Thursday, March 23, 2023

BUDAPEST WALKING TOUR WITH ANDREA MAKKAY

DAY TWO  
We hired a personal guide in Budapest Hungary for 2 days while there on a recent trip. Andrea Makkay is a native of the Hungarian capital and grew up during the Communist era. She is intelligent and witty, speaks great English and is enthusiastic as a professional tour guide, and is very flexible as she steers the tour's itinerary to what her client is interested in seeing of this beautiful, historical, vibrant city.
 Bush statue near the 
 American Embassy Budapest 
Our first day of touring with Andrea was a full day minivan tour, driver and umbrellas included. That day cost €480. It was €140 for the second day, a half-day waling tour through the Pest portion of the capitol.
METRO
In the days before we met Andrea we had been to the Opera, to see a performance of Die Fledermaus. We had strolled Heroes Square and the spacious City Park and spent an afternoon soaking in the Széchenyi Thermal Baths. So, molding our personalized tour to other destinations Andrea had us get on the Metro.
Everything we saw on this second day was within walking distance from our K+K Opera Hotel, but we took the Metro to save time.
Around the corner from our hotel was the beautiful Hungarian State Opera House and the Opera Metro station and at a kiosk Andrea had us purchase 10 pairs of single use Metro tickets. When we got on the Millennium or Yellow line of the Metro, she showed us how to validate our tickets in a little machine on the quaint rattling train and we rode it to last stop at Vorosmarty Square (Ter in Hungarian).
We could have taken the Millennium line (so named because it was constructed in the late 1800s in celebration of the 1,000-year anniversary of Hungary) the opposite way to the City Park and the Széchenyi Thermal Baths, but we had decided to walk on a beautiful warm and sunny early January morning.
Cafe Gerbeaud, Budapest

It was early and the Vorosmarty Square was empty, but Andrea said it will fill up with shoppers as the day progressed as it is the beginning of Vaci Street (utca in Hungarian.) This pedestrian thoroughfare starts at the Great Market Hall and is lined with restaurants, cafes and tourist shops.
Sadly the popular Christmas market that is held in Vorosmarty Square was done for the season, but Andrea gave us the history of the famous Café Gerbeaud, and recommended we stop later for a coffee and a pastry.
DOWN BY THE RIVER
From Vorosmarty it was a short walk to the Danube River where Andrea pointed out the Chain Bridge, the first bridge built to cross the storied waterway and join the cities of Buda and Pest into one entity.
The Chain Bridge, Budapest

Here there is an above ground trolley and access to tour boats that cruise the Danube.
The Chain Bridge was under renovation with cyclone fencing keeping everyone away.

ST STEPHEN'S BASILICA
More than half of all Hungarians follow the Roman Catholic religion. It’s dominance in this Central European country was helped along by St. Stephen who “spread the word” by the sword when he became king in 997.
Beyond Hungary the Russian orthodox religion is prevalent.
St. Stephen's hand
It was a short walk up from the river with the chiming bells of St. Stephen’s Basilica filling the air as Andrea filled us in on the history and particulars of the basilica. For instance, it was completed in 1905 and it is 96 meters tall (315 ft), the same height as the Parliament building, inferring church and state are of equal importance. The number 96 is important to Budapest because of it commemorates the settling of Hungary in 896.
There are no skyscrapers in the center of Budapest as the law requires all buildings to be shorter than 96 meters. 
Anyway, St. Stephen’s Basilica was majestic from the outside, but there were church services being held and no touring allowed. Andrea begged us to go on our own, after our tour was over. We did the next day, but without her guidance lots of things were missed, although we did get to see St. Stephen’s right hand encased in a reliquary. There is a nominal fee to enter the basilica with tickets purchased from a small office across the street from the basilica.
The square in front of the basilica is lined with very pleasant cafes and restaurants.
LIBERTY SQUARE
Victims Memorial Budapest

