Bohemian Rhapsodizing: Buda and Pest

Our tale of two cities continues (if you missed the first day - click here).

The night before, over drinks at the hotel, we had sketched out a general plan for the next two days. We had picked up a map from the Hop on/Hop off tour (highly recommended because they give you all of the top sites in the city, highlighted and well marked, all on one map) and laid out what we needed to see, what we would like to see and what we could skip. This morning, map in one hand, umbrellas in the other, we headed out...

Found this guy just hanging out on the side of the building, having a smoke.

Our first stop of the day was the Terror Haza (Terror House). Opened in 2002, it is a memorial to all of those that were held captive, tortured and killed in this building during two of the worst terrorist regimes of all time. The museum, the only of its kind, tells the story of Hungary's relationship with Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. The self-guided tour walks you through 3 stories of history - supplemented with first hand account videos from those that lived through it. It ends in the basement, where you are shown the cells the prisoners stayed in and the noose that they were hung with. Not for the faint of heart. (No pictures were allowed so I have just the outside and entrance).

Photos of those that were tortured and killed inside this very building.

Right outside the Terror Haza is a very symbolic monument - A literal Iron Curtain.

After that, we needed a bit of air, so we headed down Andrássy Ùt. towards the Chain Bridge so that we could finally cross the river and check out Buda.

At the time of its completion in 1849, the Chain Bridge was considered one of the world's engineering wonders. It's center span of 202 m (663 ft) was at the time the longest in the world and as the first bridge to join Buda with Pest, it has great significance to the Hungarian people.

Legend also has it that the chief engineer, Adam Clark, was so proud of his work on the bridge that he challenged anyone to find fault with his masterpiece. When someone pointed out that the lions that flank either end of the bridge do not have tongues, he was so distraught that he committed suicide. Again, legend only as the lions do have tongues, you just can't see them unless you are above them.

Once on the other side, we decided to have some lunch before tackling the hill up to the Castle District. Of course, that involved a beer and goulash.

After all of that heavy food and liquid we decided that we would take the funicular up the hill (hill, more like mountain), instead for trying to walk it.

We got to the castle just in time to see the changing of the guards - which was more of guards switching places...

Parliment as seen from the castle.

We walked the Castle ground and decided not to take the tour because there is not much left inside the building itself. The Russians plundered it all when they were in power. So, after spending an hour checking it all out (it is a large castle), it was time for a quick break and a snack. Lo and behold, what did we stumble upon but a Trdelnik. We hadn't had one in a day and a half so it was high time to indulge. This time they came in flavors. We opted for coconut, chocolate and traditional. Traditional still wins...

Still in the castle district we headed over toward Matthias Church. Built in the 13th century, this Roman Catholic church is arguably one of the most interesting and beautiful in Budapest. Its completely stark white exterior is crowned by a colorful tile roof with a distinctive diamond pattern. It also boasts an incredibly ornate inside but since it was Saturday, and it is the place to get married, there was no way we were getting inside. We had to settle for a walk around the church and it's square.

We were pleasantly surprised with a bride walking to her wedding

and watched in awe as she went in to take her vows.

And as we walked away, there was the bride from the wedding before in the midst of her receiving line, right there on the square. The girls were mesmerized.

The view from the backside of the church square is stunning...and you can get high above the city to take it all in.

It was late afternoon and we were all getting a bit tired, and hungry. B even tried to claim a piggy back ride from MadHatter...

But before we could have dinner, we had one more stop. This time back on the Pest side. Something that had caught my eye yesterday - the IceBar. I made an executive decision the second I spotted it that we would not be leaving Hungary without going to the IceBar and having a drink. No one seemed as excited as I was, but I didn't care. For some reason, suiting up in a parka and gloves, to enter a room made entirely of ice, to have two overpriced shots (or juice if you were the girls) served to you in ice shot glasses, was just what I wanted to do.

And I am glad we did. It was fun, it was different and it was just what I expected. Everyone left with a smile on their face and cold fingers, and with two shots down, ready for dinner.