May 28 – 31, 2024
Sorry that it’s taken me over a year to finally get caught up posting about our Viking River Cruise. This is the final post.
We were still sailing the next morning when we awoke. As we neared Budapest, we passed Szilagyi Dezso Square Reformed Church (red church with high spire) with St. Stephen’s Basilica in the background on the Buda side of the river across from Parliment. As we approached our docking location near the Chain Bridge we had great views of the Castle District, the Chain Bridge, and, a bit around the bend from us, Parliment . We docked around 8:30 a.m.
For this morning, we had selected the included Panoramic Budapest tour.
Description: Take in one of Europe’s great cultural capitals and see its iconic sights. Over the last few decades, Budapest has reemerged as one of the continent’s iconic cities, divided by the Danube River and connected by the graceful Chain Bridge. Meet your guide for a panoramic tour, beginning in modern Pest. Along the elegant Andrássy Avenue, admire the National Opera House. Pass Heroes’ Square, a spacious plaza of monuments and statues commemorating the Magyar state. Across the river, explore the more traditional Buda side of the city. Here, visit the Castle District with its massive hilltop castle complex, the turreted Fisherman’s Bastion and Matthias Church. From the heights of Buda Hill, take in views of the famous Chain Bridge. Afterward, enjoy free time to explore the enchanting Buda Hill Castle area at your leisure, before returning to your ship.
We left the ship after breakfast and boarded our bus for the tour. The bus drove down a beautiful tree-lined street past the Hungarian State Opera to Heroes’ Square where it did a couple of circuits. Then it crossed the Széchenyi Chain Bridge to the Castle District on the Buda side. There, we exited the bus and followed our guide further up the hill to the Fisherman’s Bastion and Matthias Church.
One of the first stops was at the Memorial to the Freedom Fighters who fought a war of independence with Austria in 1848-49. This revolution sought to throw off the Austrian rule but was defeated by the combined forces of Imperial (Hapsburg Dynasty) Austria and Russia.
Walking further up the hill, we arrived at the Fisherman’s Bastion (Halászbástya) which was built between 1895 and 1902 to celebrate the 1000th birthday of the Hungarian state.
The Bastion was inspired by the architectural style of the early medieval times (Neo-Romanesque) approx. the year 1000, when the first Hungarian king started his rule. The 7 turrets represent the 7 Hungarian tribes in confederation who set up their Magyar home in present day Hungary in 895. According to legend, the Bastion was protected by the guild of the fishermen during the Middle Ages – hence the name.
Fisherman’s Bastion
The porticos along the wall of Fisherman’s Bastion provide some great views of the city below.
Between the Bastion and Matthias Church is the statue of Stephen I of Hungary – the last grand prince of the Hungarians between 997 and 1000 or 1001, and the first king of Hungary from 1000 or 1001 until his death in 1038.
After spending some time enjoying the view from the Bastion, we made our way into the Church.
Matthias Church is unlike many of the typical churches dating back to the Middle Ages. The church was used as a coronation church by Hungarian kings for centuries, also a mosque for over 150 years by the Ottoman Turks, once owned by Franciscans, Jesuits, now a thriving Catholic church with holy masses, concerts, plenty of weddings, thousands of tourists. The graceful architecture and stunningly rich, all embracing wall paintings of the majestic building will leave you speechless.
While the outside of Matthias Church offers the historical beauty of traditional Gothic churches with delicate turrets, the coloured tile roofs already give away that this church is not following the usual recipe: entering inside the church you will experience one of the most welcoming combinations of warm lights, shadows and colours with orange, brown, golden hewed frescos reaching from floor to ceiling, beautiful stain glass windows, far reaching arches, century old wooden pews, medieval remnants.
