Weekend Wanderings

This weekend was our second free weekend in Budapest. While a few ventured to Vienna, most of the group remained here in Budapest to explore the sights and culture of the city.

On Saturday, a large group of us went to Castle Hill, which houses Buda Castle, Matthias Church, and the Fisherman’s Bastion. Matthias Church was very cool despite the large amount of construction going on both outside and inside the church. The interior had hand-painted ceilings and walls, and on one wall we saw the grave of St. Imre, who was the son of King St. Istvan (of St. Istvan’s Basilica we previously visited). Then we proceeded across the square to Fisherman’s Bastion, a kind of fortress built along the hillside with views overlooking the river, Parliament, and the Chain Bridge, especially on a gorgeous day like yesterday, when we actually saw the sun!

After lunch, we went to Buda Castle, which houses the National Gallery we visited last week, the Budapest History Museum, and the National Library.  Those of us who went to the History Museum were thrilled to discover that we chanced upon Free Admission Day, so we explored all levels to our hearts’ content. The basement was easily our favorite part: Buda Castle was built over the old medieval palace, and we were captivated by the old ruins. We also visited the National Library. Admission was free for an interesting exhibit on Italy – we’re not quite sure what it was really about, as the exhibit was in Italian with Hungarian information sheets. But the pictures were very pretty. Then, as it seemed pointless to visit the National Library without seeing any books, we (illegally?) visited a couple other floors on our way down. Seeing the books that one of Hungary’s beloved Széchenyis donated to the National Library in 1802 was definitely worth the surreptitious sneaking away from the security guard on level 6.

Our final stop on Castle Hill was the labyrinths. After some interesting and slightly spooky statues, as well as some fake ancient cave paintings (accompanied by ominous music), we arrived at a fountain of wine, where visitors were told that the wine was not for consumption. Soon afterwards, we happened upon a sneaker footprint, with a sign stating that this find informed archeologists of a new species: Homo consumerous. Apparently many future archeologists will be convinced that Homo consumerous had to come before Homo sapiens, as the society of the Homo consumerous required (requires) only a fraction of the Homo sapiens’ brainpower for functionality. The gods of the Homo consumerous also included an eight-foot Coca Cola bottle and birth control pills.

Saturday evening involved wandering up the Raday Utca, a street full of restaurants, until we found a good place for dinner. Some people had an adventurous night, while others stayed in.

On Sunday, most everyone had a very relaxing day, involving sleeping in, reading, journaling, hanging out at a nearby coffeehouse, spending hours on math homework, and, for the most part, it was a very enjoyable day and the perfect close to the weekend. We are looking forward with mixed feelings to our last week in Budapest.

Szia!

Kallie and Emma