We woke up relatively late at 9:45 am since we were very tired after a lot of walking the previous day. We went down for breakfast and then came back up and got ready for our first stop of the day, a guided tour of the Hungarian Parliament. We left our hotel around 11:35 am and took a taxi to the Parliament. We got there in time for our tour that was to start at noon.
The Hungarian Parliament building was completed in 1902. It's the largest building in Hungary with a height of 96 meters and a symmetrical design. The number 96 features prominently in Hungarian history. The earliest Hungarian chiefs created the nation state in 896. Then in 1896, a large scale millennial celebration was held. Saint Stephan's church that we saw yesterday also has a height of 96 meters. The parliament building was built in response to a sense of growing Hungarian nationalism so the palatial Gothic building looks more like a cathedral than a seat of government. The building once required more electricity than the the rest of the city combined to power its 692 rooms. The gold and marble interior houses the Holy Crown of Hungary and the accompanying Crown Jewels on the symmetric center of the building, guarded 24/7 by 2 guards. We also saw the assembly hall where the Speaker, President and members of parliament sit when Parliament is in session. It has an exquisite red and gold interior decor and the seats of members are state of the art with the ability of electronic voting and delivering speeches. We also found out about how the building was kept heated or cooled before electricity was invented, using a system of pipes to deliver steam or ice-cooled air. The main entrance to the building is only used for special occasions and has 96 stairs to let special state guests or newly elected members of Parliament to enter.
After a tour of the Hungarian Parliament, we walked a couple of blocks away to the Freedom Square. This is the site of an old prison but has been converted into a memorial square to mark the celebration of Hungarian people at the occasion of the fall of the Soviet regime. We sat there in the shade of trees to take a break and shield ourselves from the blazing sun. Then we walked to the Four Seasons hotel which is built in the old Gresham Palace. It's location is very central, right behind the Chain Bridge. Like our hotel, Gresham Palace was the headquarters of the London Insurance Company before being converted into a five star luxury hotel. It's gates and windows are exquisite and must have been equally grand back in the day.
Then we walked to Vasi Street which is a pedestrian-only street with lots of shops, businesses and restaurants playing live music. We were hungry so had a quick lunch at McDonald's and then headed back to our hotel. We took the subway this time instead of walking in the heat. The subway system is old and so are the trains but their efficiency is remarkable. At each stop, the train opens its doors for less than 10 seconds and then it's on its way. We were back at our hotel within 15 minutes. We rested for a couple of hours in our room.
We headed out again around 7 pm and took the subway to the opposite end of Andrassi Boulevard to Heroes Square. It honors the heroes of Hungarian history starting from 896. The construction of the monument started in 1896 but completed in 1900. In front of the monument is a large stone cenotaph surrounded by an iron chain and is meant to honor the heroes who gave their live for the struggle of freedom and independence of the country. The back of the monument consists of two matched colonnades, each with seven statues representing great figures of Hungarian history.
Then we took the subway to the Danube river side and got off at the last stop at around 8:30 pm. We had purchased tickets for a 10 pm cruise so we decided to have dinner. We chose a bistro that had outside seating with fans spraying water to act as air conditioning. The sun had started going down so aided by the water spraying fans, it was possible to sit outside. I had the veal soup which was like goulash and Samia had a goat cheese ravioli. We also had lemonades.
Then we started walking to the meeting point for the cruise. After seeing a big group of people on our way who had the same tickets as us, we got confused and thought that they were at the right meeting point but then we decided to just go to the address printed on the tickets. Turned out that both were correct since the group we met was waiting just closer to the Chain Bridge and the river. We walked with the group to the pier and boarded the humongous cruise ship. We had seats on the upper deck which was open air and the perfect choice for a pleasant summer night. The cruise was 90 minutes long and a very peaceful affair. We saw all the prominent landmarks of Budapest glowing in the night sky - Buda Castle and Fisherman's Bastion on the Buda side of Danube and the Hungarian Parliament on the Pest side. The cruise passed 6 bridges, the most elegant and brightly lit of which was the Chain Bridge, followed by the Elizabeth Bridge and another bridge with green Baroque style decor. The other three were regular bridges. The cruise ended around 11:45 pm. We had another tiring day with 17 kilometers of walking so we decided to take a taxi back to our hotel. The company was affiliated with the cruise service so it was fairly priced. We got back to our hotel around midnight and then hung out in our hotel lobby for a little while since the WiFi signal does not reach our room. Then we went to our room around 12:30 am and packed our suitcases. We requested for a wake up call for 6:30 am and a taxi to the airport for 7:15 am to catch our flight for the final city of this trip, Paris. Till the next update from Paris, take care!