The next stop on our half-day walking tour with Andrea was Liberty Square. Here we first stopped in front of the memorial for Victims of the German Occupation and Andrea pointed out the irony, as many Hungarians were complicit in the holocaust. An anti-memorial is set up just across the narrow street from the official memorial showing the remnants of Jewish lives from the atrocities, and is adorned with barbed wire and protest flyers and artifacts like shoes and suitcases. It was a sobering reminder of the cruelty.
In the center of Liberty Square is the one lone Soviet memorial left standing in Budapest. All the rest have been removed to Memento Park on the outskirts of the city. The reason the obelisk, topped by a golden Soviet star, had been left in place was because it is a memorial to the Red Army soldiers who died trying to liberate Hungary from the Nazis. That control stuff came later.
Red Army Memorial
Liberty Square

On one end of the square is the United States Embassy, and nearby are two statues of U.S. Presidents, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Both were instrumental in the collapse of Communism. 
Andrea told us how the crown jewels of Hungary were spirited away to the United States’ Fort Knox for safekeeping before the war. Later returned by Jimmy Carter in 1978 the crown jewels are now in the main rotunda of the Parliament building, and are the highlight of a separate tour we would take the next day.  
Andrea said they should also erect a statue of Carter in Liberty Square
Here's some more history of the crown jewels of Hungary
PARLIAMENT BUILDING
We would take the audio tour of the interior of the beautiful Parliament Building the next day, but on our walking tour Andrea had us walk through the spacious Kossuth Square, dodging trollies and view this magnificent Gothic revival structure built to rival the Austrian dominance at the time. It was meant to be completed in time for the 1896 Millennial celebration of Hungary, but finally completed in 1904. During the Soviet era a massive red star was atop the main dome, but now that’s in a display of the history of the Parliament Building that is part of the walking audio tour.
Hungarian Crown Jewels

The front entrance to the Parliament faces the Danube, but the rear side, facing the square is dramatic as well. Andrea had us go the visitor center on the far end to get a closer look (and to use their nice bathrooms).
As we headed towards the metro on the other side of the Parliament Building and Kossuth Square Andrea pointed out the Szekler flag of Transylvania that was flying from the Parliament Building. In reparations for its role in WWI, Hungary signed the Treaty of Trianon and lost 75% of her pre-WWI territories. Suddenly people who were once Hungarian were now Romanian, Slovakian, Croatian, Serb, etc. There are factions within the Hungarian government that feel Transylvania should be Hungarian again. It was reminiscent of what is happening currently in Ukraine and it’s conflict with Russia.
The Parliament Building Budapest
To read more about the complicated history:
TOBACCO ROAD SYNAGOGUE
Ignoring the alluring Szamos Chocolate Museum near Kossuth Square and quickly eyeing the Memorial honoring those who perished in the October 25, 1956 revolution against the Communists (with sobering faux bullet holes splayed along the glass structure), we entered the Red line Metro stop. 
Kossuth Sq escaltor

It’s very deep and the escalators are very swift, so hang on! Andrea explained that this part of the metro also doubled as a bomb shelter and the speedy escalators would spirit people away from danger.
We took the metro to the Dohany Street Synagogue, the largest in Europe. The synagogue is so named after the tobacco factory that was once located nearby. Dohany is tobacco in Hungarian.
Raul Wallenberg Memorial Park 
at Dohany Synagogue
Dohany Synagogue charged an admission to tour the interior, like all the churches that we visited in Budapest, but Andrea instead led us around the exterior, explaining the architecture and pointing out sobering details from the street.
Over 400,000 Hungarian Jews died during the Holocaust and many were sent to Auschwitz, but the synagogue was where many of those who died while in the Ghetto during the Nazi occupation are buried. Though we didn’t enter the grounds we could see the markers of those unfortunate souls from the street. She also pointed out the Raoul Wallenberg Holocaust Memorial park, easily seen through the railings in the rear courtyard of the synagogue complex. Wallenberg’s efforts during WWII saved thousands of Jews. The memorial features a metallic weeping willow on whose leaves are inscribed the names of the victims during this time.
If you’re interested in reading more about the Dohany Synagogue:
THE GREAT MARKET HALL
We took an above ground trolley from the Astoria stop to Flovam Square for the next and final destination of our half day walking tour with Andrea Makkay, The Great Market Hall. Located near the Liberty Bridge which leads directly across the Danube to Gellert Hill, where we were the previous day, the trolley dropped us off on a traffic island in the middle of a busy street. 
Great Market Hall Budapest

