Wandering Fel

The bus finally found a spot to drop us at the back of the church. We walked for a while to see the front side of the church. St Stephen’s Basilica is the most beautiful and significant church in Budapest due to is historical heritage. The church was dedicated to the holy king St Stephen who was also the founder of the Hungarian state. In addition, the church is also famous for its architectural and artistic value. The church houses so many valuable items including Hungary’s most sacred treasure, St Stephen’s mummified right hand, the Szent Jobb (re: Holy Right Hand). A bit background on the mummified right hand, the death of king St Stephen was followed by a turbulent period characterised by struggles for the throne. A certain faction of the king feared that the embalmed and mummified corpse of the king might be desecrated, and therefore ordered its removal from the marble sarcophagus standing in the middle of the basilica where king Stephen was buried on August 15, 1038 and hid it in the tomb under the basilica. The right hand of king remained intact and it was detached and taken to the treasury of the basilica since it was believed to have miraculous power.

The district where the basilica is located is a bustling city centre filled with row of cafes and souvenir stores. I suppose this place is always filled with tourists so it’s not really weird to find a lot of coffee shops and stores here. 

If you are looking for some souvenirs to bring back home, you may want to look for “Memories of Hungary”. When I first saw the words “Memories of Hungary”, I thought this building houses a museum. Turns out it is a big Hungarian souvenir shop. It is quite famous in Budapest and it has branches across the country. 

Memories of Hungary has a vast collection of products which tell visitors a story about Hungarian culture. The products sold here are related to traditional culture and folk customes of the Hungarian. The store has some interesting items other than the usual kitchen stuff and magnets. For instance, there are those party masks which you usually see people wearing at some banquet gala and wooden dolls in many sizes which pretty much similar to the Russian dolls. 

I do not know that Hungary is famous for its pepper ground/ paprika. It’s probably equivalent to chili flakes in Singapore. Paprika is powder made from grinding the pods of various kind of peppers. It is considered the national spice of Hungary. There are eight grades of Hungarian paprika which are differentiated by the level of smell and spiciness. The spice will make a good souvenir to bring back to your family (especially if there is a chef in the family). 

After Mom has finished looking around, we came out from the store with one or two fridge magnets (Mom is an avid collector of magnets). Wondering what to do while waiting for the rest of tour participants, I went to a gelato shop called Gelarto Rosa to check out what kind of gelato they serve in Budapest. Turns out it’s the kind of gelato shop where they will scoop and shape your gelato in the shape of flower. Oh my. 

You can choose two flavours and the staff will shape the gelato nicely to make a flower shape. My cousin asked me if I want to share the ice cream with her but this is one of the things in the world that I apply perfect selfishness so we ended up having our own ice cream. She chose strawberry and vanilla gelato. 

While I chose pistachio and vanilla gelato. On second thought, maybe I should have chosen other flavour instead because green flower does not really exist. But then again, who cares about such details, right? Hehe. 

In front of the monument there is a large stone cenotaph surrounded by an ornamental iron chain. The cenotaph is dedicated to “the memories of the heroes who gave their lives for the freedom of our people and our national independence”. While it looks like a real tomb, there is no way for the government of Hungary to bury that many soldiers who have lost their lives underneath the square. So this tomb just serves as a monumental piece and not the real burial site. Wreath-laying ceremony is conducted at this Hungarian War Memorial on national day. 

Behind the cenotaph, there is a column topped by the statue of the archangel, Gabriel. He holds the Holy Crown of St Stephen, who was the first king of Hungary, in his right hand. In the other hand, he holds a two barred apostolic cross, a symbol awarded to St Stephen by the Pope in recognition of his efforts to convert Hungary to Christianity. At the bottom of the column, there are the statues of the Chieftains of the Magyars. In a glance, these statues look like they are ready to come alive at night just like those from the Lord of the Rings movie. 

Right across the Heroes Square, there is Vajdahunyad Castle, one of the romantic castles in Budapest. It’s located right in the City Park by the boating lake/ skating rink. The castle was built in the year 1896 and it displays the evolution of architecture through centuries and styles in Hungary. Several festivals, concerts and exhibitions are held at the castle. I reallly wanted to check out the castle from closer distance but I did not really have much time to linger because I followed a tour. Sob. 

The Heroes Square is flanked by two museums. One is Museum of Fine Arts which is currently undergoing renovation (due for completion in 2018) and the other one is Hall of Art which hosts Hungarian and international works of art. Hall of Art opens from Tuesday to Sunday from 10AM to 6PM. On Thursday, it opens from 12PM - 8PM. Please note that it closed on Monday and national dates. 

Next we passed by Buda Castle and the Fisherman’s Bastion, which we visited earlier in the evening. If I was a citizen of Budapest, I think I will spend my dating days at this castle because it really looks pretty much romantic in certain way. 

 We crossed yet another bridge in Budapest, the Chain Bridge, a suspension bridge that spans the river Danube between Buda and Pest, the western and easter sides of the city. During its construction, Chain Bridge was considered one of the wonders of the world. Nothing lasts forever, I suppose. 

At the end of the next bridge, the Elizabeth Bridge, lies the oldest church at the Pest side of Budapest, the Inner City Parish Church. The church is designed under heavy influence of Baroque and Gothic era combined with Romanesque basilica in the 12th century. The Elizabeth Bridge is the third newest bridge of Budapest which connect Buda and Pest across the river Danube. The bridge is located at the narrowest part of the Danube and hence only spans for 290m. 

We are now passing by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. It is the most important and prestigious learned society of Hungary. It has the responsibilities to cultivate science, disseminate scientific findings, support research and development and represent Hungarian science domestically and around the world. I wonder if science is a popular career choice in Hungary. 

The last building that we passed by is definitely my most popular site that night. The 100 years old Hungarian Parliament Building is a magnificent example of Neo-Gothic architecture with Renaissance and Baroque characters. It was constructed in 1885 and augurated in 1896. Hungary adopts a parliamentary republican system and its election system is said to be one of the most complicated in Europe. Guided tours of the Parliament are available when the National Assembly is not in session. The tour takes about 45 minutes and it covers the main entrance stairs and hall, one of the lobbies, the old House of Lords and the Hungarian Crown Jewels. The admission is 2,000 HUF for EU citizens and 4,000 HUF for non-EU citizens. 

Details on the 10PM Budapest Night Cruise: 

- Embarking time: 9.30pm

- Dock: Pest dock

- Cruise time: 10pm - 11.30pm

- Live music (salon music)

- Options: Wine tasting cruise/ Cocktail cruise with 2 cocktails/ Craft beer tasting cruise/ Dinner in buffet style

- Dates: The late night 10pm cruise is not a daily cruise all year. Prior check on the dates is necessary.