Matthias Church
The Black Madonna is a copy of the Loreto Madonna. In 1541 the Turks occupied Buda and turned the Church of Our Lady into a mosque.The faithful credit the Black Madonna with the miraculous recapture of Budapest by the united Christian army in 1686. According to legend, when the Turks put Buda castle under siege, people walled in the statue inside its niche so the invaders wouldn’t find it. During the recapture in 1686 an explosion demolished the walls around the statue revealing the Virgin’s shining face. The Turks took this as a bad omen and gave up this part of the castle without a fight.
Black Madonna
Near the church was another ornate building – the Volt Magyar Királyi Pénzügyminisztérium containing regional government offices.
After some free time to explore the Church and surrounding area, we made our way back to our drop-off point to wait for the bus to return. As we waited, we had the opportunity to compare note with others from the ship who were assigned other busses. We discovered that some of the other busses had stopped at the Parliament Building to view the Changing of the Guard. Not ours though.
Soon our bus arrived and we boarded for the trip back to the ship. I have to say that Bill and I were a bit disappointed in our bus tour. The guide was a bit difficult to understand and we didn’t find her engaging. Additionally, we sat on the right side of the bus and most of the sites were on the left side. Our bad.
After lunch, as we sat in our cabin wondering how we could spend an afternoon in Budapest, Bill came up with a plan. He discovered that if we left immediately, we might be able to make a 3 p.m. tour of the Opera House. So off we went. When we arrived (after a 20 minute walk), we discovered that there were no tickets available for that day but they did have availability for Thursday, May 30. Thinking that Betty and Linda would enjoy the tour, we bought 4 tickets for that day.
Leaving the Opera House, we elected to keep walking down the tree-lined Andrássy Avenue (the Champs-Élysée of Budapest as our guide from the morning had described it). Eventually we ended up at Heroes’ Square with unobstructed views (no bus windows this time).
Hősök tere (Heroes’ Square) is one of the main squares in Budapest. It houses one of the city’s iconic symbols, the Millennium Memorial, which includes the seven chieftains of the Magyar tribes that founded Hungary and other important heads of state. In between the statues is a large column crowned by Archangel Gabriel.
Heroes’ Square
From Heroes’ Square we made our way to nearby Vajdahunyad Castle.
The Castle is an eclectic collage of multiple landmark buildings from different parts of the Kingdom of Hungary, especially the Hunyad Castle in Hunedoara, Romania (considered by some a source of inspiration for Castle Dracula in Bram Stoker’s 1897 horror novel Dracula). As the castle contains parts of buildings from various time periods, it displays different architectural styles: Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque.
The castle was designed by Ignác Alpár and built in 1896 as part of the Millennial Exhibition, which celebrated the 1,000 years of Hungary since the Hungarian Conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895. Originally, it was made from cardboard and wood, but it became so popular that it was rebuilt from stone and brick between 1904 and 1908. Today, the castle houses the Museum of Hungarian Agriculture, the biggest agricultural museum in Europe.
Wikipedia
We had been told by our bus tour guide that a bronze statue of Dracula crafted by Mihály Kolodko had mysteriously appeared one night on the grounds of castle. The statue pays tribute to Hungarian actor Béla Lugosi, who famously played Dracula in the 1931 film. We had to find it! And we did!
Now we had a dilemma. Do we head back to the ship or continue exploring? Our guide on the morning bus tour had mentioned the New York Cafe and how beautiful it was. She said that her grandparents had loved going there but that during WWII, the Nazis had used it for storage as they couldn’t have anyone enjoying a place named New York. Since then it has been restored to its former beauty. Intrigued, we decided to go there for a snack, even though it was about a 30 minute walk away.
At the turn of the 20th century the New York Café (New York Kávéház) was the most beautiful and the most beloved coffee house in Budapest. It was a popular place among writers and editors, in fact, the most influential newspapers were edited here, upstairs in the gallery. After World War II, the once famous café fell into disrepair and it served as a sporting goods shop. Although the café reopened in 1954, under the name of Hungária, it wasn’t until 2006 that the New York Café was restored to its original splendour.
