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So I sit here on my bed looking out the window at the beautiful view we have of Budapest lit up at night. Our hotel is on the Danube river on the Buda side below the castle but with a wonderful view of Parliament on the Pest side of the river along with other grand buildings and also the Chain bridge. Will have to try and take some good photos tomorrow night.
We made our train on time this morning and said goodbye to Vienna. Arrived in Budapest around 10am and by the time we sorted out money and bought tickets for the public transport system and got ourselves to our hotel it was about 11am. When we first stepped out of the metro system at our last stop, our first view was pretty much Parliament on the other side of the river. The sun was also out today which made for great sightseeing, although still chilly. At our hotel, our room wasn't ready but we left our bags and headed out to explore.
As we arrived at the Parliament building, there some type of changing of the guard or something. Only caught the end of it, so unsure what it was about. Considering this building was only built in the late 1800's, it is pretty spectacular. Puts Australia parliament to shame and it was built 100 years later. We decided to do the tour inside. What another surprise. The main staircase was a WOW factor and the domed hall holds the Crown of St Stephan which is guarded by 2 members of the Hungary military. We were then shown where members of parliament would sit outside the chambers and have a smoke and chat. They had cigar rests that they could leave their cigars on if they needed to re-enter the chamber. We were shown the Congress Hall which is no longer used by politicians but for other special occasions. Tour wasn't cheap, about $20 each but very interesting and worth it because it definitely wasn't what I was expecting.
We walked on to the Basilica of St Stephen. On the way we passed the American embassy, a couple of buildings housing National banks which were very ornate and a memorial we think to the Jewish holocaust as there were lots of items that had been left there and a few of the words we recognised. Outside the Basilica was a small Christmas market with lots of different foods to what we have seen previously. Will have to check out those selections later.
In the Basilica we went up the elevator to one of the towers for a spectacular view over Budapest. Sun was about to go down but what a view. We then visited the Treasury which had lots of different items, some to a Bishop who served here but was then jailed and ended up spending about 15years (I think) in the US Embassy for safe haven. Will have to check those details.
The Basilica is famous as it houses the mummified hand of St Stephen. It is housed in a dark corner and you can put money in a box for the light to come on for 2mins. Churches seem to be getting more and more commercialised. We also paid to go up the tower and into the treasury. I guess if tourists are going to pay it, they will take it.
By the time we came out, it was dark and the lights were shining. We had a look around the markets and tried some fresh potato chips (crisps). We were about to leave when the music got loud and a light show started on the front of the Basilica's walls. Went for a few minutes and was lovely to watch. Hopefully will be able to upload the video.
We then jumped on the metro system again and headed to Gellart Baths to see times and prices. We were aiming to come here tonight but time got away from us and we were both tired. We will definitely be in those waters tomorrow though. We then caught our first tram back to the hotel and finally made it to our room and got to see our view which is pretty spectacular. We did book the hotel knowing this is what we should see.
Went to a local restaurant for dinner and I tried Goulash for the first time. Pretty much like a beef soup with potato and carrot in. Mum still not feeling 100% had a local twist on a beef burger. She did get to have a drink of dessert wine which she was very happy about. The place we ate at is popular for it's beer..I've never seen so much choice of beer in one place. Shame I don't drink the stuff.
Glad that tomorrow we don't have to set the alarm and we will wait and see what the day brings. The weather is meant to be getting warmer which means definitely no snow on the horizon!!
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