Budapest: A Stroll Around Pest

As Darlynn & Roy, our Aussie friends would say, we got to ‘lay in’ for a bit this morning! Up at 7:00a instead of 6:00a!

After a leisurely breakfast, we were off the ship around 8:45a to enjoy our second day in Budapest. There was still plenty to see and do in the Buda Castle District. But we decided to start off with a DIY exploratory stroll around Pest. The nature of our stroll was such that there’s really not a story to tell … a slow meander with streetscape photo-ops; an unplanned stop at St Stephen’s Basilica; a perfect chimney cake break; interesting buildings. I’m going to skip our church stop for now and focus on a few of the other highlights.

Our first opportunity to click the shutter came right outside Hild Square Park. Here we found a statue that depicts a Rikkancs (paperboy) selling issues of “Blikk,” a Hungarian tabloid that has been in publication since 1994. It was designed by sculptor Lajos Szőke when he was 100 years old. The paperboy looks like ones we’ve seen in movies set in the early 20th century. I couldn’t resist this photo-op.

We meandered from one street to another, veering off our ‘figurative path’ whenever something caught our eye. Eventually arriving at Deák Ferenc Square, I found statues and fountains … and a little further down a side street, at Szervita Square, a building decorated with what I later found out is an art-nouveau mosaic mural of Our Lady of Hungary.

Eventually, our feet led us to Gelateria Pichler. Not only did the place have a 4.7 rating for its gelato, but it had “hand-rolled chimney cakes baked fresh from scratch.” Time for a break.

Mui got the chimney cake ice cream cone rimmed with pistachio sauce and pistachio & dark chocolate gelato. I was tempted to follow suit, but wanted to give the traditional, cinnamon/sugar coated chimney cake a second chance … even though an electric oven was used for the baking. Oh my … it was sooooo good! Soft and fluffy inside, but with a crisp shell that spiraled apart like it is meant to do when done right.

Tummies happy, we decided to walk in the direction of the Central Market Hall via the pedestrian-only shopping area. We had no intention of shopping, but the Gobelin and lace work in the window of one of the shops called our name. We ended up buying one of the larger doilies to frame as a souvenir of this trip … and picked up a few of the smaller ones as gifts. We’ll get the framing done in İzmir where we have a guy that does a great job for a few dollars … or at least that’s the impact the cost has on our wallet when compared to how much they charge for framing jobs in the US.

Central Market is also known as the Great Market Hall. Located near the Pest end of the Liberty Bridge, the idea of building market halls to establish a retail network and regulate the sale of wholesale goods dates back to the 1860s. But it wasn’t until 1897 that the plans came to fruition with the building of this market hall.

The hangar-like building is filled with stalls, which continue up to a mezzanine that rims the building. The wrought iron staircases that provide access to the mezzanine add an element of elegance.

I had read that the place is usually packed with people. Today was no exception. People were shopping for everything from produce and meat products, to pastries and candies, to different types of paprika and Tokaji wines, to beautifully handcrafted embroidery and lace products, to cheap Chinese-made tourist gewgaws. Those who weren’t shopping were eating at one of the many small food stalls.

We wandered around for a while … debated getting a bowl of goulash from one of the eateries. But we were still stuffed from our chimney cake treats. Instead, Mui got himself a couple of marzipan balls to go and we left to pursue more sightseeing opportunities … a decision that garnered us a ride on tram #2, which stops near the market … free for those who are 65+. Yay!Lue lisää