The Ham Nomads

17 Jul 2015. <HU> Budapest —

Statues in front of the University building — and some interlopers

The Liberty Bridge again

The plaque on Aranyszarvas Vendéglő,
a 19th century inn "Under the Golden Stag".
There's now a restaurant there, with the same name.

They have those Parisian-style billboard posts here

The Przemysl Monument in Buda

The Western Railway Station (Nyugati Pályaudvar)

The Eastern Railway Station (Keleti Pályaudvar)

The post boxes are distinctive

Back into Budapest again by the Hop-On Hop-Off bus. We stayed on the Yellow Line a little longer this time, going past the Castle, round and over the Margaret Bridge, past the Western Railway Station (Nyugati Pályaudvar), finally getting off at Andrássy útca near Red Line stop 5, where changed for the Red Line, up Andrássy útca, past Heroes' Square (Hősök tere, which we would be visiting later) and round to the Eastern Railway Station (Keleti Pályaudvar where we got off and walked a couple of hundred metres to the New York Cafe, a wonderful heady remnant of a bygone era, in the Boscolo Budapest Hotel (earlier, the New York Hotel). We treated ourselves to morning tea — coffees and a superb old-style apple pie. The ambience is of the 1930s, the decor delightfully decadent — no wonder it is high on the list of 'must-do' experiences.

Smart cars and bikes feature here!

After dawdling through (and relishing) our morning tea, we walked across to to the Red Line stop 5 in Andrássy útca and took the bus up to Heroes' Square (Hősök tere), where we got off and walked into the park behind the square. We went round by the lake to a cafe, where we had a big orange juice to quench our thirst. We then walked out via some souvenir stalls — nothing there of interest — and back to the square. This was now the hottest part of the day, and the heat was just bouncing back at us from the pavement. The temperatures here may not be any hotter than a hot summer's day in Oz, but at home the cities are (usually) built to provide some relief in the way of shade. Here this kind of heat is unusual, and in some parts (like this square) is really not catered for! (By the way, we're writing up this page a little late, in Vienna, and the headline on today's newspaper here is "Das heißeste Jahr der Geschichte" — 'The hottest year in history' — and we're travelling in it!)

 

The archangel Gabriel, atop the Millennium Monument,
holding the Holy Crown of St. Stephen

These mobile bars are an interesting way to tour the city!

From Heroes' Square, we rode the bus back round to Ferenciek tere, and then walked (in the shade) around to Fővám tér (the Market Hall). This is a huge covered market — not as exciting as Kapalı Çarşı in Istanbul, but still well worth the visit. It's mainly a food and souvenir market, and there was a hum of tourists finding their way through the place. The spice shops here were well stocked and different — instead of Iranian saffron, they were selling the local product. Paprika is a big thing here, and there were stalls that just sold variations on this theme. We were planning to eat here, but the foods were just too rich for a hot day. So we just bought some ham in the market, and bread from the Aldi supermarket downstairs, to take home to the van for a light tea.

The Hungarian take on St Nicholas

St Vincent Parish Church, only a block from Camping Haller

We walked down to the Bálna building, where we planned to catch the bus back to base — but we couldn't find the bus stop, so we hopped a taxi instead. Another hot day used to the max!

Distance driven — today, nil; to date, 24,200 miles ( 38,946 km )