Balkans day 28: Buda

Romania was only tenuously in the Balkans. Hungary straightforwardly isn’t; but there are only so many ways of getting back from Bucharest to Konstanz by rail, and if one of them involves visiting a stunning city like Budapest then I’ll take it. I first came here nineteen years ago, and was really struck by the place. In that respect not much has changed.

Budapest is an agglomeration of two earlier towns: Buda, on the west side of the Danube, and Pest, on the east. Today, after arriving at the stunning Budapest-Keleti station in Pest, I made my way straight to Buda. The weather was favouring me for once.

Fishermen’s Bastion

View of the parliament building and the Danube

Buda rises steeply from the Danube up to the Fishermen’s Bastion on the hill, a tourist hotspot, and with good cause. The views over the rest of the city are fantastic. After enjoying an overpriced coffee up here I went into the grandiose Matthias Church and ogled the ornamentation.

Matthias Church interior

Queen Elizabeth of Hungary and stained glass

There is limited evidence of my other activities in Buda, as photos are prohibited in both places. Before lunch I visited the Hospital of the Rock, an underground former hospital under Red Cross protection that served Budapest citizens and soldiers of both sides during the Second World War; it was also a nuclear bunker in the 1960s. The hospital part is interesting, if a little creepy due to the many wax figures in various positions throughout the tunnels. The bunker part is very sobering, complete with detailed descriptions and maps of what the damage would be if a nuclear strike were to hit your favourite city.

Buda Castle and art gallery

After a wander around the hilltop enjoying the sunlight, and then some lunch, I headed south along the ridge to Buda Castle, which hosts the national art gallery. The building and the space is monumental, with relatively little art actually displayed within. I was easily able to find and admire my favourite nineteenth-century things, and explored the dome cupola before heading back across town for some rest in Pest.