Budapest Sightseeing in December
Christmas market by St. Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest, Hungary
Budapest Walking Tour
The bus ride from Vienna was smooth and we enjoyed our reclining seats, bathroom, and Wi-Fi onboard. The drive took us through the Austrian countryside with more windmills than we have ever seen in one area before. It is a very strong contrast to Hungary when you cross the border there are no windmills at all.
The sun was setting and we drove the last 2 hours in the dark. We tried to rest, but ate our salad and worked on the travel diary.
Tram #2 runs along the Danube River in Budapest
When we arrived in Budapest most passengers got off at the first stop. In hindsight, this might have been a better stop as we later found out the subway was under repair.
We arrived at Népliget and decided to walk to the metro station. It was only 800 meters and we had just been sitting on a bus for three and a half hours.
We followed the signs and headed out, up the stairs, and straight ahead. A young man was helpful and confirmed we were on the right track - Metro ahead he said.
We walked what we thought felt like 800 meters but did not see any Metro station. Di had wanted to check the map but I said, at the next corner we will check if it isn’t there.
Széchenyi Chain Bridge on a rainy December Day.
Budapest Tram, Bus, and Metro
We double-checked and now it was obvious we had walked straight ahead where we should have turned left. There was a tram so we jumped on it and rode back to the station again and turned left.
As we were walking we were passed by six or more M3 buses. We should have taken one of those.
We bought a book of 10 tickets. We tried buying tickets in the machines but they didn’t seem to work and it turns out they were only for buses. We finally found the Metro station and took the metro to Deák Ferenc Tér.
Using maps.me we got turned around but checked right away and made proper adjustments. We found the signs and followed them to the check-in. A sigh of relief and we were finally at our destination.
Our central Budapest Neighborhood. Anker Köz Street near our apartment.
Senator Apartments
The front desk for the Senator Apartments was in a complex and around a corner well hidden. Four apartment towers and we were in A204 at the end of the passageway.
We had a superior studio, a spacious unit with a bed behind a floating wall. We made a significant dent in our AirMiles account and had splurged to have a nice place for five nights.
The apartment was well appointed and had a kitchen and bathroom with a tub. There was a burger bar just below us but there was a 25-minute wait so ended up at a small convenience store and picked up some noodles and bread with cheese.
Home for dinner and then a soak :) Then straight to bed as we were pretty tired after a long “three countries in one day”.
The first couple of days in Budapest were damp but memorable and we enjoyed walking the empty streets
Settling In
We woke up tired (read exhausted from the day before) and it was wet and raining. A quick look at the wet and grey courtyard and it was an easy decision to spend the morning doing a bit of work online and get groceries.
Di found a “Spar” and we made our way to pick up groceries. Roasted veggies, eggs, pork chops, jam, butter, juice, cold meat, and cheese.
We found a bank with an ATM and took out some cash and headed home for sandwiches and a salad. The walking tour was at 2:30 pm. We had a quick nap and headed out at 2.
We found a Costa Coffee and had flat whites to break a 10,000 Hungarian forint bill to have some funds for a tip for the tour guide. It was the first time using our rain pants after packing and unpacking them for the last 2 months.
An elderly woman climbs the stairs to St. Stephen’s Basilica. I did not paste in the Facebook and Instagram logos. They are actually there. A shame really on such a magnificent building.
Budapest Free Walking Tour
St. Stephen’s Basilica
There are two options for free walking tours. A general tour of Budapest or the communist tour. Our guide’s name was Regi, was lots of fun and very knowledgeable.
The weather was still wet and damp but she did her best to keep the mood cheerful. We opted for the general tour.
The start was at St. Stephen’s Basilica, and we learned a bit about the history of Hungary.
896 was the first record of tribes. The tower is 96 meters high and there was a royal decree that no building should ever be higher than 96 meters. The parliament is also 96 meters to signify the church and state are equally important. One is not over the other.
St. Stephen’s Cathedral and the Christmas Markets
6-3 and Puskás
We heard the story of 6-3, as they simply call it. The reference is to the famous 1953 football victory where Hungary beat England with the equally famous footballer, Ferenc Puskás, who is buried at the Basilica.
A Budapest mural commemorating the Hungary 6-3 football victory over England in 1953
Elizabeth Square
Next stop, Elizabeth square, and the Budapest Eye. They stole the name and idea from London but the Ferris wheel is smaller and less known so there were no issues from London.
Sisi (Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie Wittelsbach), Queen of Hungary and Empress of Austria, was fond of Budapest, or perhaps it was her Budapest lover. They named the square after her.
The square is home to lots of special events. The Christmas market was on but our guide recommends the market by St. Stephen’s Basilica. The central market is also nearby which was recommended if you ar looking to buy souvenirs. We didn’t make it to the market.
