After sleeping most of the previous afternoon and all through the night, I woke up completely refreshed. I was hungry, thirsty, and everything seemed to be back to normal – other than a giant white bandage on my head.
The agreement we made yesterday with the hospital was that the hotel doctor would come back to our hotel today at some point to clean the wound and change the bandage. We called her and arranged a visit at 11 am, so we had some time to kill before that. I had been sleeping all night, sitting in a hospital waiting room all day yesterday, and I wanted to move my legs and look around. I put on the hotel shower cap, took a shower, and then we headed out for a walk around the hotel to test the waters.
It was my first chance to look around at the city. Our hotel was located right on the Danube river, with gorgeous views of the Buda castle and other Buda landmarks directly across from us. Along the river there was a two lane road running, and next to that was a streetcar railway. It made for some dramatic views. We walked slowly around the hotel in the brisk morning weather, and I took lots of pictures as we went. As a test run it went really well, so we decided to walk a little farther. We continued on to see St. Stephen’s Basilica, one of the big landmarks on the Pest side of the river. At that time in the morning it was closed, but the square around it was beautifully designed and we took in the view a little bit and promised to come back and see more later.
Budapest had an interesting vibe. It felt young and a little wild. More artistic and lively than what we had seen so far, but also historic and old. It was also the biggest city we had visited so far on this trip, and that meant homeless people now and then, and sometimes some big city smells (like trash bins and piss in the alleys). Despite being a big city it felt pretty safe, and we never felt like someone might hassle us or beg for money aggressively. A couple of people held out their hands looking for handouts, but they pretty much ignored the people walking by. We felt very comfortable walking around Budapest.
I still felt really good and my legs were itching for more exercise, so we continued even further along the Andrassy Ut, a historic street lined with trees, opera houses, embassies, and other historic buildings. We walked slowly along, and I really appreciated the fresh air. We had to be mindful of our doctor’s appointment back at the hotel, so we kind of hurried, but we had to be careful to not push my body too hard, so we kind of went slowly. It was a weird pace, really.
Along the way we had a chance to walk by the American embassy. The security there was pretty heavy duty. They had built high steel barricades enclosing a whole city block, with a car security area with big metal blocks rising out of the ground. It was by far the heaviest security of any embassy we saw this trip.
At the end of Andrassy Ut we came to Heroes Square, which was a big open space with some grand monuments that reminded us a lot of St. Mark’s Square in the Vatican. By now the sun was getting high in the sky and the weather was warming up. Just past the square was Vajdahunyad Castle, situated in a nice green park next to a lake. There was plenty to see here, but we limited ourselves to a brief visit, and then walked back to the hotel to see the doctor again.
We made it back to the hotel with an hour to spare, and so I was well rested by the time she showed up. She looked at the wound and liked what she saw, and then showed us how to change the bandage since Kuniko would be responsible for doing it for the next few days. Her English was interesting – she said, “I will remain these bandages for you”. When I heard her say, “I will remain…” I was startled because we didn’t want to have a doctor hanging out in our hotel room, but what she meant to say was, “I will leave these bandages for you.” Anyway, Kuniko and I both chuckled because we had the same thought when she said it. Thankfully the doctor left after the bandage change and we were on our own again.
We decided to go out for lunch, but unfortunately our first choice restaurant was closed for summer holiday (they called it “summer pause”), so we went to the second choice place. This was a little cafe called Frici Papa Kifozdeje. Simple menu, simple traditional food, and very cheap. The staff were all local guys, and they greeted regular customers with handshakes and slaps on the back, and they were patient with us tourists. The food was good – simple, and filling but nothing out of this world. Kuniko had a goulash, and the meat was spiced with something exotic. My first thought was it tasted like bad breath, but in a good way. Hard to describe, but it really tasted like no other dish I’ve had. The noodles that she had as a side were interesting too – not long or slender but more like rough gnocci. Their rough shape made it really easy to absorb the delicious sauces with each bite. I had simple grilled pork with some french fries that were strangely addictive. That combined with a Hungarian lemonade and I was good to go.
After lunch we went to check out the Parliament building which is a dramatic building built right on the bank of the Danube river. Beyond was an island in the river that we briefly considered visiting, but in the end we thought we should still not push ourselves and instead did some shopping at a supermarket called Spar (pronounced, “Shpa”) on the way back to our hotel. We found some delicious-looking foie gras pate and a pomegranate flavored yogurt drink that really hit the spot – it was the best yogurt I’ve ever had.
Our hotel room was still not cleaned when we came back, and with all the bloody towels everywhere it looked like a murder scene. We asked for cleaning service, and then went down to the hotel bar to sit outside and people watch while we waited for the cleaning.
Later in the afternoon we were feeling a little ambitious, so we walked across the famous Chain Bridge and up the hill to see the Matyas Temple and Fisherman’s Bastion. This temple overlooks the northwest Buda side of the river, and from our hotel it looked quite dramatic. Unfortunately when we got up there it was surrounded by hordes of tourists. Right next to the temple (and I mean it – right next to it) was a Starbucks built into the base of a Hilton Hotel. You couldn’t even take a picture of the temple without getting some part of Starbucks or Hilton in there. I was wondering how that arrangement came to be. Still, the view from up there back across to the Pest side of the city was quite nice, and we enjoyed it for a while before heading back to our hotel.
Finally, in the evening we walked back to St. Stephen’s Basilica to take some more pictures and look around inside. There were a lot of people there, but the interior was quiet as there was a service going on at the time. I really liked the interior, even though it was a bit on the gaudy side. Once you see the Vatican every cathedral is kind of on a sliding scale downwards, but this was better than I expected.
We ate dinner just down the street from the Basilica at a place called Arumu Bistro. Our first choice restaurant for dinner was on summer break (again!) but this turned out to be a pretty good alternative. We sat outside on their terrace and had an appetizer of fried goat cheese crusted with almonds on a green salad. Our main courses turned out to be on the heavy side. Kuniko had a monster plate with four big pieces of foie gras on mashed potatoes with pears and a Tokaji wine sauce. I went with grilled duck breast on porcini mushroom risotto. Kuniko really wanted to have foie gras in Hungary and I think the four big pieces were enough and then some. After dinner I had a glass of Oremus Tokaji Azu, which was on my list of wines to try in Hungary. It was an excellent example of dessert wine – Kuniko and I shared the glass and really enjoyed the experience.
We usually don’t eat very much meat, but at most of the restaurants we visited this trip they served mainly meat as a main dish. I think it was slowing us down a little bit, so we tried to make up for it by walking a little bit more than usual. After dinner we walked around the riverside taking pictures of the scenery at night, and it was cool enough that we even stopped at H&M to buy some warmer clothes for the rest of the trip – we were only heading north from here.
Back at the hotel I checked our iPhone pedometer, and it said we walked over 40,000 steps during the day. It was a new record for me, and hard to believe that I had spent the previous day just getting medical care. Tomorrow would be our last day in Budapest, and there was still Buda castle to conquer, so more exercise was ahead of us. Time for bed!
