Budapest, Hungary 2023 Day 3

For dinner tonight, Obi ordered a “vega” burger from a restaurant – when it arrived we assumed the veggie patty was wrapped in goat cheese because we could only see the white lines of a goat cheese log – upon biting into the “burger” we came to realize the entire patty was a solid inch think slab of pure goat cheese – it might have even been thicker than an inch – oh man, was I laughing hard. I should mention that Obi doesn’t even really enjoy goat cheese but will tolerate it as an addition to a burger. It was especially comical because I had spent over an hour trying to find a good vegetarian restaurant within walking distance and eventually found what I thought would be a decent place. Though when we arrived at the said address – it was the back end of a Lidle supermarket – only the ghost of a once was restaurant remained. Sadly as we roamed onward we decided a place with outdoor seating and a veggie burger on the menu would do – we learned our lesson! He picked at the mountain of fries as I ate the pieces of salmon from my Caesar salad. We both left hungry and decided we had enough attempts at eating for the day. As I am writing this, Obi is taking a shower – and all I hear are, half hearted sighs because the shower is so small that at various points if you move an inch you end up hitting something – often the water nozzle so the temperature changes quickly and unexpectedly. The water drains very slowly and given the small footprint of the base the water pools quickly – so when the small hotel soap is dropped into the milky water down below one has to go fishing for the bar if you want to finish lathering up. During my shower I dropped the shower head and the plastic part which divides the water into small streams popped half way off – so after some failed attempts to pop it on while the water was running I needed to pause mid shower, turn off the water and fix the head. Luckily with a slight powerful jiggle and push – it popped back on. I appreciate that we both take all of these moments in stride – and laugh through it all.

Today was a robust day of walking – lots and lots of walking in high temps – but our destinations were all spectacular. We started the day with a return trip to the Matthias church, having missed the opportunity a few day ago to see the inside we found ourselves spell bound by the painted interior – from the floor to the ornate ceiling everything was painted with small patterns, designs and imagery. The interior colors reflected the wood like tones of the browns, deep reds and yellows on the tiled roof. From here to ventured to Margaret Island – a skinny oval like shaped park with a zoo, small track and soccer field, a beautiful flower garden, castle ruins and much more. We spontaneously decided to rent a two seated quadracycle. I took on the driving which Obi at first was excited by – but might have something different to say by the end. We enjoyed pedaling around the park and found the flower garden with well manicured plants in long curved shaped rows. Bumble bees were busy – I could understand why. I did get us lost in a parking lot at the other end of the island – and then needed to go off roading down a steep dirt hill ending with a sharp turn in which the wheel just managed to hop over the metal curb. Oh – thrilling indeed. We returned the quadracycle with two minutes to spare and not a scratch of evidence.

From the park we walked to the Hungarian Parliament for our pre-booked tour. We got ear pieces and a small device to hang around our necks and joined a group of about 30 people and two guides. This building was impressive with the focal point of the tour being the royal crown, scepter, sword and orb which resides in a presumably bullet proof glass-like case and two official crown guards. The crown guards rotate every hour within three sets of paired guards a day – walking in circles and standing in place when tour groups come to see the jewels and learn about the historical significance of the items. The parliament is a feet of architecture – having been completed in just 19 years with four floors. It is said that every day there were 1,000 laborers and masons working at a time which is why for the late 1800s – having started construction in 1885 and completed in 1904 this was a feat of exceptional craftsmanship and construction. There are many areas of the parliament with gold covering every inch of the celling, and figures throughout the building representing original artisanal crafts like stone and metal work or weaving. We stood on one of the largest knotted carpets in Europe and saw one of he first combined heating and cooling units built into a building. The House of Parliament boasts small vents for each member which push out hot or cool air from a cooling system housed in another building (just like the original design). When the building was first developed the cold air was pushed over ice. Above the crown stood significant figures in Hungarian history one being King Matthias who the church we saw earlier is named after – and the other being Maria Theresa who ruled for 40 years and had 16 children! She was the only woman represented above the crown. Apparently King Matthias was the most beloved king of Hungary – because of his strong sense of justice and, fun fact – he started the second largest library in Hungary. My final parliament fact to share with you was that during WWII all of the stained glass windows were removed from the building and placed in a walled room underground with layers of sand between each one. As a result – not a single original window has ever been broken. Clearly this building for the Hungarian people represents more than just a beautiful space but a building meant to symbolize the unity of the country after much turmoil and division.

From government and royalty we ventured to our final major destination of the day, St. St. Stephen’s Basilica. Another magnificent feat of architecture and engineering. Inside this church I found myself lost in all of the details and features of the internal space. The murals, stained glass windows and alters were bountiful. However the most interesting artifact was the slightly older than 1,000 year old preserved right hand of St. Stephens – Hungary’s first king. From the information we gathered – “The Saint Stephen was canonized in 1083, and as part of the process of saint-ing, his corpse was exhumed from his crypt. It is said that his right arm (though not the rest of him apparently) was found to be as fresh as the day he was buried. The supple arm was promptly lopped off to be preserved and venerated.” And sure enough right there in the church is a dried out – hand preserved in a glass and gold case – within a larger highly decorated chest. On St. Stephens day the people of Hungary take the hand out for a walk!