Budapest Hungary

Calvinist Church
Chain Bridge
Elizabeth Bridge
Fisherman's Bastion
Gellert Statue
Hero's Square

Funicular
Jak Chapel
Liberty Bridge
Little Princess Statue
Matyas Church

Parliament
Our Friend
Fine Dining
Royal Palace
Saint Stephens Basilica
Vajdahunyad Castle

On this trip, we arrived in Budapest by plane. We stayed two nights, then traveled by train to Vienna Austria. We stayed in Vienna 3 nights, then returned to Budapest for an additional 3 nights. We bought our train tickets to Vienna at the Kelti train station. The tickets were not to expensive and we got a deal on a 4 day out-and-back trip that included transportation on the Vienna subways, trams and busses.

Our first hotel in Budapest was very nice and had easy access to the area by Hero's Square.

Inn-Side Hotel Delibab

Delibab U.35

Budapest, HU 1062

There was also a subway stop next to the hotel that took us directly to the Danube, close to the Chain Bridge. Our second hotel was located at the base of Castle Hill by Elizabeth Bridge. This hotel had very nice rooms and included breakfast with eggs cooked to order.

Best Western Hotel Orion

Dobrentei U.13

Budapest, HU 1013

+361 356 8583

There was a restaurant next to the hotel: Tabani Terasz. We would highly recommend this restaurant as we had one of our best meals there.

Calvinist Church: This church was built in 1893-1896 on the site of a former medieval market. It is Neo-Gothic in style and is covered with colorful ceramic tiles.

Chain Bridge: The first permanent bridge over the Danube, was built in 1839.

The bridgehead is guarded by two vast stone lions sculpted by Janos Marschalko. According to an anecdote Janos was heartbroken because he forgot to give the lions any tongues, so he drowned himself in the river. In fact the lions do have tongues, but they are not easily visible.

There is an identical bridge, built by the same person over the Thames river in Marlow England. Marlow is only about a 30 minute drive from Windsor

Link to Marlow page

Elizabeth Bridge: Constructed in 1897-1903, was at the time the longest suspension bridge in the world. Destroyed in 1945, it was rebuilt in its current form.

Fisherman's Bastion: Built in 1895, this structure never had the role of a defensive building, despite its name. It serves instead as a viewing terrace. The conical towers are an allusion to the tribal tents of the early Magyars.

This may be the most romantic place we have ever been. At night, you have fantastic views of the city with it's bridges, castles and cathedrals all brilliantly illuminated.

Views of the bastion from across the river

Gellert Statue: In 1904 a vast monument was established on the spot where Bishop Gellert was supposedly murdered in the 11th century. According to the tale, the bishop was thrown into the Danube in a barrel, by a mob opposed to the adoption of Christianity. St Gellert holds a cross in his outstretched hand and a Hungarian convert to Christianity is depicted kneeling at his feet.

Hero's Square: Representing Hungary's history, this is where the Millennium Celebrations opened in 1896. It's colonnades feature statues of renowned Hungarian leaders and politicians. The grand central column is crowned by a figure of Archangel Gabriel.

The figure at the top on the chariot is Rydwan, the god of war.

Funicular: This funicular or inclined railway was built for access to the Royal Palace.

Jak Chapel: The chapel reproduces the portal of a Benedictine chapel, dating from 1214, which can be found in the area of Jak, near the border with Austria. It is part of the Vajdahunyad Castle complex.

Liberty Bridge: Another nice and old bridge crossing Danube.

Little Princess Statue: That's Chris on the right.

Matyas Church: Although with much earlier parts, this church is mainly a Neo-Gothic reconstruction dating from 1874-1896. A picturesque vestibule on the church's southern facade covers an original Gothic portal dating from the 14th century.

Parliament: This is the countries largest building and was based on the houses of Parliament in London England.

Our Friend: The first photo is of Chris with our friend Rita who lives in Budapest. We met her last year while we were on vacation in Beijing China. We have stayed in contact and met up with her again in Budapest on our trip.

Fine Dining: We had dinner in this nice Hungarian restaurant where men had to wear a jacket. I was able to borrow this one at the restaurant before we were seated.

Royal Palace: The palace is located at the top of Castle Hill above the Chain Bridge. Matyas Fountain from 1904 depicts King Matyas Corvinus and Ilonka.

Saint Stephens Basilica: Dedicated to St Stephen, or Istvan, the first Hungarian Christian King. The church is designed with a Neo-Classical style, using a Greek cross floor plan. Construction began in 1851 and was taken over in 1867 by Miklos Ybl who added the Neo-Renaissance dome after the original one collapsed in 1868. The church was completed in 1905. It received the title of Basilica Minor in 1938, the 900th anniversary of St Istvan's death.

Gellert Hill Cave Church: After its consecration in 1926, it served as a chapel (Sziklatemplom English: Cave Church) and monastery until 1951. During this time, it also served as a field hospital for the army of Nazi Germany during World War II. The church was closed when we arrived, so we did not get to enter, only take a photo through the bars.

Vajdahunyad Castle: This is not a genuine castle, but a complex of buildings reflecting various architectural styles. The individual pavilions are grouped in chronological order of style. Romanesque is followed by Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and so on. The individual styles were linked together to give the impression of a single structure.

The Statue of Anonymous, completed in 1903, it is one of Budapest's most famous monuments.

Fovam Market: The Budapest Fovam Market, or Central Market Hall. This is where we bought some little boxes of paprika, both sweet and hot, to bring back with us.

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