Welcome back to When Wine Calls “The Winter Grape Tour”.
It was only a relatively short train journey to Budapest compared to our previous trips across Europe and in no time, we were pulling into Budapest train station in the early afternoon. This gave us time to settle into our apartment (which included an amazing mural of Budapest on one of the walls) and go for walk around the city and get our bearings before dinner.
None of us had been to Budapest previously so it was exciting to be exploring a new city with such a vibrant reputation, particularly as we were to be here to welcome in the New Year. I am sure many of you reading this blog already know the history of the city’s name, but as a quick reminder Buda and Pest were initially two towns located on opposite sides of the Danube River that were unified in 1873, forming the modern city of Budapest. We were staying on the Pest side which appeared to be the busiest side of the river.
One of the bridges crossing the river was the Szechenyi chain bridge which is one of Europe’s most iconic suspension bridges and is beautifully lit up at night with the Buda Castle (also known as The Royal Palace) located on the hill behind and flooded in lighting at night providing one of the most photographed locations in Budapest
On my must do list while in Budapest was to have the authentic Hungarian goulash so we picked a nearby local restaurant that was obviously popular by the crowds trying to get a seat. The seating was predominantly on the street but because of the cold weather they had turned the area into a marquee with clear plastic sheeting that made it extremely cosy. The meal lived up to all the hype and was inexpensive – indeed all the meals we had in Budapest were so much more affordable than in other parts of Europe we had visited on this trip.
For the next morning, we had organised a walking tour around Budapest to acquaint ourselves with its history and we were so glad we did. The tour commenced outside the famous St Stephen’s Basilica, built in 1905 and the largest Roman Catholic church in Hungary.
Leaving the church, the tour was full of surprises around every corner passing next through Liberty Square (also known as Freedom square) where the Archangel Monument to the victims of the German Invasion of WWII is situated along with a collection of personal items left by families of those killed during the Holocaust, including photos, shoes, suitcases, and other belongings, serving as a poignant reminder of the human cost of the war – it was a highly emotionally and confronting setting.
Also in the square is, remarkably, a statue of the US President, Ronald Reagan, reflecting his efforts in ending the Cold War, as well as the National Treasury and US Embassy building. It is a square of contrasts with the tragedy of war at one end and celebration of liberation at the other.
We also sighted Kermit the Frog which is one of approximately 30 miniature statues located throughout the city designed by the Hungarian sculptor Mihaly Kolodko. Kermit of course, is from “The Muffet Show” fame with locals dressing him each winter with a scarf and beanie to protect him from the cold. These miniature statues are a great idea for tourists to uncover as they travel around the city.
The tour also traversed through the shopping area where a bronze statue “The Fat Policemen” named Uncle Karl stands prominent along the mall. Uncle Karl is notable for his belly which has become gloriously golden—a clear sign that it has been rubbed by many over the years. Local superstition has it that rubbing his belly grants you good luck and immunity against weight gain so that one can enjoy as much Hungarian food as they like. It has now become a very popular photo stop for tourists.
We then headed down to the Danube River to see the wonderful and striking Hungarian Parliament Building.
A short distance away was the incredibly moving “Shoes on the Danube”, a memorial of 60 pairs of shoes in bronze randomly laid out along the water’s edge in 2005 to honour the Jews that were massacred at the riverbank in WWII and swept into the Danube River with their shoes taken due to their value – you cannot but be touched deeply by the site of this memorial.
Bright yellow trams run through this part of the waterfront and into the city providing a wonderful contrast to the greyness of many of the surrounding buildings.
We finished the tour on a local tour boat moored along the river’s edge, then made our way towards our apartment where we sighted a local fire truck that was amazingly small compared to those in Australia – quaint but not sure how effective they are.
On the way back to our apartment we stopped in at this great little wine bar we had discovered the previous day where we could hydrate and have some local food after all our walking before heading out again for the New Years Eve activities.
While the weather during the day had been cold and cloudy the rain had stayed away as we headed down to the river to celebrate New Years Eve. It was still early in the evening but on the way down we came across numerous people selling fireworks in the main shopping mall with others wheeling shopping trolleys filled with all types of them.
Fireworks were also being fired off all around us in the mall despite several hours still to go to midnight with no thought about people being in the vicinity but nevertheless, creating an unbelievable party atmosphere. We are more familiar with a controlled fireworks display in Australia, so we were not expecting this experience, nor were most of the other tourists standing around in the mall.
Hordes of people were still heading down to the river and like us were no doubt anticipating that at midnight a controlled fireworks display would be set off on the Buda side of the river backdropped by the Buda palace and the Szechenyi Bridge. Even the river boats were travelling up and down the river in expectation for their guests onboard. We were all to be proven incorrect as instead random fireworks kept going off up and down the river bank all the way up to midnight and beyond – just an unbelievable experience,
although at times to be honest somewhat disconcerting as remnants of the crackers landed near us or even on our clothing. It certainly was a different New Years Eve celebration for us.
After welcoming in the New Year, we strolled back through the mall towards our apartment with outdoor parties and all types of live music in full swing with no sign of abatement. It was an amazing evening to experience and reminded us on what New Years Eve use to be like in Australia when Pauline and I were growing up.
As was the case in Vienna our time in Budapest was short so there was no time to sleep in to recover from New Years Eve. As New Years Day dawned the weather had cleared into a bright blue-sky day and so we called in at a quaint café called “My Little Melbourne” for coffee,
and then headed passed the many river cruise boats tied up at their moorings and crossed the river via the Erzsebet Bridge,
climbing Gellert Hill on the Buda side to get the most glorious views of the city.
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On the way to the summit we passed the bronze statue of Bishop Gellert that stands on the side of the hill overlooking the Danube that the hill is named after.
It was then onto the Palace which offered the most amazing view of the Parliament Building,
then back across the river again via the Szechenyi Bridge with its most incredible architectural features.
We finished our walk back at our local bar for some wine and food to complete an exhausting but exciting day.
The next day was “travel day” so we caught a bus from the city centre out to the airport. Sadly, this is where we would be saying goodbye to William and Portia as they were catching a flight to Reykjavik in Iceland to continue their exciting European adventure together while Pauline and I would catch a flight to Paris on our way home. Like our departure from Seefeld, many thoughts went through our mind of the wonderful times we had experienced on this leg of our trip but for the next few weeks we would be back travelling by ourselves before we all caught back up again in Australia. A final few hugs and Willam and Portia headed for their gate, and we headed for ours.
Our flight to Paris was only a few short hours so it was not long, and we were arriving in Charles de Galle airport. It was great to be arriving back at one of our most favourite cities and to see it for the first time in winter. Join us next time to travel through romantic Paris with us. Until then.
Bruce & Pauline
When Wine Calls 
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