Our guide, Sylvia and driver, Tomas show us around the highlights of Budapest in four hours.
The first stop is the
Hero's Memorial which commemorates Hungarian history. Since the departure of the Nazis and Soviets the memorial has been reworked to delete their "contributions." Two major art museums flank the memorial.
City Park is adjacent to the memorial and contains thermal baths, zoo, circus, a large wooded, flowered, grass covered walking area, lake which has small paddle boats by summer and ice skating by winter, and a quaint purpose-built castle. It is a beautiful place for a stroll or picnic.
We pass by the largest thermal baths in Budapest. They are both elegant and expansive.
We stop at the Ruin Bar. The bar has been decorated from garbage left on the street for removal. It's a bizarre place. Sylvia tells us that you cannot get in at night. The vehicle we are sitting in is a real Soviet era car. Part of it is made of cardboard.
Leaving Pesh, we climb for a magnificent view of the city on the Buda side at the site of Hungary's
Statue of Liberty. When the Soviet's "liberated" Hungary, they added a figure near the base of the statue. They left and their addition was relocated to a more appropriate historical place.
On the way to Palace Hill, we take a look at the second largest thermal baths which are entered adjacent to a hotel which was one of the locations for the movie, Grand Budapest Hotel. The main purpose for this stop is the Cave Church.
The final part of our tour is across Palace Hill, the imposing home of Hungarian kings. St Mathias church with its spire and tiled roof is the highlight.
The views of Pesh and particularly Parliament are marvelous.
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