unless you’ve admired the elaborate
entrance and intricate sculptures and
gone inside to be awed by the beautiful
stained glass and the sheer majesty of this
structure. Don’t miss.
It was coffee time, so I ambled into a
local cafe and ordered ‘rétes,’ a delicious
thinly layered Hungarian specialty
pastry filled with cream and apple pie
(strudel), and a Hungarian Kava (dark,
strong espresso-like coffee). Now I was
all perked up to go and see the great
Danube. To do this, I had to walk down
Budapest’s most famous street, Vaci
Utca (pronounced utsa, for street). The
beautiful facades and columns on either
side of the narrow streets, jostling for
space with block-style housing from
the Soviet era make this an enchanting
promenade.
As I walked through what seemed to
be the 100th park in Budapest, I suddenly
saw her, the Danube. Dotted with boats
that are actually restaurants that double up
as museums, she flows majestically below
the bridges and unites the cities. Crossing
over to Buda from Pest, on the Lanchid
bridge, I took in the concrete jungles in
Pest that I had left behind and the castles
that beckoned. Photo tip: Pictures from
bridge look better early in the day and
late at night, when the city lights come
on. Take a tripod - Midday shots are the
touristy ones!
44 Travel Secrets March-April 2015
A funicular train up to the Buda
Castle, I was awestruck by the beautiful
views that it accorded at 530m above
the Danube. Walking on old cobbled
pathways, I went back a few hundred
years to kings and horses that must have
visited. ‘You must see the Citadela – the
views there are majestic – take a bus, it’s a
long walk otherwise,’ a fellow tourist said,
as he watched me gaze. He was right –
the sweeping views of the cities and the
Danube, more magnificent statues and
old artillery, and pretty Hungarian dolls
(not what you think) made it well worth
the ride.
As the shadows lengthened, I headed
back to Pest to catch a cruise. Heady
with the champagne served on the boat,
I began to wonder if I would ever cruise
down an Indian river like this. A voice
from a tinny speaker alerted me to the
breathtaking Hungarian parliament, in
which every window seemed to overlook
the Danube - politicians sure have strategic
views here, I thought. A pretty couple
from Canada read out this interesting
snippet from a guidebook: ‘The
Hungarian Parliament’s spire and the St.
Stephens Basiclica’s spire are exactly the
same height, symbolising that church and
rulers were equal.’
Circling back from the Margaret
Island, in the middle of the Danube
between Buda and Pest, we were told