After spending Christmas in Prague, I took the train to Budapest to celebrate New Year’s Eve in the Hungarian capital. An entire day on the train is exhausting, and since the difference between second and first class train tickets is frequently negligible, I opted for first class, having heard horror stories from friends who had not booked seats on long-distance trains. I was comfortable enough and spent some time in the café car indulging in one last piece of medovnik (honey cake) with coffee. After visiting many historical monuments in Prague, I devoted my time in Budapest to much more leisurely activities.
Budapest Spas
Budapest boasts a wide variety of thermal baths, and I wasted no time in visiting the most famous and largest: the Széchenyi Baths, easily recognizable by their cheerful yellow buildings. Spas are extremely popular in Budapest, and the winter months are no exception. The indoor and outdoor pools were packed with people from around the world, though the extensive outdoor pools were less crowded. Therefore, I spent most of my time outside in the hottest pool to ward off the chill of December.
Had I had more time in Budapest, I might have visited all the spas, but I had to settle for just two visits to Budapest’s thermal baths. My second foray was to Géllert, the second most famous of the baths. It is attached to a hotel, but you do not need to be a guest to enjoy the baths. Like Széchenyi, Géllert has a beautiful setting, transporting you back in time as you relax in the thermal waters. The outdoor pools at Géllert are not as extensive as at Széchenyi, but some of the indoor pools were less crowded than at the more famous spa. Both were great, and a nice way to end the year, soaking up the therapeutic waters on my first visit to Budapest.
Christmas Markets
Though Christmas had passed, the holiday markets were still in full swing in Budapest when I arrived. As in Prague, there were multiple glittering markets, giving the city a festive atmosphere at every turn. One of the markets was set up around neoclassical St. Stephen’s Basilica, completed in the early 20th century. Bars lining the streets kept their terraces open through the colder months, offering blankets to drape over customer’s legs while they sipped a piping hot beverage.
The most popular Christmas market in Budapest is on Vorosmarty Square, hosting a plethora of food stalls offering traditional Hungarian food. The meat-heavy offerings looked tempting, but I opted for a vegetarian dish: lángos, a fried flatbread, covered in sour cream, cheese, and grilled vegetables. Though extremely difficult to cut with a plastic fork and knife, it was delicious.
As in Prague, I decided to bring home a small souvenir from the market in Budapest. I selected a small, red and black felt change purse from a stall selling goods with traditional designs.
The Budapest Opera
At the recommendation of a former colleague, I bought tickets to the opera. Playing at the time was La Bohème, which I had not seen before. It was perfect. Attending the opera in Hungary is inexpensive by North American standards, and the opera house is ornate, lavishly decorated in gold during the 19th century. I even spotted Michael Ignatieff (former leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and currently rector of the Central European University in Budapest). After the performance, I went to the café for some cake and coffee. The opulent Opera Café was surprisingly empty, suggesting people probably visited before, rather than after, the show. The staff was very friendly and I enjoyed my cake in peace. Thinking I could exit through the opera house, as I had entered, I returned to the empty foyer, pausing a moment to photograph the Christmas tree while no one else was around, and then realizing that I could not get out. The caretaker found me, chastised me in Hungarian for being where I ought not to be (I imagine), unlocked the door and sent me out onto the street. Oops!
Buda Castle Complex
Buda and Pest are actually districts separated by the Danube River. On the Buda side, one can visit the Buda Castle, a complex consisting of various attractions. The first buildings of the castle were completed in 1265 for the Hungarian kings, but much has been added and altered since then.
Fisherman's Bastion and Matthias Church
One of the most popular attractions at Buda Castle is Fisherman’s Bastion. Constructed in a neo-romanesque style, the bastion is a walkway with views across the Danube River from the hilly Buda district. Completed in the late 19th century, the terraces and towers of the bastion offer an impressive panorama of the city in one direction and an optimal point to see Matthias Church on the other side. Matthias Church, a late Gothic construction, has a spectacular, colourful, tiled roof, easily seen from the vantage point of Fisherman’s Bastion.
The Hungarian National Gallery
My next stop at Buda Castle was the Hungarian National Gallery. Established in 1957, the building was once the royal palace, constructed in the mid-18th century in the baroque style. The art gallery houses a spectacular collection of Hungarian art that stretches from the medieval to contemporary periods. It is well worth a visit if you have time.
Strolling Around Budapest
Having visited Prague immediately prior to Budapest, I couldn’t help but compare the two cities. Prague was a city out of a fairy tale. Everywhere you looked in the city centre it was pristine, not a hair out of place. Budapest, in contrast, was real. It was gritty, the air polluted (you can see it in my photographs), and everywhere you looked a brand new building had popped up in a historical district. It wasn’t seamless, it wasn’t perfect, but it was a step back into reality before returning home. If you want the magical fairy tale, go to Prague, but if you prefer grit and reality, go to Budapest.
Despite the harsh contrast between the two cities, I did enjoy my time wandering the streets of Budapest. I came across an outdoor ice skating rink, clearly a popular place to visit during the cooler months. Unlike many European outdoor rinks, this one was enormous, with plenty of space for the masses. The rink was next to the grounds of the elaborate Vajdahunyad Castle, built in 1896 to celebrate 1000 years since the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin. Originally constructed using cardboard and wood to represent various architectural styles in Hungary, it was so popular it was rebuilt in more permanent materials by 1908.
Sadly, Budapest is not without its tragedies, another silent witness to the horrific violence of WWII and the Holocaust. A stroll along the Danube will bring you to a row of iron shoes, scattered along the banks of the river, forever to remind people of the victims, told to remove their shoes, before they were shot and their bodies fell into the river. The monument sent chills up my spine, some of the shoes carefully decorated with flowers for Christmas. Thirty-five hundred people, 800 of whom were Jews, were executed in this fashion by Arrow Cross militiamen, associated with the fascist political party in power in 1944-45. During their reign of terror, the Arrow Cross was also responsible for the deportation of thousands of Jews to concentration camps. Unfortunately, it would seem the dangers of extremist politics have been forgotten, despite these reminders, as Hungary grapples once more with authoritarianism.
Fireworks to Bring in the New Year
On New Year’s Eve I treated myself to a nice dinner at a restaurant along the Danube and then set off into the night. I decided to watch the fireworks across from the Hungarian Parliament near the Széchenyi Bridge. People lined the river bank, the bridge, every available space they could find to bring in the new year. Though the fireworks were unexceptional, the experience of starting a new year somewhere I had never visited before was fantastic. I hope as we work our way to an end to the pandemic I will have this opportunity again. Wishing you a wonderful 2021!!
What year was this? I love both cities.
It was 2016.