The Budapest Eye
Beneath Elizabeth Square, there is a bar and aquarium. Regi, our guide, spoke about the Hungarian language and the alphabet with 44 letters. It takes a long time to learn it and it ranks among the three most difficult after mandarin.
She also claimed there are three ways to learn the language. One, go to school. Two, find a lover. Three, drink the local schnapps, have three or four and you will speak Hungarian fluently.
Next stop. Vörösmarty tér commemorates a Hungarian poet with a statue of him. Mihály Vörösmarty (1800-1855), was a romantic poet of the reform era.
The Christmas Market at Elizabeth Square, Budapest
Underground Metro
Budapest has Continental, Europe’s first, underground line, built in the late 19th century, and commonly known as Kisföldalatti in Hungary, connecting the downtown with the Városliget City Park. The underground has a station right in front of the Gerbeaud Coffee House.
Originally they wanted a tram line but this is an area where the rich lived so objections were made and someone had the great idea to do the underground which opened in 1896, on the 1000-year anniversary of the first tribes.
More about the underground in our next post where we pay a visit to the Széchenyi Thermal Bath.
A couple arrives to the city at the Földalatti Metro Station
The Danube and Széchenyi Chain Bridge
We continued on to the Danube promenade and looked across at Buda in the hills versus Pest which is relatively flat. Do not pronounce it Pest as that refers to the Black Plague. They pronounce it Pech. From the promenade, you can see the castle district, castle, and Matthias Church.
The tour continued along the boardwalk to the Chain Bridge. The story of the chain bridge goes like this. The man who built it, William Tierney Clark, had been called to Vienna by his dying father but was unable to cross the river for three weeks due to the river being frozen solid.
There were no bridges at the time. He rushed to Vienna but was too late. He promised his mother he would build a bridge so others would not face the same conundrum. The bridge was destroyed in WW2 but then reconstructed.
Jogging across the Széchenyi Chain Bridge
Sculptor János Marschalkó who was commissioned to sculpt the lions on the gates spent every day for 15 years at the Budapest Zoo, observing the actions of the lions, as he wanted them to be perfect.
Apparently, when completed he said if anyone could point out something that was not correct, he would jump off the bridge and commit suicide.
Rumor has it, a young child asked where the tongues were and the artist had forgotten so he jumped off the bridge. But the tale does not fit. The bridge was completed in 1849 and he died 20 years later. In addition, the tongues are visible from the platform, but not from the ground.
One of the lion statues at the Széchenyi Chain Bridge
Views of Pest and The Hungarian Parliament Building
After crossing the bridge we turned right and began the steady climb to the castle district. We stopped at a lookout across from the parliament buildings and could also see St. Stephen’s Basilica and the guide asked which one was higher.
Both are indeed 96 meters tall as mentioned above. The cloud and mist made it all quite magical. We continued on to a lookout on the other side looking out to the rest of Buda.
The Hungarian Parliament Building
The Castle District
Near Matthias Church, we made a quick stop at the statue of Prince Eugene of Savoy. Our guide told us about the horse statue legend and believes it is a global understanding. We heard about this in Belgrade also and have probably heard it before and forgotten.
If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
We did not venture closer to the castle, as it is not really functioning as a castle anymore. It is mostly hosting museums now. We walked on towards the church, a saw a few more legends.
In regards to the statue around the corner from the Matthias Church, you should touch the balls of the horse for good luck. A tradition among university students but police are cracking down on it we were told.
Matthias Church, Budapest. A spectacle in the rain.
Matthias Church
Our guide has a favorite spot in Budapest and it was our final stop on the walking tour, the Matthias church. It was beautifully lit up at night. There were not that many people in the square compared to Saturday when we went back. More to come from the Castle District in our next post.
Budapest Noir. The stairs leading to and from the Castle District
We took the stairs on the right and went down the hill. As we approached the bridge we decided to drop into a cozy-looking bar for a warm-up with beer and white gluhwein.
The place had a wonderful atmosphere with lots of photos on the walls. This was just what we needed and it gave us new energy to complete our walk back to the apartment.
Navigating our way back from the Castle District
More From Budapest
We made our way home to dry out. The rain was actually refreshing and put a different twist on the tour. Our third walking tour in 3 days so in a sense, it made it different and very memorable.
Back in our warm studio apartment we had some screen time and made a late dinner, boiled potatoes, salad, and pork chops. Delicious!
By now we were wonderfully tired but exhilarated to have had a great first day in Budapest.
We have two more posts from Budapest.
Soaked but very happy after an adventurous first day in Budapest
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The photos in this post are made using a Fujifilm X-Pro2 camera with the XF 23mm f/1.4 R (links to my camera and lens reviews). Editing was done in Capture One Express. I used Fujifilm film simulations in some of the photos.
