Budapest (part 2)

Day Two

Had breakfast and left the hotel at 7.30 am. Took Metro to 'Kossuth Lajos tér' station and went straight to the Parliament building. Reason is to get the guided tour tickets that is available daily. After some waiting, we managed to get the tickets at 10 am session.

Since there was still time before the tour, we decided to visit the Opera House again.

Hungarian State Opera House

Revisited this Opera House during the day (left photo below) and this time able to enter its foyer (right photo below). The interior of the Opera House is beautifully decorated.
Marble is used for its column, while the vaulted ceiling is covered in murals depicting the nine Muses (photos below).
However, tickets were only available at 1 pm, therefore had to give this visit a miss.

Morning Break

Took Metro back to 'Kossuth Lajos tér' station. After gotten our second Travel Card at the station, we saw this Princess Bakery & Bistro outlet (left photo below). Decided to have my second morning "caffeine injection", thus ordered a cup of expresso at HUF 145 (right photo below).
Vicinity around Parliament building

As it was still early before the tour, we opted to take a walk around its vicinity of the Parliament building. Saw the Equestrian Statue of Ferenc II Rakoczi (left photo below) created in 1937. Ferenc II Rakoczi (1676-1735) was the leader of the Hungarian uprising against the Habsburgs. He died after 18 years of exile in Turkey.

Another sculpture we saw was the Kossuth Memorial (right photo below). Erected in 1952 in memory of late Hungarian president Lajos Kossuth, this Memorial stands opposite the Hungarian Parliament Building. Lajos Kossuth led the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 to gain freedom from the Austrian rule.


Similar to the night scene we saw the day before, Matthias Church (left photo below) and the Buda Castle (right photo below) could be seen across Danube River.
Another museum opposite the Parliament Building is the Museum of Ethnography, or Néprajzi Múzeum in Hungarian (left photo below). Built in neo-Renaissance style, a team of three horses draw the carriage of the goddess of Justice at the peak of the tympanum of the building (right photo below).


Hungarian Parliament Building

Hungarian Parliament Building, or Országház in Hungarian, is the seat of the National Assembly of Hungary. It is a notable landmark and popular destination in Budapest. It has been the largest building in Hungary since its completion in 1904. Hungarian Parliament Building is 268-meters long, 123-meters wide and has an impressive height of 96-meters tall (same height as St Stephen's Basilica).

Hungarian Parliament Building, including the Banks of the Danube, has been listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1987.

The building is built in the Gothic Revival style (left photo below), while the dome is of Renaisssance Revivial architecture (right photo below).


The main façade overlooks the River Danube and has statues of Hungarian rulers, Transylvanian leaders, and famous military figures. The coats of arms of kings and dukes are depicted above the windows, and the eastern staircase is flanked by two lions (photos below).


The Parliament building guided tour tickets are available in English at 1000 hr, 1200 hr and 1400 hr daily. Visitors would need to get the tickets from the Parliament Visitor Centre which opens at 8 am. Passport is required as part of verification prior ticket purchasing and each ticket cost HUF 3200 (photo below).

Finally, we were allowed to enter building at 10 am (left photo below) via the east side of the building. Totally awed by the interior of the building when we walked up from the grand stairway (right photo below).


The Grand Stairway

Total of 96 stairs dominate the space covered with red carpeting which leads from the main entrance to the Dome Hall. The highlight is the eight granite columns of 4-tonnes each which only 12 such columns can be found in entire world (left photo below). Two large frescoes and a smaller one were made by master painter adorn the ceiling of the main stairway (right photo below).

The Dome Hall

This is the geometric centre of the Parliament Building. It is where the Hungarian Holy Crown (Crown of St. Stephen) and the Coronation Insignia, among the oldest coronation regalia in Europe, have been kept since 01 January 2000 and where they are protected 24 hours a day by the Crown Guard of the Hungarian Armed Forces (photos below).
The Dome Hall, which is almost 27-metres tall, is complemented by aisled spaces at the lowest level. At the base of the rib-like pillars, statues of Hungarian rulers occupy golden pedestals accompanied by their pages under canopies of gold (photos below).
This is linked to a splendid, sixteen-rib vaulted ceiling with colourful stained-glass windows interspersed between the ribs (photos below).

The Lounge of the Chamber of Peers

We then entered the lounge of the Chamber of Peers (photos below).
The pyrogranite sculptures at the columns preserve the memory of old Hungarian national groups and crafts (photos below). These sculptures are made of a special material considered to be an innovation in its day in the Zsolnay works in Pécs.

The Chamber of Peers

The hall of the former Chamber of Peers is now the venue for conferences and meetings. The horseshoe-shaped hall is 17-meters high, 25.6-meters long and 23.45-meters wide. The splendid composition of tables and benches with seating for 453 Members is arranged in seven neat rows, stunning in magnificent brown, green and red (photos below).
A huge oak podium with space for the Speaker and the Member speaking emerges at the heels. Paintings of the coats of arms of Hungary's royal families can be seen on the main wall behind the podium, with murals depicting the historical role of the nobility on both sides (photos below).


Its ceiling panels are made of Slavonian oak with gold-plated decorations, making it an excellent acoustics in this Chamber of Peers (photos below).

