A Day in Buda

It was another cold day but it was sunny; at least once the rain stopped. Since I wasn’t interested in going out in the cold while it was raining, I had a late breakfast and hung out in my room until about 1000 when the sun came out.

I walked to the river and crossed the Chain Bridge to the Buda side. As I crossed the bridge I could really feel the wind and it made a cold day even colder but the view was beautiful.

Since I had no desire to walk up who knows how many stairs to get to the top of Buda hill, I got in line for the funicular. I could have taken the bus for free but what the heck, I thought the funicular would be more fun. It took about 30 minutes to get my ticket and the ride was about 90 seconds long.

Once on the top, there was an overlook with a beautiful view of Pest.

I followed the crowd away from the funicular to the main street and headed toward Matthias Church. The outside of the church is prettier than the Basilica, which rather plain. The official name is the Church of the Assumption of the Buda Castle.

The inside, though, was much less ornate than the Basilica.

The pulpit is much less ornate than the heavily carved ones I’ve seen in other churches in Europe, but it’s still beautiful in its simplicity.

Back outside, I walked across the courtyard to Fisherman’s Bastion. It is a UNESCO world heritage site and has amazing views from the terraces.

Then it was time for my daily hot chocolate and a little snack so I popped into this adorable cafe.

Then it was time to head back to the funicular and the short ride down the hill. I was tired and cold so instead of walking back across the river, I hopped on the #16 bus. Actually, it was more like I held on for dear life. There was just enough room for me to get on the bus, but barely enough for the driver to close the door behind me. When he opened the door at the next stop, I practically fell out. Luckily, there was a small handle to hold on to so catastrophe was averted. Enough people got out so I was able to get myself deeper into the bus until my stop. Then it was on the Metro #1 and home to my warm, cozy room.

After a short nap, I headed back out to the Christmas market but not before we had a little excitement. As I was putting on my shoes, the fire alarm went off but it stopped after just a few seconds. When I went downstairs to get directions to the market, I asked about it. Apparently a woman on the 5th floor took a super hot, super long shower and the steam set off the fire alarm. Of course, the alarm shut down the elevator so the desk clerk had to run up 6 flights of stairs (counting starts at ground floor) to make sure everything was ok. It was, excitement over.

The market I went to today is at the end of the #1 Metro, only 4 stops from my hotel. It is a small market, so it seemed much more crowded as people were in a much smaller space. My first stop was dinner as I wanted to be able to walk it off before I came home. While there were plenty of giant sausages, there were different choices than I saw last night.

I saw someone eating a giant dumpling with gravy and someone else with chicken and gravy over spätzle. I opted for beef and gravy (noticing a gravy pattern?) over a potato pancake. I saw someone eating one and asked about it. She told me the name, but of course I don’t remember. It’s a very traditional Hungarian dish.

Then I strolled the market. These booths had more handicrafts than the market at the Basilica.

The vendor told me that he and his family started doing these to keep busy during Covid. Now they make them full time. They’re beautiful and very unique.

I saw quite a bit of jewelry, but once again, I resisted.

And let’s not forget the sweet treats. The chimney cakes are very popular. You can see the molds on the wall. These form the cake shape, then the inside is coated in whatever you’ve ordered. This one Nutella.

This is one of the treats I bought yesterday. It’s a traditional Hungarian Jewish cake called Flodni with four layers of fillings. From the bottom it has poppy seed, walnut, apple and plum jam.

The market wasn’t quite as decorated as yesterday, but it was still pretty.

The street I walked yesterday was adjacent to the market and is beautifully lit.

Since the market isn’t very big, I was done walking around in just about an hour. The metro entrance is right in the square so once I decided to leave I was off the train at my stop in less than 10 minutes; much easier than last night when I couldn’t find the station.

Tomorrow I have a 7:30am train to Bratislava so I’ll leave the hotel around 6:45. The station is only a 15-minute walk or 1 tram stop away but I prefer to leave early in case I have trouble finding it. I’ll miss breakfast, so they’re going to put together a food box for me. It’s about a 2 1/2 hour train ride so I’ll have plenty of time to relax and eat my breakfast. I’ve never been to Bratislava so I’m excited to add a new city/country to my list. I’ll report in tomorrow night. Have a great weekend everyone.