Budapest: Day 1 (10/04/19)

I talked to Ria last night about places withing walking distance that might be of interest so I slept in till about 10am and went out to explore the Buda part of town! Which is apparently very hilly as I spent the first hour walking exclusively uphill until eventually reaching the top of a hilltop park with a great view of Pest across the river. The next hill over had an even better view but being the site of a plaza it was tourist hell, so i only passed through.

Pushing through the crown I made my way back down to the riverside to check out the massive castel complex that towers over the rest of the city. It required a little asking around but I eventually located an elevator to take me up like 8 floors to the main courtyard, which was dominated by a huge open square with the iconic Budapest Arch (Budavari Palota). From the square I could access the National Library and the City History Museum, but since the library had a full blown security check I got intimidated out of visiting it and went to the museum instead.

Glad I did though! It had a large exhibit of scultputes from the local area, lots of information about life during Ottoman times, and a walkthrough of the city’s history from the medieval times till now. Once two seperate trading centers on either side of the river , Buda and Pest, and the site of a lot of violence, they eventually unified in Buda-Pest. Part of the museum was corded off due to a french music event that was going on, but I was perfectly happy with that since I got to sit on the top floor and mooch a mini concert off of it. After that I descended into the castle basement when the old stonework was housed and there was a collection of old church music, living spaces, and vaulted underground chapels that were super cool!

At that point it was about 5:30pm so i made my way back to the courtyard and set out to wander around the castle grounds. The Fountain of King Matthias was the only thing that really caught my eye since the other musums were either closed or didn’t peak my interest. I eventually ended up back at my AirBnB sweaty, tired, and with a nasty stomachache, but properly adventured! Oh and I picked up some random groceries for the next few days.