Budapest: One river, two cities, a thousand treasures

Story and photos by LeAnne MacAllister

U.S. Army Garrison Baumholder

I loved Budapest. Or, to be more specific, I loved touring the labyrinth below the castle on Buda hill, strolling down Pest’s pedestrian zone and standing on the Chain Bridge — admiring the two cities as my thoughts drifted down the Danube.

If my hunch is correct, nearly everyone who has visited this pair of cities has caught the Hungarian bug — a relative of the bug that makes people fall in love with Paris in the springtime, the Rhein aflame or Aegean views from the cliffs of Santorini.

“It’s just beautiful everywhere you look,” said Sharon Rhodes, a nutritionist at the Baumholder Women, Infants, Children program. “There’s so much there that you can’t even begin to realize till you take a tour, and then you find a dozen more things to explore.” Rhodes said she especially liked the Municipal Park’s ice skating rink and gardens adjacent to yet another castle, the Vajdahunyad.

The cities of Buda and Pest have kept the charm of the old empires, achieved the beauty of classical, baroque, eclectic and Victorian architecture, and embraced the hidden treasures that make Eastern European cities some of the “best kept secrets” of globetrotters.

“Budapest is definitely worth the trip. The Buda Castle and its Fisherman’s Bastion look like they came directly out of a fairytale,” said Heide Cygan, Child and Youth Services nurse in Baumholder.

The Buda side of the river is marked by large hills with a crest that extends for about a mile. The Liberty Monument on Gellert Hill stands on the southern point overlooking the river. Farther north, Buda castle’s Royal Palace façade faces the riverfront. The palace, dating back to the 1100s but rebuilt after World War II, currently houses the Hungarian National Gallery. Entrance is free to this vast museum for all visitors.

Other highlights in Buda’s castle complex include Matthias Church, Fishermen’s Bastion and the labyrinth.

“Buda is absolutely beautiful to gaze at while sitting in one of the restaurants along the Pest side of the river. Pest is definitely best for shopping, dining and nightlife,” said Cygan.

Though the Pest side of the river is also filled with architectural treasures such as the Parliament — rivaling that of London’s according to some visitors — it is more accurately described as the heartbeat of Budapest. Pouring out from the Szechanyilanchid, also known as the Chain Bridge, Pest offers streets loaded with shopping for any budget, cuisine options from across the globe and a nightlife rivaling that of Prague and Munich. Locals, expatriates and tourists converge in Pest, keeping the streets bustling at all hours of the day and night.

“The city is always full of energy,” said Tiffany Wingeart, a first-grade teacher at Baumholder’s Smith Elementary. “I could shop at my favorite European stores on my way to visit St. Stephen’s Cathedral, a must see. The church is a breathtaking sanctuary with its red and green marble decor. But as soon as I left, I was back in the center of the action. I love this place.”

Pest sprawls out for miles, decorated with parks, memorials, churches and synagogues.

And of course bars and clubs spread out along the river and into the city center. The most popular of night clubs, which play American and European hits, still mix in local music. Club Seven, a current hotspot, charges a reasonable cover of $15 for women and $30 for men, which includes unlimited drinks from the bar and entertainment at the midpoint of the night. A pair of belly dancers graced the dance floor for a 30-minute performance around midnight.

After dancing till dawn, the city offers a plethora of recovery options. Well deserving of its nickname ‘city of spas,’ there are hundreds of bathhouses and spas offering various treatments, massages and swimming options in Budapest. Noted across Europe for centuries, these thermal and medicinal bathhouses are also available in many hotels and parks across the city. Famous ones, such as the Gellert Baths in Buda, boast beautiful interiors that mix mosaics and paintings adorning the walls and pools, befitting of a king or a sultan. Just be prepared if you are modest — swimwear is optional in many locations.

“After spending four days here I definitely feel like I could spend twice as long and I’d still have more sights left to see,” said Brooke Little, a tourist from Chicago.

“Plus, I could definitely go for another bowl of the world’s best goulash.”