hey Research Department (Jeff), maybe you can figure it out.

This is the Liberty Bridge which was completed in 1896 for the Millenium celebration. It was originally called the Franz Josef bridge and he hammered in the last silver rivet. It carries trams as well as auto traffic. As we were walking across, when the trams would cross, the whole bridge would vibrate. We kept wondering if they originally engineered the bridge for trams or if they had to somehow retrofit it later. But I just found on the internet that tram traffic started in 1898, so we assume it was built for that.

I forgot to tell you the story of the Chain Bridge. Until the mid 19th century there were only pontoon bridges connecting Buda and Pest. During the winter they had to be pulled in, leaving locals to either use ferries in good weather, or walk across the frozen river, only to get stranded if there was a thaw.  Wealthy Count Istvan Szechenyi was stranded for a week trying to get to his father's funeral (which he missed). So he commissioned the building of the first permanent bridge.

 A building on the Pest side.

The fancy Gellert Hotel at the foot of Gellert Hill. One of the most famous spas and baths is there, though Rick Steves says it's kind of stuffy and the one in City Park is better. From the outside the hotel looked a little worse for wear.

Some homeless guy standing on the bridge.

We crossed the bridge and ended up back at the big market from the other day. We stopped in this little place for coffee. It's hard to really see, but this place was really small. I am actually sitting by the door to the outside, and the man on the right is next to the wall. There were only two little tables where I am, and a couple of stools next to the man. We've stopped several times for coffee in these teeny tiny coffee houses.

Since we've been in Europe, I've been drinking my coffee with cream AND sugar. Sometimes at home I put cream, but NEVER sugar.  I'm not sure if it's because the coffee is so strong, or because we walk so much that I need the extra energy!

Vaci street again - we went back today and bought me a new suitcase. I think I mentioned that mine is falling apart, and we didn't think it would make it back to Memphis. Hate to think of all my dirty clothes strewn all over the cargo hold of the airplane.

 One more lion.

All over Prague and Budapest we have seen Thai massage parlors. Apparently it's a type of massage that involves lying on the floor and yoga positions.  And apparently it is very popular in this part of the world. The only thing we saw was in Prague - there was a sign for Thai massage, and in the window of the building two people were sitting with their feet in a fish tank with a whole mess of little fish nibbling at their toes.  Hmmmm.

And I forgot to mention, also in Prague, we heard some music and thought it was a parade, but it turned out to be some Hare Krishnas walking around chanting. Amazing! I haven't seen any of those guys since the 80s when they used to harass travelers in airports.

Tonight we walked around the streets near the opera house, Budapest's "Broadway", where there were several theaters, restaurants and bars and lots of people, and had dinner there. It's not far from our hotel, so we'll probably venture back there tomorrow night.

Someone asked what kind of churches these are. Most of the churches we've seen everywhere are Roman Catholic. I thought we would see some Orthodox ones, but maybe we're a bit too far north for that. We have attended mass in German (Vienna) and Slovak (Bratislava).

And speaking of parades, there must be some important VIP here.  The past 2 days we have seen a motorcade of police cars with a car in the middle with diplomatic flags, as if someone important is being escorted around town. We saw them 5-6 times yesterday and a couple of times today. Anyone hear of anyone important visiting Hungary?

I remember 1956 when the Soviets rolled into Hungary and crushed the revolt. I was just a little kid, but I remember my parents talking about it. I never dreamed that the Soviets would someday go away and I'd actually be here.  And actually in the square where the massacre occurred. My guide book describes "statement making government buildings, some riddled with statement making bullet holes".