We had the same tour guide that we had the day before! Lazslo was really good, and we enjoyed yesterday’s tour, so we were happy to see him again. This time, we think there were more than forty people on the tour though, so it was a little too busy for our liking. But we still enjoyed the stories he told so it was a worthwhile couple of hours that we spent wandering around.
Sorry, another view of Matthias Church. This time with a blue sky. Couldn't help myself!
Statue of King Stephen, the first king of Hungary.
Our tour group.
Not often you get to see a photo of the Buda side where people live. It's typically a little more expensive to live on this side of the river.
After the tour, Ruth and I went back to Matthias Church because we wanted to see the interior. It’s a little pricey, at 1,800 forints ($8.10) for the two of us, but we had been told that it was fantastic. We ended up with mixed feeling. On the down side, there was still a lot of interior renovation going on, and the ticket sellers should have told us that it wasn’t up to standards. So we were a little disappointed with that. On the other hand, it was interesting seeing the renovation work being done.
Under renovation.
It was interesting seeing the work being done.
Much of the castle district was damaged during WW II and then rebuilt, but also, a lot of it wasn’t rebuilt. They had begun excavation several years ago on an area behind the main palace but it was stopped for whatever reason and now it looks like the area remains in limbo until somebody decides what to do with it. They had a bit of a display showing some of the buildings before and after the war.
Ruins of the castle district.
More ruins.
We just happened to be at the right place and the right time for the 2:00pm changing of the guard.
Part of the castle.
And then it was time to start heading back to the hotel to collect our bags. We had vacated the room in the morning and they had put our bags into the holding room for us to get later on. We said goodbye to our hosts at the Casati Budapest Hotel, and made our way to the airport. We had to take the metro subway from downtown to the last stop on the line, and then a bus to the airport. Total time from downtown was almost an hour. We thought that was a pretty fast considering it’s a city of 1.7 million people!
Our flight went well (more about that in another post) and we arrived in Manchester, England at around 10:30pm. Our train to Hereford doesn’t leave here until around 7:00am and we couldn’t justify the cost of a hotel just for a few hours of sleep, so we are set up on one of the benches in the airport for the night. Did you know that there is a website for finding the best spot in an airport for passing the night?
We thoroughly enjoyed this part of your trip - learned so much - beautiful blue Danube we'll miss you! Thanks for the "sleepinginairports" website - passed it on to several friends and relatives - interesting stuff!
ReplyDeleteSure wish there was info on sleeping in airports back when I was a student. Spent two uncomfortable night in Schiphol trying to get on a flight to Toronto. This was when there was such a thing as "stand-by".
ReplyDeleteOf course, that was in June of '79, so I could sleep just about anywhere. Just about.
I think when we were young we could just about sleep anywhere including a car! The internet is such an amazing tool.
DeleteCome back and visit us again...........wish I could answer your questions about the renovations by the castle....but I try hard to stay only in Pest...You wrote it is more expensive to live in Buda, but really not quite true....it is more of the "suburban" feel that people raising kids like....but Pest in the heart of the V and VI district has quite amazing and expensive flats, however is not necessarily a place for children to be able to run free. So I would say......both sides of the river have expensive and cheap places to live...just depends on what you are looking for. I live in Pest because I do not want a car, nor do I wish to take a long time to get to shops, markets, cafe's, etc....so I am one who pays the high price to be steps from all of it. If I was raising a young child....I would be in Buda. If you come back....look me up on facebook, and I will take you around and show you non tourist sites in Pest.....and I for one would like to meet you both. Please keep on blogging...you two are awesome!!!
ReplyDeleteWe would love to come back one day. We never got the chance to explore more of Hungary so we need to do that and when we do we will return to see more of the city that we didn't get to see this time around. I agree with you about the Pest side being close to everything and the Buda side being for families. Also noticed that the Buda side is a little quieter with less traffic. You should have connected us, we would loved to have met up with you. Please keep in touch, maybe we will met somewhere down the road.
DeleteLove the website, more helpful as we have often slept in airports before an early morning flight - or not slept as some of them have regular announcements and bad seating!
ReplyDeleteYou guys are an inspiration! Have fun and be safe.
ReplyDeleteI now know a lot more about Budapest:)
ReplyDeleteBudapest looks amazing. Loved your photos of Matthias Church. Thanks for the tip for sleeping in airports. Hubby and I have often spoken of this, given many early morning flights.
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