Hungary

Highlights of Budapest -Part 2

We really enjoyed taking the relaxing cruise on the Danube River. It was a nice way to relax in the heat of the day and get a feel for the city landscape.

We went to visit the Buda Castle which is located on the Buda side of the Danube river. The castle also known as Royal Palace or Royal Castle was very impressive.

View of Buda Castle from the Danube River

We walked up the castle hill through the medieval quarter that leads up to the Castle.  Once we reached the top we could see the Buda Castle from there. 

Mattias Church near the Buda Castle

In the plaza near the Buda Castle is the Church of the Assumption of the Buda Castle, more commonly known as the Matthias Church.  

Shelley in front of Saint Stephen statue near Buda Castle

 The Saint Stephen statue has been located in Buda Castle next to the Fisherman’s Bastion. Saint Stephen was the founding King of Hungary.  It is one of the focal points as we walked towards the Fisherman’s Bastion.  We went up onto the top of the Fisherman’s Bastion and were greeted with amazing views of Budapest.

View from Fisherman’s Bastion in Budapest.
View of Budapest from the Fisherman’s Bastion at Buda Castle.
Shelley, Ray, Janice and Scott on the Fisherman’s Bastion

After exploring  the Fishermans’ Bastion we went to see the Matthias Church. 

Janice and Ray with Matthias Church in the background.

The inside of the church was impressive with stained glass and ornate construction like most romanesque style churches in Europe.

The Altar area in Matthias Church

 

However what was quite unique and interesting to us was the Coat of Arms of the Hungarian Knights of Malta. They are on display within the church.

Shields of deceased members of the Hungarian Association of the Sovereign Military and Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem.

Some of the Shields of Coat of Arms of the deceased Hungarian Knights of Malta.

After visiting the church we walked along the walls and explored outside areas of the castle. 

Janice stopped to have a quick rest and get her photo with one of the locals.

Entrance gate to Buda Castle in Budapest

We came across a bronze bunny overlooking the Danube River.  

There was a Hungarian TV  show written in the 1970s by Veronika Marék and animated by Zsolt Richly. The show called the (checkered-eared rabbit) became very popular. The artist Mihály Kolodko created this bronze statue in November 2018 at the top of the Castle Hill Funicular.  This bronze floppy-eared rabbit has a bird’s-eye view of the city and some people rub his tail or ears for good luck. Of course Ray could not resist.

Shelley and Janice at one of the look out over the Danube River at Buda Castle.

 It was a very long but enjoyable day and we managed to explore a lot of Budapest.

So we decided to take a well deserved break and have a meal before heading back for the day. We ate at the Jamie Oliver Restaurant and had some very tasty Italian food. It was a full day and we saw some interesting places.  We had one more day left in Budapest before heading on to our next adventure. We headed back for the day and to rest up for tomorrows adventures.

“Az élet túl rövid ahhoz, hogy megbánással ébredjünk fel “