Having checked in, we returned to the car and John drove us the 15 minutes to the car rental. Sandra had done us proud on our triangular tour of south-central Europe. Checking out was smooth, so we were able to return to the apartment in no time for a shower and refresh.
We had made plans to meet our new friend Môr, whom we met in Luton airport. Luckily, he lived nearby, so we met him at a small bar with outside seats in a small square around the corner from our apartment in the Palace District. We had a good chat about where he lived in Budapest, where was good to visit, and what he was doing in the UK. After a couple of beers over an hour and a half, we parted, and agreed to meet up in London.
Nearby was an impressive, neo-classical building that housed the national Museum, and onwards we walked to the old Jewish district. Amazingly, here on a main thoroughfare, and despite attempts by the fascist occupation of Hungary during the Second World War, stood one of the oldest synagogues in Budapest, and largest in Europe. It was an impressive expanse, broad along the road and tall with its charcoal and gold capped towers, in typical Moorish style. We didn’t venture in, but could look in from a side street onto the open space that occupied the rear of the main building, which housed a small cemetery. A plaque nearby noted that Theodor Herzl, the father of modern political Zionism, was born in a house that stood on the site of the present-day Jewish Museum that was connected to the synagogue.
We walked among the maze of streets in this district, noting that many parts of it were still run down. Only that this seeming neglect actually fostered a dynamic spirit in the area, in that this was the place to come for hedonistic night life and to sample the ruin bars.
It was nearing the time to eat, so we looked around for a restaurant, not sure what we wanted to eat, but given the area we were in, we decided upon a Jewish restaurant. It was housed in a high ceilinged and open plan hall, but we were seated along a broad corridor of seating stretching to the back of the place. I had a lovely cooked chicken with potatoes and salad, as well as some wine.
Following this quick meal, and it now turning dark, we walked out of the maze of streets to the central, Elizabeth Square, which was colourful with a brightly lit Ferris wheel, and lively with gatherings of people around the numerous bars on offer. We walked through and onwards to the river. Here, the Buda side of the city looked stunning, with its glorious palaces and buildings glowing in yellow light, with the foreground sight of low-lying cruise ships chugging along slowly. We walked along the riverside, noting the memorial to the Jews murdered in the Holocaust, visualised by shoes left on the river bank.
Ahead of us, also glowing in yellow light, was the Parliament building. It certainly rivals the Houses of Parliament for its neo-gothic architecture and grandness. We walked around it, to take it all in, and found out that we could book a tour if we wanted to.
From here, we walked along more ‘organised’ roads to reach the small gay district. We were going to a club called Alter Ego, where we anticipated a more subdued display of it being so, given Orban’s anti-LGBT rhetoric, but was surprised to see rainbow flags flying defiantly.
We noted the entrance to the basement club, and went straight in, despite it being early, as we didn’t want to linger around outside. We stepped into the dimly lit basement, a limited glow from neon signs here and there, and navigated our way to the cloakroom. Free of our belongings, we noticed a main room with seating and a small stage, presumably for the drag show, a side room which had karaoke on but devoid of patrons at that moment, and a long and wide corridor, into which we originally descended, which had high top tables and stools for quieter conversations.
We settled in the latter area, as we supped on beer and observed new patrons enter. After about 45 minutes the place had a bit more buzz to it. A hen party had evidently found the place, and brought with them familiar props and a party attitude. Suddenly, a movement of people drifted through the corridor to the main room. We followed. The drag show had begun.
The drag queens, albeit speaking Hungarian, were very visual so that their humour came across very easily. The crowd, especially the group of hens, lapped it up. Following a good 45 minutes of showtime, we dipped into the karaoke room and belted out, in unison with others, a few hits climaxing in the inevitable Believe by Cher.
After a few more beers we called it a night, and wondered the quiet streets of Pest back to our ‘cosy’ apartment to sleep.
The hangover was very present, but having remembered about the tours of Parliament, I went online and booked us onto one in 90 minutes time. We left at 11:30am and got the metro. After we passed security, we visited the coffee shop and then joined the queue for our guided tour.
The building emulated the opulence of the Houses of Parliament. Regal paintwork and gothic statues filled the vast halls. Although the parliamentary system is unicameral, the parliament has two identical chambers, which is useful when the working parliament still wants to welcome visitors. It meant we could get a proper look around the chamber open to us. We also saw on display a replica of the crown of the Holy Roman Emperor, which was a nice touch. At the end of the tour, there was a small museum of political history. Two bits stuck out for me. One was the large, almost Christmas decoration style red star that the communists placed on the top of the parliamentary building. The other were the pointed comments on the territory lost to neighbouring countries earlier on the 20th century.
After the tour, we walked the back streets to the Terror House – the former home of the internal terror police under both the Nazi puppet and communist regimes. This was a very well put together museum, with a novel experience of a slow descending lift taking you to the basement where the cells were located. Well worth a visit.
We then wanted to do a spa, so we went to the nearby City Park, the location of the Szechenyi Thermal Baths. After a seemingly protracted ordering process, we managed to book our two-hour slot for the baths. It was a rather canary yellow coloured building of the 19th century, more fitting as a stately home than a place of leisure, in to whose basement we descended in order to change; and then navigated the different halls that had pools of a varied nature. We also went outside to the warm baths. This evidently was the spa that all the tourists visited, as it was busy and a little unkempt, what with plastic cups lying about, but it was pleasurable.
After some time, we lazily got changed and returned to the park, walking to a nearby metro to go back to the Jewish quarter. Once there we found a simple Thai place to eat before returning to the apartment to sleep for the last time on our trip.
Once awake, we packed up in seemingly increasing heat. We checkout as instructed and took our belongings to the metro, to a luggage place off Deak Square. Once dropped off, and locating the nearby shuttle bus to the airport, we walked in the hope that we would find the filming location that was used for the opening sequence of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Sadly, the place was a closed for renovation.
Instead, we crossed the wrought iron bridge so that we could climb the steep hill upon which Liberty Statue and citadella stood. A very steep climb was rewarded with breath-taking views of the city and the Danube. We took it all in for 20 minutes, and grabbed a soft drink from an entrepreneurial vendor, and walked the calmer descent down northward.
Here, we noticed a lot of people gathered, and it turned out it was Independence Day, and so riverside festivities were put on and were in full swing. People were handing out cakes, which we happily took, and we were entertained by street artists and a small stage with a band on it. At the next bridge, we crossed back over and located a bar in the middle of a square. We parked here and devoured a couple of beers in the shade before returning to the luggage store, and then to the nearby bus stop in enough time. And glad we had as the bus was early, and departed earlier than advertised, so we got on and made our way through the city, past the suburbs, and to the airport.
We paid for priority security, so sailed through, and ended up having my first and only KFC that served beer. And these were needed as the flight home was a bit jittery. Arriving to low and dense fog in Luton was nerve-wracking, and the weather was all over the shop when we left arrivals. But John’s mum was there to pick us up and get us home safely.
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