August 19, 2010: The Citadel

August 19, 2010: Today I set out to visit the Citadel on the Buda side of the river. Crossing the Elizabeth Bridge (named after the beloved wife of King Franz Joseph who was in a very unhappy marriage and who was assassinated on Lake Geneva in 1898 before the bridge was completed), I walked toward the path that would lead up the hill.

Elizabeth Bridge

Elizabeth Bridge (Citadel on hill behind)

 Across the bridge is a small park graced with a statue below which flows a waterfall:

Statue at base of hill leading up to Citadel

The view from that statue is stunning but the best is yet to come.

View from statue looking back at Elizabeth Bridge

The path leading up the hill to the Citadel is challenging to say the least. There are several inviting paths which all seem to lead to the same destination, but when there's a choice as to which path to take, the answer is always take the path going up. After a strenuous climb, I reached the first item of interest. What from a distance looks like a castle is in reality a house or apartment complex (so it seems when I reached it):

The climb continued from there and eventually I reached the top, passing on the way some Hungarian men who were gambling. One man had three small cups (walnut sized) with a bean under one of them.  The man would shuffle the cups and one of the gamblers would select which cup had the bean under it and if he was correct he would double his money. Of course the man invited me to participate. And as he did so he continued to play with supposed other "gambling" customers. What he did was such a sloppy job that anyone could tell which cup the bean was under -- he clearly revealed the bean to me -- but the "customer" would select the wrong cup and of course I would confide in one of the other men which cup had the bean under it, showing of course that I could win in the game. I'm sure this was all a set up with these friends deliberately losing (or winning) to show passersby how easy it would be win money. (No, I did not play this game, but it was fun to watch their game, but if I had, I could have won enough to pay for my trip to the Mahler concert!) 


Finally I reached the summit of the hill and the views were breathtaking -- the Danube below and spectacular views in all directions of Buda and Pest:

View of Pest from the Citadel

View of Elizabeth Bridge and Pest from Citadel

On top of the hill is the Citadel, a stone fortress very prominent in the history of Hungary's involvement in many wars. Inside the fortress were gruesome photos taken of the war. The message of the pictures is very sobering -- Hungary suffered more so than many European nations because the battles that took place there lasted months whereas battles in other cities in Eurpoe were over in a few days so not as much damage occurred in them compared to Budapest. To make matters worse, during World War 2, the Hungarians had to choose one of two sides: Germany or Russia. The statue of the Liberation Memorial was in fact built for the Russians who supposedly were there to free Hungary, but of course this freedom turned to Russian Communism so the Hungarians were not much better off. As a result, thousands of people were slaughtered and children born in the 40's (my generation!) witnessed atrocities beyond imagination (e.g., execution of their parents and family members). 

Citadel (in Buda)

As mentioned above, the statue of the Liberation Memorial was created to honor the "help" of the Russians in liberating Hungary from the Nazis. Originally at the base of this statue were  giants slaying dragons, Red army soldiers, and peasants rejoicing at the freedom of the Soviet liberation that was promised (and failed), but these statues were subsequently hacked off the statue and the only remaining statues are the woman waving a palm frond and two statues below it:

Liberation Memorial

From the Liberation Memorial, I took a path leading down the hill heading southwest in order to see the Gellert Hotel and Baths. Hungary is particularly famous for its public baths and there are well over one hundred such baths to go to. The Gellert Hotel is a building built in the art-nouveau style and houses a spa that is over 2000 years old. Customers can pay for chamomile steam baths, salt vapor inhilations, and mud packs. This is no joke -- some of the treatments require a doctor's prescription! But before I reached the hotel and baths, I passed a children's park with two enormous slides going down the hill. Boy would I have loved to have been a kid and ride one of these slides when I was their age:

Children's park slide

Just below the children's park is the Gellert Hotel and Baths:

Gellert Hotel and Baths

Gellert Hotel and Baths waiting area for spa treatment

The Gellert Hotel and Baths are just on the Buda side of the Freedom Bridge and the Pest side is where the central market is, so after taking some other nice shots from the Gellert Hotel, I headed across the bridge for the market.

View of Buda from Gellert Hotel & Baths

Freedom Bridge

View of Buda from Freedom Bridge

Building next to Central Market under construction

Once across the bridge I went to the Central Market to get some more grapefruit. This time I had to look high and low for the grapefruit since not all stalls sold it. When I finally found a stall with grapefruit, the salesman offered the bag to me to select the grapefruits I wanted! Unlike the mushroom lady from the other day. Then it was off to find some sliced bacon. I decided to practice saying my numbers in Hungarian and the man produced the "hat" (six) pieces of bacon I asked for. The man realized I was a novice at Hungarian (who wouldn't?) and when he gave me change, he deliberately counted it out in Hungarian so that I could practice hearing the numbers being spoken. Very nice! Then to another stall where I bought ten eggs. The man in that stall asked if I would like an egg container and that was really helpful in transporting the eggs home unbroken this time. After that I bought apricots at another stall, and when my eyes saw some sliced ham, I decided to stock up on that for sandwiches for lunch. All in all, my groceries cost very little. I'm definitely getting the hang of this.


I'll conclude by making some more observations of life in Hungary:

• Most stores, from drug stores (like CVS) to little shops and supermarkets (like 7-11's) have a full time security guard watching the front door.
• Although many stores and restaurants have people standing in front of them (some dressed in traditional Hungarian clothes) trying to lure people inside, these people are by no means pushy (think Las Vegas streets with pushy vendors flicking cards of nudeys in your face). In fact, if these vendors are paid by how many brochures they give out, or by how many people they talk to to encourage them to enter, these salespeople would go broke. They are not in the least forceful. Yet, if one were to go into a restaurant, the waiters sincerely greet them and seem more concerned about ensuring that your dinner is the best it can be. Couple this attitude with their seeming reluctance to give you your check -- it's almost as if they want you to stay to just talk or watch people -- and you've got a very relaxed customer. A great contrast to the US where waiters want customers to finish eating and pay so new customers can replace them.
• On the other hand, one must be careful in these restaurants because it seems everything is a la carte. There have been things I've ordered and the waiter will ask "would you like that with rice, noodles, or potatoes?" making me believe that that's part of the meal, but it isn't and I was charged extra. In fact I even wonder if they would charge a customer for water since all water seems to be served in bottles that are opened at the table.
• As for changing money, I have learned that the exchange rates are MUCH cheaper in the city. The money changers are all "official" so the exchange rates of all of them are the same. I watched the rate which seems to change a couple of times a day, and was pleased to see that the rates were far more attractive than at the airport. So, I guess the advice would be for people to change a small amount of money at the airport into forint, and change the balance of money needed downtown.

Finally, a disclaimer: Please note that I am NOT a historian so the things that I write are my recollections of things I've heard or read. The problem with my brain is that it sometimes short circuits and so some of the "facts" I'm reciting may be inaccurate by the time I write them in this blog. Please don't go quoting me on historical facts!