Lunch at Fast-Food Restaurant

After the tour we had lunch in a Fast-Food Restaurant (left photo below). Ordered a 'Gourmet Szendvics' meal at HUF 1350 (right photo below).


Transport to Castle Quarter

Took Metro to 'Moszkva tér' station (note: the station had renamed to 'Széll Kálmán tér' in 2011). From there, either Bus 16 or Bus 16A goes to the Castle Quarter (photos below).


Castle Quarter

The Castle Quarter is part of the defensive walls of Buda complex which corresponds with the medieval royal city of Buda.

Castle Quarter, including the Banks of the Danube, has been listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1987.

Church of Mary Magdalene of Buda

This is one of the oldest churches in Buda Castle district built between 13th to 15th centuries in Gothic Style. Today only the tower (left photo below) and ruins (right photo below) of the church remains.

Matthias Church

The Matthias Church, or Mátyás-templom in Hungarian, (photos below) is a Roman Catholic church located in the Castle District in front of Fisherman's Bastion. The current building was constructed in the florid late Gothic style in the second half of 14th century. The most striking details of the church is the 72-meters high Matthias tower, and its roof covered by colorful glazed tiles.


The Holy Trinity Column (left photo below) sculpted in 1710 stood in front of the church. It commemorates the dead of two plague outbreaks.

A bronze sculpture on the layout of the Matthias Church and its surrounding area (right photo below) can be found near the church.

Fisherman's Bastion

Fisherman's Bastion, or Halászbástya in Hungarian, is one of the best-known monuments in Budapest due to its Neo-Romanesque lookout terraces. Built in the 1700s, the Fisherman's Bastion's main façade is approximately 140-meters long and has seven high-pitched stone towers symbolizing the seven chieftains of the Hungarians who founded Hungary in 895 (photos below).


Simple stairs made of granite stone are placed on a brick foundation, and was decorated with truncated, pierced forms with Romanian style features (left photo below). The North and South corridors with covered arch do make a good photo backdrop with row of columns standing symmetrically (right photo below).
The Equestrian Statue of St. Stephen, first King of Hungary, is located at the southern bastion court (photos below). Completed in 1906, the statue was built on an oval-shaped pierced limestone and parapet railing. The marble reliefs on the platform base depicts some of the famous scenes of the reign of the Apostolic King.

Views from the Castle Quarter

Aerial view of the Pest side of the city could be seen; the Parliament Building (left photo below), and the Széchenyi Chain Bridge with St. Stephen Basilica in the background (right photo below).

Entrance to Buda Castle

At the end of the Castle Quarter lies the entrance to the Buda Castle (left photo below). On the fence edge stood a sculpture of Turul (mythological bird of prey and national symbol of Hungarians) spreading its wings overlooking the Danube River (right photo below). Tickets were available at the counter but due to our schedule, we didn’t get to visit the Buda Castle.

Budavari Sokadalom

Saw this Budavari Sokadalom, which is a craft market selling Hungarian products. Seems like a tourist's trap where its prices were higher than other markets. Fortunately, we were not interested in these products.

Sándor Palace

Sándor Palace, or Sándor-palota in Hungarian, (photos below) is a palace located in Castle Quarter that served as the official residence and workspace for the President of Hungary since 2003.

After the visit from Castle Qaurter, we decided to split our group into shopping team, Agriculture Museum team and thermal bath team. For me i visited the Széchenyi Thermal Bath.

Széchenyi Thermal Bath

Széchenyi Thermal Bath, or Széchenyi gyógyfürdő in Hungarian, is the largest medicinal bath in Europe located in the City Park. Its water is supplied by two thermal springs. Built in 1913, there are 3 outdoor and 15 indoor pools, and a range of other wellness features including steam rooms and sauna, in the ornate complex.

Took Metro to 'Széchenyi fürdő' station and walked for a few minutes to the side entrance of the bath complex (left photo below). Each visitor was given a wristband (right photo below) as a key to the entrance and locker. Admission cost HUF 3250 per adult on a weekend.
There are 3 outdoor pools encased by the pastel yellow building; one thermal pool at 38°C (left photo below), one heated activity pool at 30°C to 34°C (right photo below), and a 50-meters lap pool for swimming at 26°C to 28°C (bottom left photo). Besides swimming and soaking, a chess game can also be played while relaxing in the thermal water (bottom right photo).
Dinner at Vörösmarty tér

After a relaxing bath, we decided to meet the rest for dinner at Vörösmarty tér. Selected a local restaurant and each of us got our main dish (photos below).
Ordered a grilled chicken at HUF 1790 for myself (left photo below) and we shared an apple pie at HUF 590 (right photo below). Taste was good except the grilled chicken was sightly cold when served.
After dinner we headed back to hotel for a good rest.


Day Three

After breakfast and checked out of hotel, we took the same route back to the Budapest Ferihegy International Airport. The flight EZY 1332 departed on time.

During take-off we saw the aerial view of the City Park (left photo below) and rural area of the country (right photo below).
We reached Geneva at about 12 noon, and we were to explore Geneva City the second time!

With this, it ended our short trip to Budapest over the weekend.