Today we are following a walking tour of the Buda side of the Danube.
Breakfast was included at the hotel. Typical European fair. There is a coffee machine with all kinds of choices. Too many for me and I don’t like any of them. Nothing with ‘cino at the end or frappa at the beginning. Pot, coffee, black. This is what I like. I made do, of course. The rest of the fair wasn’t Poland.
We were out the door about 8:30. 7 sights to see.
The Gellert Spa Bath was first. It was 1.4 miles away. The pace was good and we felt strong. The Spa is one of the best known thermal baths in the world. It was closed for renovation but the building still was impressive. Built in 1918.
Next up, Gellert Hill. In this heat, upper 80s, it felt like Gellert Mountain. Stairs and switchbacks. The top always seemed to be close ahead but the path lied to us many times.. The prize for getting to the top was the realization that you were still alive. The view of Pest from here was incredible. Lots of WWII history and the 1956 Hungarian Revolution where Soviet Troops fired down on the city from this vantage point. The Statue of Liberty at the top commemorated the cities liberation from Nazi forces in 1944. It was renamed the Statue of Freedom by the liberal major after the crumbling of the Soviet bloc in the 1990s to honor those who fought for independence. I know what you are thinking. Maybe the liberal mayor didn’t know the definition of liberty?
No water up on the hill. I dreamt of a lemonade stand appearing on the way down. The pace down was quite a bit faster. Budai Creative House was next on the list. We did find a little shop and purchased some water, sat down, rehydrated and rested. This building was the former pump house for the castle that is behind. It now hosts art shows. Nothing to see inside at this time.
The Buda Castle was up next. This castle has been reconstructed over 6 times in the last 700 years. More stairs. More inclines.
We were ready for lunch. It’s difficult to admit but we have seen our share of castles in this world. People had to live within the protection of walls hundreds of years ago. I guess we decided some years ago to build walls around the bad people and leave the good people alone.
We walked down from the castle and found that castle hill was just that. Another hill. Thankfully there was a cable car to take us to the top. The ride was smooth and took minutes.
Once at the top we stopped to watch the changing of the guard. Not a bad performance. There was a snare drummer that accompanied the guards and they performed procession drills to his cadence. I though about offering him a few tips on technique but chose not too.
We found a restaurant on the hill that served a German version of Hungarian dishes? It was very good.
One of things to see on the hill is Mathias Church. We chose to tour the inside.
Last up was the Fisherman’s Bastion. This dates back to the Middle Ages and was part of the original wall where fisherman were appointed by the king to defend this area.
This was our last stop for the day as tonight we are taking a river cruise. We walked backed to the hotel with many stops for water
We rested and headed out to dinner. Chicken Paprikash and Beef Stew. Great meal.
The cruise on the Danube was at sunset. Fabulous day!
