Budapest – Day 4

Our final full day in Budapest dawned. It was another lovely sunny day with a high of 14 degrees centigrade.

We decided to explore the Buda Castle area on the other side of the river to our hotel.

The Buda side of the river is hilly, unlike the flat Pest side, and with the Castle sitting on the top of a hill. It was used by the Germans in the Second World War as their headquarters and was the last part to fall to the liberating (maybe not quite the right term) Russian troops. The Hungarian Government has recently moved into some of the buildings in the Castle complex and sentries now stand guard.

Our wine tour guide from a few days ago told us that she was not sure if the Government occupying this historic building was a good or popular move so perhaps the politicians do need some protection.

The top of the castle hill also has a very ornate church (Matthias Church), restaurants, cafes, houses and shops and for the lucky residents who live their, spectacular views over both the Buda and Pest sides of the river.

We also visited the “Hospital in the Rock” which was another remnant of the Second World War. Under the Buda Castle hill, caves had formed naturally over many thousands of years and at the outset of the Second World War these were excavated and connected to form a hospital. This was very much like the underground hospitals on the Channel Islands for those who have visited them. After the Second World War they were next used in the 1956 uprising of the Hungarian people against the Soviets. After that they were turned into nuclear bunkers during the Cold War era of the 1960s. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take any photos but the hospital is worth a visit.

Before we moved on we visited a small coffee shop called the Waltzer Cafe which was novel as it was set out in the entrance to a large old house, presumably where they parked the horses in the old days. As it was open to the elements at the front, although not overhead, each chair had a blanket for the customers to either sit on or wrap around themselves.

The coffee and cake were good, so worth a visit.

After we left the Buda Castle area we walked on to the Jubileumi Park which is also on the Buda side and is another major view point over the city. The park’s main feature, apart from the views, is the Liberty Statue that can be seen from all over Budapest.

After walking back to the Hungarian Restaurant, Alma Korte, that was opposite our hotel for dinner (would recommend this place as the food was very good), we worked out from our Apple watches that over the four days we had walk a few yards short of 29 miles.

Budapest is a nice city and the people are very friendly. English is very widely spoken (which is good for us Brits) so there are no difficulties getting around or eating out. The transport system, trams, buses and metro, are all easy to use although we walked mostly as we prefer the exercise. Apparently travel was free on public transport for EU senior citizens so get here quick if you want to make use of this perk if you hail from the UK.

Definitely a good place for a short break.

Romania next in June.