Our first stop was the city park which was a beautiful green space which also contained a number of interesting sights. The first was the Széchenyi Thermal Baths which we decided to forego visiting, partly because of the lack of bathing suits (it wasn’t that kind of bath house), but primarily because of our experiences at the Rudas Baths yesterday. However, it was an interesting building to see from the outside.
That’s the cool thing we’ve discovered about the cities we’ve visited. While there are sights you have to pay to enter, there is plenty to see that’s free.
Next, we wandered through the park to Heroes’ Square, an iconic statue complex featuring important figures from Hungarian history. It was cool to see both the park and the square, also both free.
On to my favorite destination in the park, Vajdahunyad Castle. I have always had a fascination with castles that stems back to my childhood exploration of castles growing up in England. This castle has an interesting history because it was originally built in 1896 from cardboard and wood as part of a Millennium Exhibition to celebrate the 1,000 years of Hungary since the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895, but later in 1904 it was made more permanent with stone and brick. The castle grounds were cool to explore (and free!) and contained several interesting statues, such as Anonymous (an unknown Hungarian chronicler of an early history of Hungary) and Bela Lugosi (the Hungarian actor who gained fame for his portrayal of Dracula).
And I made a new friend...
After leaving the park, we went to lunch at a place called Smart Kitchen, which was kind of a micro-version of a Genghis Grill, only with better tasting food. It was a fun and incredibly cheap way to eat lunch.
We took a short break back at the hotel before heading to Liberty Square. This ended up being an unexpected insight into Hungarian history. The square was built as a monument to the Soviet liberation from Nazi Germany during World War II.
The interesting part was that some Hungarians feel that labeling it as a liberation from an occupation is misleading and doesn’t acknowledge that Hungary was cooperating with the Germans. As a result, other installations that are designed to capture the more accurate portrayal of history have sprung up around the city. The Shoes on the Danube Bank was one example, and this square contains another, which displays memorabilia from some of the victims of the Holocaust. It was a powerful lesson in the different ways people view history.
Then, we had a much lighter experience, although not from a calorie-counting perspective, at Mr. Funk, a local doughnut shop. It was a fun place to grab a cold drink and a tasty snack.
As we continued to wander, we stumbled upon St. Stephen’s Basilica. This is yet another impressive church that seem to be on every street corner in this city.
On to the Central Market, which was an indoor farmer’s market that was cool to explore.
After leaving the market, we wandered back to our hotel taking in a few more sights along the way.
After a break, we decided to spend our last evening in Budapest on a night cruise along the Danube. It was a magical and surreal experience, a perfect end to an almost perfect visit to an amazing city. On a side note, I also have to put in a plug for Lucky 7, a fun burger place where we ate before the cruise.
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