Thursday, November 7, 2019; Budapest Highlights Tour

Thursday, November 7, 2019; Budapest Highlights Tour

Our neighbor, the Cathedral, and Budapest in general awoke in a dreary haze with wet pavement, but below us, largely empty streets, and the St. Stephens Plaza without its usual crowds.  President Erdogan, of Turkey, is going to be arriving and staying with us at the Hilton.  The security presence on the way to breakfast was much more apparent as soldiers in fatigues with side arms milled about in the lobby and came out of the elevator as we headed to breakfast.  We saw our “Christopher Reeves” and his buddies make a security sweep of the buffet before his party arrived for their breakfast.  We learned from the hostess that our dignitary was actually General Milan Mojsilovic of the Serbian Army.  His wife was in her usual state of elegance.  Must be tough to be the wife of a General.  

The Hilton’s breakfast buffet had the usual international assortment, but the cook at the egg station was rather humorless when I asked for eggs over easy, and he shoved a plate of eggs sunny side up, but overcooked on the bottom that were under the heat lamp.  I didn’t argue.  He might have been undercover security, for all I know.  The funniest item on the buffet were tiny little liverwurst tubes.  It was actually good on toast, but we had to ask the waitress how to open one without a pair of scissors.  She was able to twist the end off the tube by spinning and spinning for quite a while until it gave up it’s flesh-toned contents.

We met our guide for an an optional Viking excursion “Highlights or Taste of Budapest” in the Viking reception lobby.  There were just 16 people signed up from the Hilton Castle District.  Our guide explained we would pick up another 6 participants at the Sofitel Hotel across the river.  We boarded minibuses to take us across the river. Traffic was really a mess due to multiple street closures and also closures of many public transportation routes due to the State Visit by Turkey’s President Erdogan today.  We disembarked from the minivans in front of the Parliament building and met up with the other passengers.  We toured a small museum chronicling the history of political rule in Hungary.  There were free audio guides in English, and the museum was well laid out so that it was possible to actually learn a lot about the legislative history of Hungary, which is very complex.  

Cigar Holders outside the Parliament Chamber

We then combined with other tour groups to attend an English speaking tour of the Parliament building which run on a daily schedule.  The Hungarian Parliament building is the 3rd largest Parliament building in the world, and it is a wonder that it managed to survive the Nazis and Soviets.  It is an architectural wonder, and extremely ornate on the inside as well.  There is a ton of gold leaf, ceiling frescos and stained glass.  It felt alive and vibrant inside.  

From the Parliament, we walked to Liberty Square, where a nice bronze statue of Ronald Reagan appears to be taking bold steps from the Hungarian Parliament building into Liberty Square.  

With the fall of the Iron Curtain, almost all of the old Soviet memorials and statues were removed from public squares and relegated to a sort of Soviet monument graveyard on the outskirts of Budapest, but a single monument remains to acknowledge the role of the Russians in liberating Hungary from Nazi Germany.  Very few Hungarians forgive the Soviets for then ruling over them with an iron fist for the next 44 years.  

We then toured a small public market with lots of produce, meat and other product stalls, as well as restaurants.  It was not nearly as large as the main public market closer to the Liberty Bridge, but this one was cute and easily manageable.  We got to sample Hungarian scones, which are a buttery and savory pastry.  That whetted our appetites for lunch, which we had at a nearby restaurant, which also happened to be situated right above a Hungarian Folk Life museum.  

Pocket Knife Sheaths

Leather flask

We had Hungarian Goulash soup with beef and root vegetables, bread, and a Hungarian dessert dumpling that was like a bread pudding chocked full of nuts, but with a texture like tiramisu.  

We were then supposed to take the public transit back to the Hilton in the Buda Castle District, but the public transit to that district had been shut down by security for the State Visit.  So our guide ended up hiring cabs to transport us back across the river.  This requires some artful dodging of closed streets and police barricades.  It was like a wild roller coaster ride, with parts feeling like the Budapest Gran Prix.  But we did make it back to the hotel after a fashion.  

It was surprising to see the Square around St. Stephen’s Cathedral and the Fishermen’s Bastion devoid of tourists.  Those locations are usually packed with tourist shoulder to shoulder.  

There were police barricades blocking access to those sites, as well as the Buda Castle Complex, which used to be the residences of the Royal Family, when Hungary had one.  Now it houses museums.  We had hoped to be able to walk around the “Castle”, but it President Erdogan had other plans.  

We walked the other direction to another restaurant recommended by our Viking Concierge, just a few hundred yards from the one we ate at last night.  This one had a slightly more metropolitan and intimate decor, and a menu with Hungarian specialties.  Janet had Chicken Paprikash, while Ben went with a roasted chicken special with mushrooms and Brussels sprouts.  Ben ordered a beer, which came out in a half liter stein.  It was a local draft beer that was another good amber ale.  Janet had tried to order a local red wine called “Bull’s Blood” that our guide had recommended, but alas, this restaurant was all out of that wine.  Both meals were delicious and satisfying.  We didn’t have room for dessert.  

We repacked our suitcases again, making sure that they were all with in the stricter European weight restrictions.  This leaves the carry on roller bags largely empty, which is a bit ridiculous, but they did weigh our carry on roller bags at the Lufthansa counter for our flight from Seattle to Frankfurt, so they will probably also weigh them on Alitalia for our flight from Budapest to Rome tomorrow.  

We really lucked out on the weather today.  It started off raining early in the morning, but by the time our tour started, the rain had largely stopped, and by the time we did the main walking part of our tour, the sky was starting to clear up a bit.  After repacking our suitcases, and having dinner, Ben ventured back to the Buda Castle, and found that the barricades were being loaded up into the back of army trucks and the bus loads of police were on their way home.  So he was able to walk down to the Castle and around the buildings, which are lit up at night, and have unobstructed views up and down the Danube.  

Buda Castle- Former Residence of Hungarian Royals

St. Stephan’s Cathedral and Fishermen’s Bastion

Parliament and the Chain Bridge from Buda Castle.

We felt like we did a pretty good job of seeing Budapest this trip, and are ready to move on to Rome tomorrow.  Fortunately, our airport transfer is at 9am, so we can have a normal breakfast in the morning.