Budapest - Grey but Great

This hotel has the most comfortable beds! And the most fabulous view - we left the curtains open so we could see it. 

Down to the lobby for breakfast. It's amazing how rude some people are to the waiters and waitresses, very annoying!

There is a city tour this morning for the group but I had thought it was in the afternoon and had booked a tour for the Hungarian Parliament House instead - and I would rather do that! So off we set, along the Danube River, in little doubt that we will be able to find it...

..with another great statue. This building is massive, and there are guards everywhere, including these two, marching around the flag.

Have to walk all the way around to the...

..not a simple language, Hungarian!

Once inside, we line up to go through security. They have a great video playing for people waiting in line - all about the building and what the process will be once we go through security - very well done.

Through security and we collect our headsets and set off. Our guide is great, very informative and nice, a tiny bit fast a couple of times but we get the picture. We are also escorted by a security guy who opens and locks the doors as we go. Here's not a great picture of either of them but it's what we've got!

We get the choice of stairs or lift, there are a lot of stairs but she says it is worth it, so we go for the stairs and my goodness, it is worth it! Doesn't come out amazingly well in photos but you get the idea...

As we were walking towards the main room, down an amazing corridor...

..we were bustled off the red carpet area to stand at the side as some soldiers were coming through - they have right of way.

Into the main room, the design of this was by a competition and the guy who won and did design it has a bust in this hall. They tried to use as much Hungarian product as they could, and succeeded except with a few bits, like some of the marble. Amazing room.

The building work began in 1885 and took something like 18 years to complete. It is bigger than the US Capitol building and as tall as the Statue of Liberty and is one of the largest and most impressive parliament buildings there is. It is also symmetrical so the same rooms are matching on either side. It was built as large as it was as Hungary used to be three times the size it is now, it lost land during the Second World War.

The next room was the Duna room, where they hold the Crown Jewels - can't take photos in here. There are two guards on either side of the Jewel cabinet, they have to stand there for an hour, then change and off for two hours. They are there all day and night but on the night shift they can move around. 

There are four pieces of the jewels - a sceptre, a sword, something else I didn't listen to (!) and the crown. There hasn't been a King in Hungary since 1916, it's now a prime minister.

This room is the centre dome on the building - the ceiling is magnificent and there is a very large chandelier up there - the number of lights lit indicates whether there is anyone of importance is in the building. Would hate to have to change the light bulbs - the chandelier doesn't lower and they have to get up and in there!

We next go into the parliament rooms, these aren't used for actual parliament these days, more for conferences and things. They are amazing as well!

Our guide explains that they have a president, who is a figurehead, by the sounds. He is elected on a fixed term and the terms are four years long. Then there is a prime minister and politicians, who are voted in and can serve as long as they are voted for, they are voted on four-year terms too.

Also there are around 900 staff and they have access to doctors, hairdressers, restaurants, cafes and so on - it's all there for them.

The next section is the lounges where they might hold press conferences or entertain. The statues around the top represent the people of Hungary - fishermen, agriculture, farmers, medicine, etc...

These are cigar holders - obviously not used today - but they are numbered so the politicians could leave them there, go in and speak in chambers, come back and have the rest of his cigar!

This was the last bit of the tour, we were let out through a bit of a display section and the inevitable gift shop, where I did actually buy a beautiful glass clock thing - hard to explain and it's now fully bubble wrapped... I consider the bubble wrap to be a gift too...

Our next port of call was to Gerbeaud - the oldest and most famous coffee house in Hungary and it is also beautiful!

We order coffee and I got a three-cheese scone, then we realised there was a whole selection of cakes! We might have to go back tomorrow...

The coffee is so good - went with their recommendation and even had it without sugar - it was so good.

Our next port of call is to the concierge desk to book tickets for tonight. I have spent a bit of time at this desk, working out the Parliament House tickets and whether to get a hop on bus, and booking for tonight. These boys made the standing at this desk easy...!

We don't go with the hop on, hop off bus, figure we can just as easily walk across ourselves and half the day is gone so we wouldn't get full value for it. So we head out and across the Chain Bridge towards Buda. We are staying on Pest, which is two thirds bigger than Buda, apparently, and is pronounced Pesht.

The day is a bit overcast but it's not cold. It looks greyer than it was.

When we get to the other side, we walk up to get the funicular up to the castle area, trying to avoid the vendors wanting us to take their shuttle or their bike or whatever. We want the funicular!

Once we get to the top, they are changing the guard in the little guard houses out the front. It's pretty relaxed and they chat to each other as they go.

 Next, we go along to St Mattias Church, which we don't go in as you have to pay and we have seen a few churches... Amazing roof though.

There is a small model of the church with descriptions in Braille, which is kind of cool, though I wonder, if you are blind, how do you know it is there to feel it?

There is great signage everywhere, including a large map...

..and if you notice the pink dot on the right, it is the standard sign except...

..and I was staning there to take the photo! Hilarious!

Next, to Fisherman's Bastion, or as Alison kept calling it, Fisherman's Basket! This was an incredible place with the best views of Budapest, even if it was a bit cloudy...

That is obviously Parliament House from this side - what a huge, impressive building it is! There are also lace makers and an busker on the accordion, all adding to the flavour of the place. We are not really sure they are the actual lace makers as Alison did notice they were only cutting threads off...

There is an accordion player behind my head!

Then a bit of a wander down the other side, it looks like museums and things over here...

Then back down the funicular and back over the bridge...

..before heading back for a short rest before heading out again, ending up on Vaci Street, which is a main shopping thoroughfare, some great shops.

Out for a quick meal then off to another show - Hungarian folklore tonight. It's in a beautiful 100-year-old Neo-baroque theatre, the Danube Palace. And we are up the top, in the cheap seats.

The show is great - there are seven violin, a cello and a base, one oboe and two dulcimers. There are also ten dancers, five guys and five girls. The program is a combination of dance numbers, which are great - all involve slapping and tapping-type moves, very rhythmic and fun, and then orchestral numbers, often featuring one player or another. Some well-known numbers in there too. The only slight downside is that the dancers sing some of the numbers and they really should stick to dancing!

It was all very relaxed, the dancers and orchestra wandered through as we were getting our tickets. At interval, they were wandering around again, one dancer was sitting with her boyfriend. Two of the orchestra were flogging their CD. 

No photos allowed of the performance, as per usual but we did sneak one of the bows...

It's been a great day in Budapest, it was grey and it did rain a bit in the late afternoon but we just got an umbrella from the busboy when we went out.

And I've added to the ABC - another bloody castle (can also be another bloody church) - I have added ABS...!!