Another comfortable train journey took us to Budapest.
The city is impressive, with many grand
buildings lining wide boulevards, many of which have been restored to their
former art nouveau glory.
There is still
much restoration work needed however, you do get the feeling that it is a city
improving daily.
 |
| The centre of Hungary for measurements |
The weather is very hot for us at around 35 degrees, which
saps our energy quickly. I really don’t
know how Michael and I will cope with the heat when we finally return to
Australia - we have become such wimps!
Once again I researched where the best coffee could be found and we
discovered a café called Little Melbourne and we knew that with a name like
that it must be good. The coffee was
great and we sat along the sidewalk watching all the Hungarian hipsters pass
by.
The Danube runs through the centre of the city, separating
Buda from Pest. It is very picturesque
walking along the banks and seeing the grand buildings lining the water’s
edge. It is a working river with many
barges, ferries and cruise vessels constantly in motion. Michael and I crossed the chain bridge and
the view from there was magnificent.
We took a stroll through the Great Market Hall, which is the
largest and oldest indoor market in Budapest. Built in 1897, it was completely destroyed in
both world wars and restoration works were undertaken in the 1990s. The market is spread over three floors and
offers produce, meats, pastries, candies, spices and spirits. Paprika is everywhere, with huge strands of
threaded peppers hanging in many of the stores.
Michael continued what has now become a tradition of having
his beard shaved in interesting places.
Once more he emerged from his bushy beard looking youthful although his
eyes were stinging from the fumes of the pungent aftershave, which was
liberally splashed on his raw skin.
Art nouveau is the main architectural highlight of the city
and we had a coffee in a wonderful art nouveau museum, which was filled with
the rich furnishings of the period.
Grand cafes are something of a tradition, with many Hungarians partaking
of coffee coupled with enormous, rich cakes.
We have seen many memorials in our travels, however the
Shoes on the Danube Bank memorial is one of the most moving we have seen to date. Sixty pairs of iron shoes line the embankment
to honour the Jews who were killed by fascist Arrow Cross militiamen during
World War II. They were ordered to take
off their shoes, and were shot at the edge of the water so that their bodies
fell into the river and were carried away.
Just another sobering reminder of the many atrocities perpetuated
throughout Hungary during the war.
The food in Budapest has been very good with Michael
particularly enjoying the hearty stews on offer. My favourite dish has been the Paprika
Chicken, which is very tasty indeed.
When I was in first form in high school, each person in the geography
class was allocated a country to research and make a presentation to the class
along with a traditional meal. I was
allocated Hungary and I prepared Paprika Chicken, which went down really well
as I recall. I doubt though that it was
as good as I have eaten here. I think
this anecdote goes into the file of pointless things I can remember from years
ago.
Ruin Pubs are interesting places to relax and have a
drink. Derelict buildings and unused
outdoor spaces have been transformed into bars, decorated with mismatched
furniture and kitsch art. They are
lively and full of people of all ages and some of the larger bars have outdoor
areas where you can enjoy the summer evenings.
A very hot day dawned and in our wisdom we decided to visit
Buda Castle. There is a funicular, which
takes you to the top of the hill, which is listed as one of the top 10, must do
activities in Budapest. Not for us to do
the normal thing – no, we have to climb up the 51 metres of near vertical steps
in the 34 degree heat without a smidgeon of shade. We did it, but it rather took the shine off
of the magnificent views from the top as I was left gasping. I can walk long distances but don’t ever ask
me to climb hills or stairs! We had a
look at some of the fine art on display in one of the museums there, which was
a welcome respite from the heat. The art
was good however none of it was very memorable.
The Fisherman’s Bastion was a lovely terrace to walk around and we also
saw Matthias Church, which was named for King Matthias.
We took a dinner cruise on the Danube, where we were able to
achieve some respite from the heat. A
Romanian folk band was the entertainment for the evening and we set sail to the
obligatory rendition of the Blue Danube (which isn’t actually blue, but a
rather strange green colour). We had a
lovely time cruising past the famous buildings and seeing the magnificent
Parliament from the water. The only sour
note of the evening was when one uncouth English gentleman became cross when
the waiter couldn’t understand English, so he loudly complained that all of the
waiting staff on the ship should be able to speak English, otherwise what were
they doing there? I tend to take the
attitude that if people can speak English to us, then it is a bonus, however I
certainly don’t expect them to. Michael
always carries his trusty phrase book with him and we usually can muddle
through and people are invariably friendly when they see that you are making an
effort.
One of the things that Budapest is famous for is the many
spas and hot springs. Michael and I
headed out to the Lukacs Thermal Bath, which is a historic indoor and outdoor
thermal bath spa, which is heated naturally by hot springs. We made our way through the labyrinthine
corridors until we found the four thermal baths, which range in temperatures
from 26 degrees to 104 degrees. Michael
spent time in the hottest bath and sauna whilst I found myself a nice spot in
one of the cooler baths. Once you got
used to the egg smell it was very relaxing.
I particularly felt good, as I was one of the smallest ladies there (and
there are not many places where I can say that). It was a perfect way to spend the morning.