The Great Market Hall is perhaps the most touristed destination in Budapest with three floors of shops offering produce, meats, dairy products, spices like Paprika, wines, tourist souvenirs and even housewares like pots and pans. Also found on the upper mezzanine are several eateries and restaurants. In the basement are the fish mongers and specialty butchers. On the mezzanine level several eateries and restaurants are located. This massive airy building was erected in 1897 and the façade is decorated with famed and colorful Zsolnay tiling which is found throughout Budapest.
Andrea gave us a quick once-over about the history of this vast indoor emporium and after some pleasantries we said our good-byes and left us to explore the market ourselves. It was a wonderful tour; we crammed a lot in over the two days we were with Andrea. 
Great Market Hall interior

So, afterwards we walked the aisles, found a wine kiosk where we bought several Ikon winery reds for ourselves and friends, while ignoring the Tokaj sweet dessert wines that were as plentiful. We then bought chocolate and decorative pouches of paprika for more gifts, souvenir gifts for the grandchildren and another key chain to add to our burgeoning collection of such keepsakes from around the world.
If you end up at the Great Market Hall in Budapest, remember there are lots of stands offering similar products, like the paprika pouches. If you go you can negotiate on the price. It's easier if you’re buying a lot like we were. The gaily printed pouches with wooden spoons to dole out the spice do make great gifts, but if you're not satisfied with the price move on to the next vendor.
THE WOODEN SPOON
We ended our visit to the Great Market Hall with lunch at the Fakanal restaurant, located on the mezzanine at one end of the market. Fakanal means wooden spoon in Hungarian. It was a cafeteria style restaurant that offers traditional Hungarian foods and has a small gypsy music group playing from noon until 3 pm.

JUST DESSERTS
With our souvenirs in tow and our bellies filled with hearty Hungarian goulash we strolled down the famed Vaci Street, but basically ignored all the tourist shops and cafes. Afterall, we were headed to Cafe Gerbeaud in Vorosmarty Square where we began our walking tour with Andrea that morning.  
First opened in 1858 and at its present location since 1870 Café Gerbeaud was where Budapest elite took their coffee. Opulent décor, crystal chandeliers and an array of desserts and coffees and teas and now offering a breakfast and bistro menu a visit to Café Gerbeaud is a chance to experience what life was like during the height of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Cognac Cherry Dessert

Our reward for hoofing it around Pest with Andrea Makkay was to enjoy some decadent desserts at the café. Though I got the Royal Chocolate Cake slice, Janet won this round by ordering the Cognac Cherry Dessert that was so beautiful she didn’t want to eat it!
BEYOND THE TOUR
This is a small “slice” of Budapest, pun intended. We saw a lot, but there is much more to see in Budapest.
Later that evening we went on a pub crawl to the Ruin Bars, and the much quieter Tuk Tuk Bar. The next day we toured the Parliament Building and saw the crown jewels. We finally visited St. Stephens Basilica and got to see his 1,000-year-old right hand in its reliquary, but without Andrea to guide us we just took in the beauty of the basilica. We then had an afternoon coffee at a café on the square before the basilica. We rode the Budapest Ferris Wheel and after tiring of eating so much rich goulash over the past number of days we had comfort pizza at the Trattoria Pomo D’Oro, which was also on the basilica’s square.
Parliament interior

Our first meal in Budapest was at the Menza Restaurant. Menza is the Hungarian word for canteen, and this lively place that served traditional Hungarian dishes had retro-60s era décor. We had to wait briefly for a table, so we hung at the bar and some drinks.  The menu was translated into English and the portions were massive. We each had a garlic soup topped by a Hungarian pastry that was filled with sour cream. That was enough, but our entrees, Janet had Pork and I had a Wiener Schnitzel had our bellies bursting!
Thanks for reading. Budapest is beautiful, historical and vibrant.
Go!
Love Janet and greg

© 2023 by Gregory Dunaj

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