Rejection, disappointment and regret. I could have stayed in England for that.
This was, essentially, an extra day in Budapest as a result of enjoying days one [link] and two [link] but I did still need to sort out where I was going next and when. I decided on Vienna - and the next morning, which was a train ride away of about 4 hours. I had seen on the Austrian rail website [link] that this could be very cheap but I think I missed the availability so I would have to get a return ticket[1]. I had wanted to go visit the Parliament building for a tour (in English) which had been recommended to me and so I needed to get the fairly early to book myself in so I thought that I could walk there, via a railway station, Budapest-Nyugati, which was along the 4/6 tramline - and I thought that this would also be a good way of seeing the city at work. It was. It was kind of busy and moving but not too busy. I got the train tickets at the station, and it was a very reasonable price for a flexible return ticket (about €25). The station itself was pretty impressive, even if the international ticket hall was less so.
Parliament
From there, I made my way to the Parliament building (by some measures, thought to be the largest in Europe - it seems the most imposing!) in order to join an English language tour which were scheduled throughout the day, and the first was at 10am. When I got to the Parliament area, I noticed that the whole of the front area, where gardens would be, was dug up and there was a lot of work being done - such that there seemed no clear path to the area. The tram was also not running. The ticket office for the Parliament tours was also sited in a different building which was not too inconvenient to find. What was inconvenient was being told that the tours were already booked out for the whole day. This was less than ideal and I wasn't really sure what to do so I did what I usually do when I am unsure, I walked.
As I mentioned, the city of Budapest is supposedly known as the city of spas, and the most famous of these (that I had never heard of, of course) are the Gellert Baths which are just on the banks. They have an interesting history but that does not really affect the fact that I was inappropriately dressed, so I walked over to the other thing to see in that area - St Gellert.
Gellert Hill
As the Liberty statue is on a rather tall hill, it does require a bit of a winding walk (or bus) but it is through a pleasant park with great views and a small flower garden. That was not quite as spectacular as the views from the top and the statues themselves which were amazing. Amazingly windy too, but that is what you get when you are exposed to the elements. There was also a little military display as the fort at the top, Citadella, had been the Nazi stronghold in the 40s and was the last point of Budapest held by them in the Siege of Budapest by the Soviet Army in 1945 as well as a focal point of the Hungarian Revolution in 1956. I found the top quite interesting actually with the views and the stories of defiance.
On the way down, I briefly met a couple who asked me to take their photo (or I may have offered, I can't remember clearly) near the actual St Gellert statue which elicited some mixed feelings - somewhat related to the David Goodhart talk [link] I recently went to about immigration. After taking the photo I asked them where they were from[2] to which they replied "Scotland".
They didn't do this with Scottish accents, however and so I was a little confused, visibly confused I think as they then said:
This was, essentially, an extra day in Budapest as a result of enjoying days one [link] and two [link] but I did still need to sort out where I was going next and when. I decided on Vienna - and the next morning, which was a train ride away of about 4 hours. I had seen on the Austrian rail website [link] that this could be very cheap but I think I missed the availability so I would have to get a return ticket[1]. I had wanted to go visit the Parliament building for a tour (in English) which had been recommended to me and so I needed to get the fairly early to book myself in so I thought that I could walk there, via a railway station, Budapest-Nyugati, which was along the 4/6 tramline - and I thought that this would also be a good way of seeing the city at work. It was. It was kind of busy and moving but not too busy. I got the train tickets at the station, and it was a very reasonable price for a flexible return ticket (about €25). The station itself was pretty impressive, even if the international ticket hall was less so.
Parliament
From there, I made my way to the Parliament building (by some measures, thought to be the largest in Europe - it seems the most imposing!) in order to join an English language tour which were scheduled throughout the day, and the first was at 10am. When I got to the Parliament area, I noticed that the whole of the front area, where gardens would be, was dug up and there was a lot of work being done - such that there seemed no clear path to the area. The tram was also not running. The ticket office for the Parliament tours was also sited in a different building which was not too inconvenient to find. What was inconvenient was being told that the tours were already booked out for the whole day. This was less than ideal and I wasn't really sure what to do so I did what I usually do when I am unsure, I walked.
Gellert Hill
As the Liberty statue is on a rather tall hill, it does require a bit of a winding walk (or bus) but it is through a pleasant park with great views and a small flower garden. That was not quite as spectacular as the views from the top and the statues themselves which were amazing. Amazingly windy too, but that is what you get when you are exposed to the elements. There was also a little military display as the fort at the top, Citadella, had been the Nazi stronghold in the 40s and was the last point of Budapest held by them in the Siege of Budapest by the Soviet Army in 1945 as well as a focal point of the Hungarian Revolution in 1956. I found the top quite interesting actually with the views and the stories of defiance.
They didn't do this with Scottish accents, however and so I was a little confused, visibly confused I think as they then said:
"are you having difficulty with our Scottish accents?"
I smiled and asked
"where's your accent from?"
The couple were from Poland and they then walked off to continue their holiday as I did mine. As I walked away, the first thing I thought was how awkward it was to have asked them that, when they said they were from Scotland. That is the type of question I really hate as it essentially is questioning my belonging to Britain (I have started, recently, saying I am from London recently, as opposed to Britain or England. This is accurate and I'm lucky enough that London is well known enough as a city and I feel much more comfortable with that.) but I wonder whether they took it in that way. They must have known I was British at the least, if not necessarily from London from the accent and intonation. I wonder if they also thought that question may make me part of the loud anti-immigrant part of the UK. I mulled this over for a while - at least over the Elizabeth Bridge and back into Vorosmarty Ter - and I see that mull as one of the hazards of solo travel for me. Was that a prejudiced face that I pulled? Ignoring my possible faux pas, I was actually also really gladdened that they felt connected enough to Scotland, and whichever bit they called home, to refer to themselves as "from Scotland". There may be problems with the union where we all felt it wrong to say Britain, but I was really happy that they said that In their Polish-Scottish accents.
