Budapest

Budapest - May 2025

When I was about eight, Mum taught us a ditty: Austria was Hungry, took a piece of Turkey, fried it in Greece, and long legged Italy kicked poor Sicily down the Mediterranean Sea.   All countries I’ve dreamed of exploring since then as we poured over maps learning mountains and rivers and capital cities.

Budapest is the capital of Hungary. Isn’t that a name that inspires you to find out more? Buda - a short form of Buddha perhaps but why in the centre of Europe? It’s a country that started out with pagan and idols, adopted Christianity and turned to Islam then back to Christianity. How does Buddha fit into that? What is that? Finally, I ventured to find answers to those puzzles and discovered history - Hungary is over 1,000 years old!

A high speed train whisks me in eight hours from Berlin to Budapest Nougat pátyaudvar train station. in the heart of the city. David, the owner the apartment we’ve rented, meets me after 9:00 at night to lead me through streets packed with people, glimpses of gardens, bright lights of shops and down residential streets of five 1800 to 1915 five story buildings that look like sandstone. We stop in front of one mid-way down the street. All quiet with pale light filtering through curtains and blinds.

Home for two weeks is an apartment on Weiner Leó Street. He is one of Hungary’s most famous composers of the early 20th century. For this talent his relief is at the top of the street named for him.

Hungarian is like no other language; its pronunciation is its own development over the millennial. It too uses accents.

Utca is Hungarian for Street.

The next morning: First I must get groceries. David has given me some direction and I head off. And slow down. The buildings on my side of the street are old, worn, a bit grimy. The other side, bright pale colours, windows that sparkle and doors that are free of holds where locks over the years have hung and been changed out. The rejuvenation of Budapest after the fall of the Soviet Empire is ongoing. It’s been only 30 years with already a substantial number of buildings fixed up. The European Union money is poured into public buildings while various nations donate to renovate other historic sites.

(Refer to blog: Budapest -Light Art Museum  for more on the Historic museum)

For two weeks I wander the cobbled streets to the Opera just opened after a massive renovation. To St Stephen’s Cathedral - the patron saint of Hungary. To the market with fresh vegetables and every kind of Hungarian food for lunch served hot on the mezzanine floor. To the Parliament buildings - a long sprawl of peaks and facades from the 1800's with statues of horses and warriors on the south side and of more on the north. On the west it fronts Pest on the other side of the Danube. And in front acres of grass, a reflecting pool and bordering all the tracks of a modern tram system. New, yet old.

There are four bridges to walk and many more that can’t be seen from the high Castle Hill in Pest. A day on Margit Island with its acres of grass and woods, fast food stands and pretty look out tower sitting on top of the indoor fast food kiosks; its church ruin, and statues of poets and writers; and the Japanese Garden.

I like this monument - it’s graceful and stately and represents the purpose. Erected in 1993 on the 100 anniversary of the amalgamation, of Buda on the West Bank of the Danube, Pest on the west bank and Obuda in the centre on the north.

The two leaves rise to entwine.  

The gardens are in the shape and scaled size of the three parts, Buda.

Then the red brick market, and the palace turned into a library where you walk among the students researching and studying while you gaze up at gold leaf and crystal chandeliers.

The Jewish district with its renovated Synagogue, and graveyard with a modern sculpture that projects age, wisdom and hope. And its people’s history for all to see in the bronze shoes lining the Danube down from the Parliament Buildings.

The Four Seasons Hotel is in a building is of historic importance. As is most of Downtown. A few streets over at the back of the Opera, a simple ice cream shop run by a family who cares for ice cream - walk up the step, order and walk back down. Literally there is no additional space - a true hole in the wall, but sooooooo cute.

Walk northeast an hour and a bit and marvel at the grandeur of the span of history in the Millennium Monument set in the vast Heroes Square bordering City Park.

And the food! Don’t miss the lamb shank and the strudel. The stews and the ice cream. The beers and the wines.

The plan was to stay two weeks. The history, the stories, the hikes and walks; the pain of war and revolutions and finally the celebrations of freedom.   Budapest is a city created by its river and hills and sustained by its resilient people all of whom were a delight to meet.

Go.

Then there is the Central Market

Central Market
Szabadrig bridge, Vamhaz Korut between Pipa and Sohaz
Half hour walk from Parliament

To improve the sanitation of food markets, the government of Budapest built five indoor markets The Central Market was a wholesale to serve the other four markets and a retail to serve downtown. Built at the entrance to one of the bridges spanning the Danube to enable easy delivery of foods from the surrounding farmlands by farmers and by train from further afield. It is just south of downtown.  

The original 1897 Neo-Gothic building designed by Samu Pecz (he is the architect of several historic buildings downtown) had a 120 metre tunnel from the cellars to the docks. On one side was a railroad siding.

(Refer to blog: Budapest Rail Station  for more on the Historic train stations of Budapest)

The poultry section was at the back to separate from other foods (one of the sanitation problems). The main nave is designed like a basilica with six cross aisles joining off the centre to allow direct sunlight throughout the building. The footprint is 10,400 square metres. Three levels provided 25,000 square metres. That’s big!

The building was destroyed in WWII and slowly abandoned over the next decades. In 1991 the it was closed permanently. Restored three years later at close to its original design, it is not on the tourist path, thus retaining its local feel and purpose (although the upper floor food kiosks do attract a lot of tourists, in comparison to the numbers (there are river cruise boats docked at the piers everyday), it is relatively few in the market. If there is a site you particularly want to see, get out early so first in line. Better still, be sure to book tickets months in advance - the tour boat companies snaffle up 20 to 50 at a time. I saw three different tour boat companies docked at the pier. In May, because two weeks was allowed, it was easy to wait the week for a ticket to tour the new Opera house. But you may have only two days. Prior booking is necessary.

I kept taking photos of the iron work. It’s massive, delicate, and beautiful.

The food was mouth watering, tempting little fingers to sample.   Don’t touch!

Sweets between iron posts

I am in awe of the iron support structures.  Note the trash bins on each post. I love how they integrate rather than have eyesores.  And lots of them, so few overflowing.

The gates at the back of the building. This was a huge open area.  On the weekend perhaps a market of local crafts?

The outside of the Market was just as interesting.  Surrounded on three sides by small parks and mid-19th century architecture. 

Coming from Toronto, it started to dawn that never once was a homeless person seen, nor anyone sleeping on benches, nor a tent city. With all the walking, for sure, we have walked through the poorest districts as well as the ritziest. 

There are districts that are run down, some disrepair of buildings, no renovations, but always streets are swept, no litter, lots of parks even if playground equipment is not the latest, garbage bins are emptied, trees are healthy.

At the side of Central Market

The side of Central Market

Fountain - centre bubbles up and flows gently over to fall into basin.  Note benches -sometimes you see teenagers lie on the benches on their back head to head playing games on their telephone.

Across the street from the Central Market main entrance is a playground and park

An unusually high building with ornate architecture is just down the street from the playground.

Subway entrance and the litter … we see very little litter; maybe twice a day something small like this.  When we watch, the next person picks it up.  It looks like whoever dropped it was unaware.  Background bridge is iron structure of Liberty Bridge.