Buda babe

Today I went to the Buda side of the river. I took to Metro to Moskva ter, then began the long walk uphill in 95 degree sunshine:) Nah, it wasn't hot.:) But it was worth it. The top of Varhegy (Castle Hill) is basically all historical buildings...there is very little "new" stuff up there. I started with Magdolona toronye (Magdalen Tower), which is the only still-standing part of a Gothic church that was bombed in WWII. It's the belltower. There are also amazing views of the rest of Buda and the Danube from this side of the hill. I took some good panoramic shots.

Then I walked down Uri utca to the Budavari Labirintus (Labyrinths of Buda Castle). It was amazing. Basically, you're walking down the street looking for number 9. It's just a little store or house-front. You walk in the front doorway and just start going down the stairs...and more stairs...and more stairs. And it starts getting cooler and wetter. There was a guided tour, which was helpful. There's a prehistoric part of the cave, then more distant historic. then more recent historic. The prehistoric part had reproductions of the cave paintings like at Lascaux in France, because the ones that were actually here were mostly destroyed during the various conquests, and the ones that are left are not shown to tourists. The caves were used as prisons during the various conflicts, then in the 30's they built a hospital. It's unused but still there. Then in the 50's, they built a bomb shelter big enough to hold 10,000 people. When they tour was over, they make you go through what they call the Courage Labyrinth. Basically, you follow a steel cable through the pitch black, trusting that it will lead you right. The scariest part for me was when it led me up and down a ramp... It was about 100 yards long. It was amazing.

After the caves, I walked over to Matyas Templom (Matthias Church), which is a beautiful old church, but was unfortunately under restoration and covered with scaffolding. However in front of it is the part of Varhegy overlooking Pest. WOW! You could see everything...Parliament, Szent Istvan, the Chain Bridge...beautiful views of the Danube. It was such a sunny, clear day, and I took some good shots here. I also met an American girl who was interning at the US embassy. She had been in Prague since January, then here for 6 weeks...going home to Oklahoma soon. We took turns taking pictures of each other, which was nice. It's the downfall of traveling alone...no pix of yourself.

Then I walked over to a cafe, took a break and read for a while. I bought some Palinka and some Unicum to bring home...different flavors of Palinka, which is supposed the be like a schnapps or brandy. The Unicum is very popular here...classified as a "bitters", a lot of people drink it as a digestif after dinner. We'll see:) I listened to a French grandpere and his grandson...nice to try my ear for French again. Then I headed over to the Kiralyi Palota (Royal Palace), which was beautiful and huge. Also more great views of Pest and Margaret Island, which is in the middle of the Danube and is a big park.

I took the Siklo down off the hill to the base of the Chain Bridge. The Siklo is an inclined, cable railway...old and wooden. It was cool but scary:) My car was named Margit...I have a picture of me with her...a nice old Japanese man and his wife took my picture. The Chain Bridge had a big pedestrian festival on it...no vehicular traffic at all. There was folk dancing, music, all manner of stuff for sale, food, etc. It was really cool. I took my time browsing there and bought a few things. The Chain Bridge is the most famous of the 6 or 7 bridges spanning the Danube.

After that, I headed over to the Vaci utca area, where I had dinner at Gerbaud, a famous confectioner. I had a simple smoked salmon sandwich and an incredible Sacher torte for dessert. WOW! I've decided that most of the prices are pretty comparable to the US. And of course the touristy areas are correspondingly pricier. It may be a tiny bit cheaper here, but not much. But that's better than the rest of EU, which costs an arm and a leg.

After dinner I strolled down Vaci Utca, window shopping. Then I walked along the Danube on my way home. I listened to an Alt-rock band playing on A38, which is a boat anchored on the Buda side of the Danube. It used to haul Soviet tanks or rocks or anything very large. Now they have parties and concerts on it. Then when I was almost back to my neighborhood, I saw a church I hadn't seen before down a side street. I walked down towards it, and lo and behold, they were having an opera there. The doors were open so you could hear it very well. It was beautiful, and I'm not really an opera person. Then I wandered back home to the good old Ramada.

Tomorrow is my last day in Budapest...the Airport Minibus is picking me up at the hotel at 2:30, so I'm going to spend the morning out and about then come back here. I'm not sure what to do...I may go to Gellert Baths...not a bad way to spend a last morning...and I didn't get to Gellerthagy today...it's next to Varhagy.

Sleep well!