The Hungarian Parliament building was completed in 1902. It's the largest building in Hungary with a height of 96 meters and a symmetrical design. The number 96 features prominently in Hungarian history. The earliest Hungarian chiefs created the nation state in 896. Then in 1896, a large scale millennial celebration was held. Saint Stephan's church that we saw yesterday also has a height of 96 meters. The parliament building was built in response to a sense of growing Hungarian nationalism so the palatial Gothic building looks more like a cathedral than a seat of government. The building once required more electricity than the the rest of the city combined to power its 692 rooms. The gold and marble interior houses the Holy Crown of Hungary and the accompanying Crown Jewels on the symmetric center of the building, guarded 24/7 by 2 guards. We also saw the assembly hall where the Speaker, President and members of parliament sit when Parliament is in session. It has an exquisite red and gold interior decor and the seats of members are state of the art with the ability of electronic voting and delivering speeches. We also found out about how the building was kept heated or cooled before electricity was invented, using a system of pipes to deliver steam or ice-cooled air. The main entrance to the building is only used for special occasions and has 96 stairs to let special state guests or newly elected members of Parliament to enter.
After a tour of the Hungarian Parliament, we walked a couple of blocks away to the Freedom Square. This is the site of an old prison but has been converted into a memorial square to mark the celebration of Hungarian people at the occasion of the fall of the Soviet regime. We sat there in the shade of trees to take a break and shield ourselves from the blazing sun. Then we walked to the Four Seasons hotel which is built in the old Gresham Palace. It's location is very central, right behind the Chain Bridge. Like our hotel, Gresham Palace was the headquarters of the London Insurance Company before being converted into a five star luxury hotel. It's gates and windows are exquisite and must have been equally grand back in the day.
Then we walked to Vasi Street which is a pedestrian-only street with lots of shops, businesses and restaurants playing live music. We were hungry so had a quick lunch at McDonald's and then headed back to our hotel. We took the subway this time instead of walking in the heat. The subway system is old and so are the trains but their efficiency is remarkable. At each stop, the train opens its doors for less than 10 seconds and then it's on its way. We were back at our hotel within 15 minutes. We rested for a couple of hours in our room.
We headed out again around 7 pm and took the subway to the opposite end of Andrassi Boulevard to Heroes Square. It honors the heroes of Hungarian history starting from 896. The construction of the monument started in 1896 but completed in 1900. In front of the monument is a large stone cenotaph surrounded by an iron chain and is meant to honor the heroes who gave their live for the struggle of freedom and independence of the country. The back of the monument consists of two matched colonnades, each with seven statues representing great figures of Hungarian history.
Then we took the subway to the Danube river side and got off at the last stop at around 8:30 pm. We had purchased tickets for a 10 pm cruise so we decided to have dinner. We chose a bistro that had outside seating with fans spraying water to act as air conditioning. The sun had started going down so aided by the water spraying fans, it was possible to sit outside. I had the veal soup which was like goulash and Samia had a goat cheese ravioli. We also had lemonades.
Then we started walking to the meeting point for the cruise. After seeing a big group of people on our way who had the same tickets as us, we got confused and thought that they were at the right meeting point but then we decided to just go to the address printed on the tickets. Turned out that both were correct since the group we met was waiting just closer to the Chain Bridge and the river. We walked with the group to the pier and boarded the humongous cruise ship. We had seats on the upper deck which was open air and the perfect choice for a pleasant summer night. The cruise was 90 minutes long and a very peaceful affair. We saw all the prominent landmarks of Budapest glowing in the night sky - Buda Castle and Fisherman's Bastion on the Buda side of Danube and the Hungarian Parliament on the Pest side. The cruise passed 6 bridges, the most elegant and brightly lit of which was the Chain Bridge, followed by the Elizabeth Bridge and another bridge with green Baroque style decor. The other three were regular bridges. The cruise ended around 11:45 pm. We had another tiring day with 17 kilometers of walking so we decided to take a taxi back to our hotel. The company was affiliated with the cruise service so it was fairly priced. We got back to our hotel around midnight and then hung out in our hotel lobby for a little while since the WiFi signal does not reach our room. Then we went to our room around 12:30 am and packed our suitcases. We requested for a wake up call for 6:30 am and a taxi to the airport for 7:15 am to catch our flight for the final city of this trip, Paris. Till the next update from Paris, take care!
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