CITY TRAVEL.

One Day in Budapest

Crossing the Danube, visiting the Buda Castle, and exploring underground cave systems

After our first night in Budapest and an interesting pub crawl visiting unique ruin bars, we (my husband, my father and I) woke up this Saturday and were in for another day full of activities.

Finding coffee and a quick breakfast in the city didn’t take us long and we were already on our way to the river.

Today we would spend most of the day on the other side of the Danube River in the “Buda” part of the city. It was windy and certainly cold. All you can expect from a normal day in November.

Walking across the bridge was easier said than done. Wearing our rain jackets not to feel the wind and pulling the hoodies over to keep our ears warm.

The other side appeared to be quiet at first. We walked on a bed of falling leaves. Some trees were completely empty by now. Some still had some colored leaves to show.

Just a few meters down the riverbank, we first passed the museum and then the gardens. The Castle Gardens Bazar is one way to get to the Buda Castle. Another option would be to take the funicular.

It wouldn’t have taken us that long to get up the stairs if I wasn’t stopping every few meters to take a picture. But that’s part of me. The photographer part.

The crowds were now lining up. For the selfies at the bridge overlooking the city and the river behind.

I stopped on the side, pulled out my new lens and zoomed in on the parliament building. The Hungarian House of Parliament is certainly an impressive architectural masterpiece.

But there were more buildings on the “Pest” side of the city which took my attention. A number of churches of course were standing out in between all the other houses. The city of Budapest has no skyscrapers whatsoever. At least none I could see from up here.

Yes, this is me. Busy taking pictures.

And this is what I captured. The famous Cain Bridge, under construction while a ship is passing underneath. In the background on the left, you can see part of an island on the Danube River and the House of Parliament on the riverbank.

And here is what I mentioned earlier.

The funicular leading to the Buda Castle District. We didn’t use this option but went for the free one, walking.

We didn’t have something specific in mind to see up here but we were impressed when we approached the Fisherman’s Bastion. In Hungarian known under the name of “Halászbástya”, it is one of the best-known monuments of Budapest. The Neo-Romanesque lookout terraces offer a unique panorama of the city.

The main façade of the building is running parallel to the Danube and is about 140 meters long. The seven stone towers symbolize the founders of Hungary in 895, the seven chieftains of the Hungarians (Wikipedia).

As you can see in the picture below, I am definitely better standing behind the lens than posing in front of the camera. But in my defense, the wind blowing my hair all around didn’t help.

Right next to the Fisherman’s Bastion is another church not to be missed, it’s to be seen from far and its white outer layer with colorful tiles makes it stand out from its surroundings.

The Matthias Church.

Not far from the church and just an unspectacular sign following, we found the labyrinth of the Buda Castle leading to one of many underground caves underneath the city of Budapest.

While we originally wanted to do a tour of the caves underneath the Buda Castle, not having booked it in advance left us empty-handed. The labyrinth doesn’t require a guide or pre-booking and is surely worth the visit.

Some areas are better lit than others and the underground space is decorated with ancient history explaining the city, its musical background, and the stories of many nations.

One area was my highlight but at the same time, it made David very angry. Inside the caves, it was not allowed to take photographs but I do know this refers to the use of flashing lights which is why I took all the pictures with the phone without adding light to the rooms (plus, I only took pictures when no other people were around).

Entering this particular part of the labyrinth a board was inviting us to experience complete darkness with all our senses. No lights were displayed in the upcoming rooms and only touching a rope on the left side of the rooms or hallways we were walking through, we saw nothing but darkness. Our eyes slowly got adjusted to the black space but I still was surprised when the rope was taking me to the left while I expected the room to open up to the right.

It was eerie, to say the least. It was really scary. I was walking ahead and after reading the signboard about people having experienced paranormal activity I felt a bit intimidated. But I kept going.

We then heard voices from people behind us who clearly didn’t read the sign and just walked into the darkness. Now they switched on the flashlight of the phone to see something.

Great, our experience was ruined.

David put the people into place and after they switched the phone on a second time I told them to use the rope on the left side. It was sad but this isn’t the fault of the people who designed this labyrinth but of our humankind. There will always be people not following the rules and while I’m sometimes one of them, in this scenario not following the rules ruined the experience of other visitors.

Sadly.

I quickly got over the situation but David still went on. I understand him. I really enjoyed walking in the darkness concentrating on all other senses since our eyes were useless. Nevertheless, it was a great experience.

We left the Buda Castle District and made our way home, home to our apartment on the other side of the river. It was a long walk and after stopping for lunch, all three of us were exhausted from the day’s walking.

We still had planned to visit one of the famous thermal baths in the city but my father wasn’t keen on going and David and I realized we messed up not booking anything in advance.

It was low season after all but it was Saturday and the city was full of tourists. We didn’t see a chance of getting into one of the baths before our next attraction and decided to leave it. When you have limited time in a city, you simply can’t do or see it all.

And after putting our legs up for a few hours we were ready to hit the city at night again. It was drizzling. The light rain didn’t bother us but it prevented me from taking any pictures with the camera I was carrying on my back. David’s iPhone came in handy instead.

We were on a mission to get back to the Danube where our boat was waiting for us. This one I had booked in advance and I’m glad I did. A dinner cruise on the river with complimentary drinks, local Hungarian food, and a live band playing traditional folklore music.

All of it while cruising along the river and passing historical buildings lit up at night.

Even at night, the House of Parliament stays a winner. Its impressive architecture comes to shine even more in the dark than in daylight.

The Matthias Church appeared to be floating above the city while other churches at the riverbank were also shining in the light.

The dinner was great just that our embarrassing humankind had to fall over the buffet like hungry lions worrying about not getting enough of the “free meal”. Free since it was included in the river cruise price.

However, we didn’t let this ruin our experience and simply enjoyed a night out on the water.

And we did get enough food. Like everyone else too.

After almost 3 hours on the boat (the cruise is only 2 hours long but you can get on board earlier to get a prime seating table), we had solid ground underneath our feet again but the rain hadn’t stopped yet.

We walked home passing St. Stephen’s Basilica and the Synagogue. Both stand out in the nightlife of Budapest.

And this was it. Our second and last day in Budapest. In case you got exhausted reading all of this, just imagine how we felt getting back to our apartment. As soon as our heads hit the pillow, we were sound asleep.

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” — Mae West

More about our travels to the city of Budapest:

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