How often do you get to the end of your holiday and realise you haven’t done everything you wanted to do or see?

This time it hasn’t happened to us. We allowed 6 days in Budapest so we could enjoy everything and not feel rushed. After the swim trek last week in Croatia( if you haven’t read about it please go back on the blog. ) we wanted to relax and enjoy this lovely city.

After our very good dinner last night at Bock Bistro we started slowly and had coffee at the little coffee place next to our apartment.

This area has proved to be a really good place to stay. We like the area of Nyagassy St and the public transport options nearby.

This morning we walked to the markets. All the great European cities have their markets. Here they don’t seem to have more local markets like in France or Italy – they do have lots of little fruit shops around the streets.

The central market is housed in a large high ceiling hanger type building. Very grand from the outside and vast and spacious inside. The aisles are wide and the ground floor has lots of meat stalls with big fat Hungarian sausages hanging and cabinets displaying chicken, pork, veal but not much beef.

The fruit areas are bursting with colour. It’s summer berry season and they are everywhere.

Upstairs there are souvenir stalls with lots of embroidered peasant style blouses. Some very pretty.

Then there are the food stalls. Running the length of one side they are like food trucks with high bench tables. The food looks good so we decide to return after our visit to the National Museum which is nearby.

Once again the size of the Museum is impressive. We toured it starting with Hungary’s history which involved a lot of fighting! This country had others coming at them from all sides. It’s amazing they survived and have developed as strongly as they have done.

The rooms of the Museum are lovely, richly painted, domed ceilings in the central areas and guards who don’t seem to take any notice of visitors as they tap away on their mobile phones!

After a lovely casual market lunch we took the tram 6 and to Buda, across the city. We wanted to take a cog tram up the side of the hill overlooking Buda. Fascinating ride up a very steep hill. There is a carriage especially for bike riders with a rack to store bikes. It’s just so steep!

We got to the top and took a walk. There were lots of trees around so we walked through and found a small train offering a ride through the forest. What was special was that it was completely manned by children.

They were so cute in their little uniforms. There were six stops along the 50 min ride with passengers getting off and on and buying tickets.

They were saluted at each stop.

Such a great ride.

We made our way home to pack and head out to the waterpolo couresty of Rob’s friend Pietro who is captain of the Italian waterpolo team.

They were playing Aus. It was a good game but not the result Australia wanted. Though the Hungarians supported Aus. They don’t like Italy!

Locky Hollis in the Australian team. You may remember him for the Support Rob and Locky campaign. He played so well.

Not a bad way to spend our last hours in Budapest. Surrounded by cheering Hungarians.

And as this looks like being the last blog on this trip, it remains for Frannie’s editor to say what a fantastic observer and author she has become; and also what super swimmer – only a couple of years from “first strokes” to playing with the big kids. Well Done Frannie my travel buddy!

Sometimes it’s better to take a tour than to wander around trying to read non-existent English captions.

We’ve found here in Budapest they like to keep you in groups and guide you around.

So that’s how we visited the Dohany Jewish Synagogue.

It’s the 2nd largest in the world and is beautiful. Our guide was great – a mix of good humour and wealth of knowledge.

Its domed roof has a hint of Moorish architecture and some think it’s a mosque. There are also some lovely rose windows.

Within the grounds there is a lovely memorial garden and a sculpture of a willow tree. Each of the weeping leaves has the name of a Jewish person who died in the holocaust. It’s very moving.

Then we attempted to go to the Terror Museum by bus but were hampered by the police blocking off roads and changing bus routes. So we had lunch and walked to the Opera House for a tour.

As you can see there was a lot of work going on inside the main theatre. The poor guides moving around with different language groups had to speak up when we were seated in the theatre itself. It’s being prepared for a function for the FINA World Water Sports. Not an indoor pool we hope!

There were many other areas to visit and it is truly beautiful.

We’d love to go to an Opera performance so were quite pleased when we were asked to sit on the steps of the grand staircase and were treated to two arias.

