Saturday May 2012, woke up to a bright sunny dawn felt good until I realised this was the last day of our River Cruise down the Danube. Today we would spend time in Budapest, the Capitol of Hungary. Last night’s arrival was still in my mind. How would the bridges, castle and palace look in daylight. Would the city live up to our expectations? on one way to find out, breakfast then explore. it promised to be a very warm day.
As usual we would have a local guide 
with us who would tell us about the sites we would see and the history behind them. First stop was the Chain Bridge, that is not its proper name. It was named after a supporter István Széchenyi, who was fundamental in getting the bridge built. Designed by an English engineer William Tierney Clark the building was supervised by Scottish Adam Clark. Our guide told us that as the bridge was being completed the Hungarian revolution of 1848-49 began and the bridge was threatened with destruction. It was thanks to Adam Clark that this was prevented. At the Buda end there is a square named after Adam Clarke, the Pest side has been renamed after Istvan Szechenhi and was formerly Roosevelt Square.
As we crossed the bridge from Pest (pronounced Peh-ched and not P-est) over the oldest bridge to Adam Clark Square we got a close look at our transport up to the Buda Castle District, The Budapest Castle Hill Funicular, this would save as considerable time as it was a long walk to the Castle, Place area. The funicular is operated on the principle that as one goes down the other comes up. One gets a good view from the carriage as it goes up/down. There is a better view when you get to the top. We were fortunate in our timing as we arrived just in time to see the changing of the Presidents Guard at the Alexander Place next to the Royal Place. 
Unlike the pomp and ceremony of London’s changing of the Guard the Hungarian ceremony is more restrained. After the ceremony we made our way to Trinity Square, where the redundant old Buda City Hall and the Trinity Column can be seen next to the Matthias Church or to give it its proper name the Church of Our Lady.
As we turned right into a courtyard we saw the magnificent Fishermen’s Bastion with the statue of King Stephen 1 of Hungary.
On the Statue Stephen is carrying the Apolostic Cross and wearing the Holy Crown of Hungary. The guide related to us that even today parliament and Government is carried out on behalf of the crown. Extract from Wikipedia “Without a living heir, on his deathbed, King St. Istvan raised with his right hand the Holy Crown of Hungary, and prayed to the Blessed Virgin Mary, asking her to take the Hungarian people as her subjects and become their queen“. Although we did not see it – the King’s Holy Right hand may be seen , again from Wikipedia “The king’s right hand, known as the Holy Right, is kept as a relic. Hungarians interpreted the incorruptibility of his right arm and hand – with which he had held the Holy Crown aloft from his deathbed when asking Virgin Mary to be the Queen of the Hungarians – as a sign that the Blessed Virgin Mary had accepted the king’s offer to her of the Hungarian people, and she remains officially their queen. The incorrupt arm was divided among European royalty, but the Holy Right of King Saint Stephen was placed in a town built solely for the purpose of keeping it, the town in Transylvania called “Szent Jobb”, or Holy Right. Later, the Holy Right was transferred to where it is today, the Basilica of King Saint Stephen in Budapest. Apart from the Holy Right, only some bone fragments remain, which are kept in churches throughout Hungary. Hungarian Catholics honor the first king of their country with annual processions, at which the Holy Right is exhibited.”
Behind the statue is the wall of the Fishermen’s Bastion restored 1947/48 after considerable damaged during World War 2. you pay to walk along the wall, and ii is well worth the fee. The wall’s name is due to the fact that in the middle ages this position of the city wall would have been defended by the Guild of Fishermen. The view from the wall is superb as can been seen on the following picture of the Pest side of the river with Margaret’s Island in the middle of the Danube.
We made our way back to the Pest side of the Danube and explored the marklets and shops before returning to the ship for our lunch. After lunch Susan and I took the “Big Bus” trip around Budapest this proved to be a 2 and a half hour trip on the open deck of a double-decker bus in 31 degrees celsius, we must be mad. I’m saddened to say that there was too much to take in and I got brain overload. Either that, or I suffered heat stroke. Among the sites we saw were:
Hero’s Square
Millenium Metro
Pictures from our trip around Budapest can be seen here
I would like to go back to Budapest, in fact I would like to go back to Vienna as well. One day was not enough to really visit this historic city. There is so much to see that I have not mentioned or even photographed (due to restrictions). This link will tell you a little of the history and sites, alas it will not give you the flavour of sitting outside a cafe enjoying a beer and feeling the vibrance of all around you, the people, noise and bustle of an elder European city being revitalised with new challenges and new life.