Today, the New York Palace, built in eclectic Italian Renaissance-style and opened on October 23rd 1894, gives home to the New York Palace. The café, along with a restaurant and the Nyugat-bar are now part of the hotel. The menu recalls the multicultural cuisine of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Classic dishes like Beef Goulash, Fishermen Soup, Chicken Leg Paprikash-style, Wiener Schnitzel and Grilled Foie Gras are served along with famous desserts such as Dobos, Sacher and Eszterházy cake.
New York Cafe
We started with the Hungarian Cheese Plate and wine while enjoying the pianist. As we were really enjoying the place, we decided to have an early dinner. I had the Beef goulash soup (different that Austrian goulash in that it has vegetables) and Bill had the Chicken “paprikas” with spatzle noodle.
From the New York Cafe we walked back to the ship (another 30 minute walk). On our way we passed the Great Synagogue of Budapest, the second largest synagogue in the world, after the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem.
Altogether we walked around 9 miles. Needless to say, we were a bit tired by the time we made it back.
Unfortunately this was our last day of the cruise. That meant that we had to pack everything so that we could place our luggage outside our door for pickup later that evening. Never a fun ending. Once we were done with that chore, we went up to the Sun Deck for some evening views of the beautiful city.
The next morning after breakfast we gathered with our friends for one last photo prior to disembarking. The four of us had 2 more days in Budapest but our new friends Lilly and Leo were heading home.
When our disembarkation time came, the four of us were loaded into a taxi for our transfer to our hotel – the Four Seasons. The transfer took about 5 minutes.
Four Seasons Gresham Palace
Located in the heart of Budapest, our luxury art nouveau palace Hotel – the only Forbes Five-Star hotel in Hungary – embodies the spirit of Budapest’s Golden Era glam. From the moment you enter the iconic wrought iron peacock gates, pass through the lobby adorned with more than two million mosaic tiles illuminated with its striking chandelier, and let inspiration wash over you. Outside, views of the Danube and the picturesque Buda skyline stand before you. Spend the day exploring the sights, recharge in our Spa that harnesses the city’s heritage in wellness, then enjoy an innovative cocktail at our lobby bar MÚZSA.
Four Seasons
We were met by our Viking Representative Monika who gave us a warm welcome. She proceeded to give us a walking tour of the surrounding area. Our first stop was at the Little Princess Statue.
The original 50 cm statuette of the Little Princess Statue sitting on the railings of the Danube promenade in Budapest was created by László Marton (1925–2008) Munkácsy- and Kossuth Prize-winning sculptor in 1972.
The artist was inspired by his eldest daughter born from his first marriage. She often played in the Tabán wearing a princess costume and a crown made out of newspaper by her father, and at home as well, pretending her bathrobes were a mantle. This image prompted her father, the artist in the creation of this little statue. A larger size copy of this statue was placed on the Danube promenade in 1990.
Wikipedia
Other sites along our walk included a beautifully landscaped park, Jozsef Nador Ter, with a colorful fountain and the St. Stephen’s Basilica. The Basilica was originally supposed to be named after Saint Leopold, the patron saint of Austria, but was later changed to honour Saint Stephen I of Hungary, whose mummified right hand is housed in a reliquary. Nope, we didn’t go inside.
Our final stop was at Monika’s favorite cafe (Café Gerbeaud) where she had us try some pastries and beverages. What a hostess!!
Following our walking tour, we spent some time unpacking and settling into our rooms. Later that afternoon we went to the Central Market.
Situated at the southern end of Váci Street, Budapest’s Central Market Hall (Nagyvásárcsarnok) is a vibrant hub of commerce and culture. Known for its lively atmosphere and rich selection of products, it is a must-visit destination for those seeking an authentic Hungarian shopping experience.