Hotel Transylvania
We had a very early
start with a sprint to the station to catch the 6.00am train to
Cluj-Napoca. It was an interesting
journey watching the ever-changing scenery as we passed through Hungary to
Romania. The train stopped at the border
of Hungary and immigration officials boarded to check and stamp our
passports. The train then travelled a
short distance over the border into Romania and the procedure was repeated.
We arrived at Cluj-Napoca to discover that major road works
were underway with both sides of the street completely dug up. That made for an interesting time dragging
our bags through the rubble to our hotel.
The city is the second most populous in Romania after
Bucharest and used to be the official capital of the Grand Principality of
Transylvania. It is now a university
town and it was a pleasant place to break our journey. Michael had paid an extra $4 to upgrade our hotel
room to a suite and we were given a massive apartment with a huge lounge,
bedroom and bathroom. The hotel must
have been palatial in its glory days.
Dracula Was Doing His
Stuff
It was a long train journey of 8 hours from Cluj-Napoca to
Brasov. We travelled first class however Romanian first class is not as flash
as it sounds. Michael actually felt that
the second-class carriages were better than ours. We have noticed the difference between
train-travel in the different countries.
The train journey in France was aboard an immaculate train staffed by
exquisitely groomed (if surly) personnel.
The German train was spotless and staffed by friendly and efficient
stewards. The Hungarian train was clean
but the staff dishevelled. Romania –
well, they mean well! Luckily we had
packed our lunch because they had forgotten to attach the dining car.
The main purpose of our trip was to visit Bran Castle. When Michael and I first arrived in Ireland,
we decided to read some novels by Irish authors, one of whom was Bram
Stoker. I was particularly taken with
Dracula and I researched the castle where some of the action takes place. Nobody knows for certain, but it was thought
that Bram Stoker took his inspiration from Bran Castle so that was a good
enough reason for us to head to Transylvania.
Our journey to Bran Castle was almost as memorable as
Jonathan Harker’s journey to Castle Dracula.
Michael had researched how to get there by public transport and it
sounded easy enough. We caught the bus
to the main bus depot (a feat in itself) and then tried to explain to the
ticket seller where we wanted to go. We thought we had made ourselves
understood and waited where we had been told.
We waited about 40 minutes when a gentleman worked out that we looked
lost and through much gesticulating, pigeon Romanian and even sketches he
managed to tell us we were waiting in the wrong place and directed to us where
we should be. Off we went to stand at
another bus stop and after a while, a plain white van pulls up and the driver
says “Bran”. On we hopped and whilst we
were sitting there, I couldn’t help thinking that I would be so cross if I
found out that the boys had climbed into an unmarked van driving to goodness
knows where. We pulled up at the base of
the castle about 40 minutes later.
Bran Castle was every bit as dramatic and impressive as I
had imagined. The climb up the steps
gives you the opportunity to see the surrounding countryside and mountains and
appreciate just how high up you are. The
castle is full of secret passages and staircases wind there way up to ever
dizzying heights. The displays told the
history of the royal family, Vlad the Impaler and of course the story of
Dracula. I had thought that perhaps it
would all be rather tacky with vampire souvenirs and such like, but the
emphasis was on the history and the souvenirs for sale were traditional
Romanian folk art. It was all very
wonderful.
We caught a normal bus back to Brasov, listening to the
English songs playing over the speakers.
Michael and I were laughing when the old Smokey song, Living Next Door
to Alice, came on. We were singing along
quietly until the chorus when the words “Alice, who the f@#$ is Alice, were
suddenly heard. This was actually played
over the speakers, and as no one reacted, we could only presume that no one
could understand English. We had noticed
a lot of t-shirts worn by young people, which have swearing or obscene phrases
emblazoned across them. Michael thinks
that the young people understand what they say but they get away with wearing
them because their parents don’t speak English.
Brasov is a beautiful mediaeval city fringed by the
Carpathian Mountains. The legendary Pied
Piper led the children of Hamlin here and the cobble-stoned streets are lined
with red-roofed merchant houses. Mount
Tampa looms above the city and we caught the cable car to the top of the
mountain. I swear that the cable car
looks as though it is powered by a fraying elastic band however it took us to
the top safely enough. The view from the
top of the mountain is breathtaking and we walked along until we were behind
the large sign set into the mountain that says Brasov. It is just like the Hollywood sign and is
visible for miles.
I couldn’t help noticing the abundance of funeral parlours
in Brasov. We passed three between the
station and our hotel, complete with satin lined display caskets in the window,
which was a creepy reminder that we had arrived in Transylvania.
We dined at the large underground restaurant Sergiana,
specialising in Romanian food. We left
the selection of our meals to the very friendly waiter and we were not
disappointed. Michael had an enormous
meat platter, whilst I had a tasty beef stew topped with pastry. The meal was fantastic, however dessert was
really special. The waiter suggested
papanasi, fried pastry resembling a small sphere and filled with soft cheese
and sour jam. It was absolutely
delicious.