After the tour concluded we attempted again to get to the Terror  Museum. This time the metro was closed as well as the bus missing! We believe Prime Minister Netanyahu is in town and moving him around requires huge numbers of Police,  helicopters continually buzzing overhead, and closed roads, and missing public transport!

So home we headed to rest up before going to St Stephen’s Cathedral tonight for an organ concert.

Not before Steve had a little sit down with a new friend. The sculptures here are great. This was was outside a theatre and was a writer.

A big city throws up challenges and one of them is sorting the public transport. As much as we love walking, the distances can be a killer. So we dutifully studied the maps and used some guides which suggested which buses , trolleys buses, trams and metro ran near the sights we want to visit. We also bought a 5 day travel pass. It just means we can travel on any means of transport as many times as we like. This is good for a new big city.

I’m also good at asking one of the visitor helpers or even the Police for help. In doing so we got across the river and up to the Palace in good time before the crowds. We saw the “informal changing of the guard”. Not quite Buckingham Palace but very good.

Then walked along in front of the rather huge Palace. It’s slowly being restored after earthquakes and bombing from the war and the views back across the river to Pest are wonderful.

We stopped for coffee with a view. This is how we manage to keep going all day. We have little breaks.

My rather bad attempt at a timed selfie!

We then  made it to St Matthias. A beautiful church which appears to be so huge outside but is more intimate inside. It’s heavily painted inside and has lovely ceramic tiles on the roof which had to be replaced after WW2. It was inside that we found out more about the crowning of Austrian Franz Josef as King and his beautiful wife Elizabeth as his Queen. The story is well told in the museum adjoining the church.   It was here I looked up and down.

We walked along the wall called The Fishermens’ Bastion. It’s stunning with it turreted towers and beautifully restored stone work.

Beautifully restored Fishermens’ Bastion.

Then it was time for lunch sitting under  jaunty red umbrellas in a Parisian style cafe.

Steve was keen to go to the Hospital in the Rock. What a story. We had Timi as our guide and heard the story of the caves under the Palace Hill and how they were hollowed and used  as a Red Cross hospital during the war. Such great displays in the labyrinth of tunnels. They were also set up for a nuclear bomb in the 1950’s. The story touched on the bombs dropped on Japan during WW2 and how now we should understand the devastation this brings, and so – “No War”.

By now we had walked all around the hilltop known as Buda, so returned by bus to the river to visit our first of the Spas. Budapest is known as The City of Spas so we felt we had to start checking them out.

The baths of Budapest date back to the first century. Both Romans and Turkish influences can be seen. In the late 19th century the artisan wells were drilled to provide the thermal waters. So now Budapest boasts about having the largest number of spa thermal pools in Europe.

So we entered the St Gellert Thermal pools and went through the process of preparing our bodies for the variety of spas available! There are 4 outdoor thermal pools, several indoor spas and pools, an activity pool and various corridors of lockers and cabins and treatment rooms. It’s huge. And swimming costumes are required, so I wasn’t facing nude day like when I was in Baden Baden in Germany a few years ago!

We said goodbye to each other as we headed into the change rooms with our plastic wrist watch with a tag to be able to access a locker. Then it’s into the swimmers , have a shower and meet up again outside. It was quite crowded with people. Unfortunately I don’t have many  pictures. I had to leave my camera in the locker as I didn’t trust myself not to lose it outside.

These three I took of posters on the wall! It’s so over the top. We have nothing like it in Australia.

Our first pool was 36′ and we slipped in and found a step. It was wall to wall sitters. All in state of relaxation. We sat under a rather forceful shower which hammered at our necks and after awhile it proved to be relaxing. Then we took to the cool pool at 26′ so felt quite refreshed. Then we went to the indoor pools and wallowed a little more. We’d forgotten our bathing caps so couldn’t enter the ‘swimming pool’!

So for about 2 hours we relaxed and enjoyed and finished with a shower before returning to our apartment relaxed.

I’d recommend it ! And we’re doing it all again at another spa on Wednesday.

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