Completed in 1897, this magnificent structure stands as the largest and oldest indoor market in the Hungarian capital. Designed by Samu Pecz, the hall showcases a neo-Gothic design complemented by an eye-catching roof covered in colorful Zsolnay ceramic tiles. The interior boasts a vast iron framework supporting high ceilings, creating a bright and spacious setting perfect for browsing the countless stalls.
Central Market
We really didn’t enjoy our visit to the Central Market as it was extremely hot and crowded. We bailed on the experience and made our way back to the hotel.
Along the way Bill said he found his twin – the Fat Policeman. Also known as Uncle Karl, the bronze copper keeps a watchful eye on St. Stephen’s Basilica while people rub his lucky belly.
For dinner that evening, we decided to try the Urban Betyár – a restaurant that Monika had recommended.
Your one stop Hungarian heritage & dining experience in the heart of Budapest. The Urban Betyár offers an extraordinary atmosphere with Hungarian and international cuisine. With the capacity to welcome up to 270 people, it has a truly unique á la carte area, 4 event rooms and an ethnographic museum below the restaurant.
Urban Betyár
How can you go wrong with
- Butter Selection
- Roasted Cauliflower
- Beef tenderloin Stroganoff
- Chicken paprikás
Also that evening, we had reservations for a night wine cruise on the Danube with Legenda to view the city at night. The cruise was fun, the scenery gorgeous, but the wine not so much.
The next morning we had a leisurely breakfast followed by some independent sightseeing. Betty and Linda walked around the Parliament Building and looked at the “shoes”. Bill and I set out on foot. We walked across the Chain Bridge and watched the funicular up to the Castle District.
Then we decided to ride the trolley to Margaret Island but ran out of time. So we stayed aboard the trolley and returned to the hotel.
That afternoon we had tickets to tour the Hungarian Opera Building.
It is a richly decorated building and is considered one of the architect’s masterpieces. It was built in neo-Renaissance style, with elements of Baroque. Ornamentation includes paintings and sculptures by leading figures of Hungarian art including Bertalan Székely, Mór Than and Károly Lotz. Although in size and capacity it is not among the greatest, in beauty and the quality of acoustics the Budapest Opera House is considered to be amongst the finest opera houses in the world.
The auditorium holds 1,261 people. It is horseshoe-shaped and – according to measurements done in the 1970s by a group of international engineers – has the third best acoustics in Europe after La Scala in Milan and the Palais Garnier in Paris.
Wikipedia
Then we took a cab up to the Hilton Hotel in the Castle District where we had reservations at the White Raven Sky Bar. The view was fantastic! Highly recommended!
From the Sky Bar we made our way through the Hilton Hotel to the under ground Labyrinth.
The Labyrinth or Cave system is one of the most visited and loved attractions under the Buda Castle Hill. It is part of a huge network of underground caves and tunnels in the Buda Castle District in one of the oldest parts of Budapest city, and, since 1987 has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage. The present maze with its reinforced concrete walls was originally created as cellars and bomb shelters.
Labyrinth
Our destination in the Labyrinth was the Faust Wine Cellar where we had reservations for a wine tasting. The Cellar is very small with only 4 tables so reservations are required. The proprietor offers a choice of tasting but everyone at the table has to agree on which tasting. We chose the 7 drink premium selection and added chocolates. The proprietor instructed us on which chocolate to have with which wine. Fun!
Then it was back to the hotel to prepare for our flight home the next day. Since we really hadn’t had anything substantial to eat, Bill and I ordered a snack from room service while Betty and Linda ate in the hotel restaurant.
Hotel check out at 8 a.m. and airport transport at 8:15. We flew from Budapest to Frankfurt. Our plane landed quite some distance out from the terminal so we were bussed around the terminal for about 20 minutes until we could enter. There a Viking representative met us and told us we had two options to get to our connecting flight. We chose the shorter option that unfortunately forced us to go through customs again. We barely had enough time to make the connection. From Frankfurt we flew directly to Ft. Myers on a mostly empty flight. Looooong Day!