Millennium Line to lunch
And with that mixed feeling of awkwardness and warmth, I boarded the millennium line again to go to get some food at a recommended restaurant near the city park (again). I wasn't really sure how to fill my time so I decided to go one stop further then I needed for a little difference. This had the wholly intended side effect of meaning I had the whole line covered.
I'm not sure it was the best idea I've had.
Although the stations are geographically close from the original terminus within the park to Mexikoi, it felt a world away. The station was on the wrong side of the tracks, and the wrong side of the motorway. I had to negotiate a set of train tracks - which most just walked across but I was loathe to[3]. And then I had to work out how to get to the park. It was terrible urban design but quite instructive to the city's design failings. I still found it quite interesting but I was a bit stuck...
The restaurant, Bagolyvár, was excellent and quite reasonably priced so I was pleased I made the effort.
On Mondays, many museums in Budapest are shut so my visit to the transport museum was thwarted again, by my poor planning.
Obuda
Budapest is famously made up of the cities on either bank of the Danube - Buda and Pest. Less famously, the formation of the city also included Obuda in 1873 which is on the Buda bank but a little further north. As I had little to do, I thought I'd make my way over and I was glad I did. In terms of sights, the area was quite light, but there seemed to be a huge housing complex around a large park which was almost certainly socialist housing. I have a bit of a soft spot for municipal housing actually as I have a romanticized notion of the care and thought that went into them and the idea that community could flourish there. Anyway, I did really love the multicoloured blocks and the urban parks set around Roman ruins. It was quite a strange mix that brought to mind the way the Barbican (in London) incorporates the Roman "London wall" within it. The ruins at Obuda are of Roman baths but they have built a huge road over most of it which sort of ruins the effect.
Obuda also has a smaller old town which is fairly interesting but it has little more than that - it satisfied my completionist streak though.
Connected up to the northern end of Margaret Island, I walked through the island and mulled some more accompanied by music.
Other than a quick stopoff at the synagogue and a brief interlude at the wonderfully evocative (of spy tales and espionage) area around the Soviet War Memorial at Szabadsag Ter, I didn’t do much more until getting back ready for an early start to Vienna. I'd read some very positive things about Vienna, but surprisingly didn't know of anyone actually visiting(other than an old student, but her level was fairly low and she was just excited to be in Europe). Strange to think of Vienna as the unknown...
1. For reasons unexplained, you can only buy one-way tickets to Vienna with a three day lead time, but the return ticket is still very reasonable although you do not need to use the return portion of course.↩
2. In all honesty, I do not remember if I asked "Where are you from?" or "Where have you come from?" - quite different questions in the minefield of identity politics.↩
3. Apparently, walking across train tracks is common across most of the world except in Britain. On this point, I am happy that we are exceptional.↩
Millennium Line to lunch
And with that mixed feeling of awkwardness and warmth, I boarded the millennium line again to go to get some food at a recommended restaurant near the city park (again). I wasn't really sure how to fill my time so I decided to go one stop further then I needed for a little difference. This had the wholly intended side effect of meaning I had the whole line covered.
I'm not sure it was the best idea I've had.
The restaurant, Bagolyvár, was excellent and quite reasonably priced so I was pleased I made the effort.
On Mondays, many museums in Budapest are shut so my visit to the transport museum was thwarted again, by my poor planning.
Obuda
Budapest is famously made up of the cities on either bank of the Danube - Buda and Pest. Less famously, the formation of the city also included Obuda in 1873 which is on the Buda bank but a little further north. As I had little to do, I thought I'd make my way over and I was glad I did. In terms of sights, the area was quite light, but there seemed to be a huge housing complex around a large park which was almost certainly socialist housing. I have a bit of a soft spot for municipal housing actually as I have a romanticized notion of the care and thought that went into them and the idea that community could flourish there. Anyway, I did really love the multicoloured blocks and the urban parks set around Roman ruins. It was quite a strange mix that brought to mind the way the Barbican (in London) incorporates the Roman "London wall" within it. The ruins at Obuda are of Roman baths but they have built a huge road over most of it which sort of ruins the effect.
Connected up to the northern end of Margaret Island, I walked through the island and mulled some more accompanied by music.
Other than a quick stopoff at the synagogue and a brief interlude at the wonderfully evocative (of spy tales and espionage) area around the Soviet War Memorial at Szabadsag Ter, I didn’t do much more until getting back ready for an early start to Vienna. I'd read some very positive things about Vienna, but surprisingly didn't know of anyone actually visiting(other than an old student, but her level was fairly low and she was just excited to be in Europe). Strange to think of Vienna as the unknown...
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| Budapest 2013 Day 3 - for album click here |
1. For reasons unexplained, you can only buy one-way tickets to Vienna with a three day lead time, but the return ticket is still very reasonable although you do not need to use the return portion of course.↩
2. In all honesty, I do not remember if I asked "Where are you from?" or "Where have you come from?" - quite different questions in the minefield of identity politics.↩
3. Apparently, walking across train tracks is common across most of the world except in Britain. On this point, I am happy that we are exceptional.↩
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