A morning in & around the Hungarian Parliament – Budapest & Eger, Part 1

This post is the start of a new and inordinately delayed series documenting our travels to the  Hungarian capital of Budapest and the pretty little town of Eger in the Autumn of 2022.

We were originally supposed to visit Budapest in the summer of 2020 and even see 2 matches at the Euro 2020, but we all know what happened in 2020!  When international travel for leisure resumed in 2022 ( For Indians) with some degree of safety we first visited Switzerland for the better half’s milestone birthday ( Matterhorn Glacier Paradise and Schwarzsee – A celebration in Zermatt – Swiss Sojourn Part 5). Since we were starved of travel for the duration of the pandemic we decided to compensate ( Overcompensate??) by planning another trip in the Autumn of 2022 and do our planned trip to Budapest. The Euros had come and gone, eventually taking place in 2021 but at least we could enjoy Budapest when it wasn’t as crowded. ( I eventually fulfilled my desire to watch a major football tournament live at Euro 24 – A day in Frankfurt & watching a Euro 24 match live – Rhine and Moselle Valley, Part 12)

Our trip started with a stutter when our Emirates flight to Dubai was delayed significantly ( the dreaded A380 malfunction had struck again!) which meant we would miss our connecting flight to Budapest. Luckily for us Emirates low cost arm Flydubai had a flight to Dubai which we could take. Being offered seats on the low cost carrier or stay overnight in a Dubai hotel and next day Emirates flight, we chose the former. So after a night spent at the Mumbai Airport we used the food vouchers provided by the Airlines to have breakfast in Mumbai and lunch at the Dubai airport before finally reaching Budapest 10 hours after we were supposed to.

Breakfast at Mumbai airport after a night spent there

A night at the airport doesn’t wipe the excited smile off our faces 

Lunch at Dubai Airport before finally flying to Budapest 

For the uninitiated, modern Budapest is a combination of the towns of Buda and Pest on either side of the river Danube. We checked into the Park Plaza hotel right on the riverfront in the Buda half. We had chosen to stay here because it was very close to all public transport options , it had a great view across the river to the iconic Hungarian Parliament and the Buda Castle was a short climb away. So it ticked all the boxes in addition to being very reasonably priced!

We settled in and went right to sleep, the exhaustion of all the delays had finally gotten to us. We were also happy to be in a comfortable bed after a night on the uncomfortable chairs of Mumbai airport. We woke up the next day fresh and ready to start exploring the Hungarian capital. We had a visit to the Hungarian Parliament reserved for that morning. After a luxurious breakfast we took the metro across the river (after buying a 7 day travel pass which I would highly recommend  for any stay over 3 days in Budapest)  and walked to the Parliament building.

It was a cold, grey autumn morning but even the greyest of mornings can’t reduce the magnificence of the Hungarian Parliament. The humongous building with its Neo Gothic architecture topped with a huge Neo renaissance dome dominates the Pest side riverfront. After gaping at the massive structure for a few minutes we started clicking a few photos of the exterior before it was time for us to start our tour of the interiors.

 

Outside the Hungarian Parliament on a chilly autumn morning 

The Hungarian Parliament to Országház was built from 1885 to 1902 to celebrate the Hungarian millennium year of 1896. The huge size was appropriate for that time when Budapest as a part of the Austro Hungarian Empire ruled over much of Eastern Europe. Today it is just too big for modern Hungarian legislature which occupies only 1/8th of the building. The tickets to visit the interiors usually sell out and they were the only sightseeing tickets we had bought in advance for the trip. We met our guide and rest of the people in our time slot in the underground foyer & were given audioguides in English. 

We climbed the 133 stairs along a decorated stairway with gilded ceilings. The stairway was as opulent as any European palace we had seen – Stained glass windows, gilded & arched ceilings, marble pillars it had it all. Even then it wasn’t the grandest staircase we would see in that building!

The 133 stairs decorated like a palace 

That honour went to the Grand staircase that is the main entrance to the building for dignitaries. It has delicately painted arched ceilings, colourful stained glass windows all along and all the grandeur to fit the height of the Austro Hungarian Empire. As tourists we are only allowed to the upper end of that royal staircase so we stood there and admired the beauty all around.

The grand staircase at the Hungarian Parliament 

96 stairs surrounded by opulence at the Hungarian Parliament 

The painted ceiling of the grand staircase at the Hungarian Parliament 

The grand staircase still imprinted on our retinas we moved to another spectacular hall called the “Lounge of Chamber of Peers ” decorated with statues of people from different professions in the region. It also has the Europes largest hand knotted carpet lining the floor of that chamber. We were given some time to walk around the room before it was time to see the famous Hungarian crown.

The statues of people from various professions at the Lounge of Chamber of Peers

Our group walking around on the largest hand knotted carpet in Europe 

The Hungarian crown is placed in a secure room directly under the huge dome. It is not permitted to take photos in that room so those interested can see stock photos of this crown which is from 1000 AD and has been lost and found many times since then and even spent time in Fort Knox in the USA before being returned to Hungary in 1979. The room itself is majestic thanks to the huge dome overhead and the statues of the Hungarian Emperors all around. We listened to the guide explain about the history of the Empire and the Crown before taking one last look at the crown with the bent cross and moving out of the hall.

The entrance to the room under the dome holding the Hungarian Crown 

The next room to be seen was the House of Magnates itself which hosted the Upper House of the Hungarian Parliament till the system was abolished post WW II. It is a huge room with Oak lined windows for great acoustic & beautiful arched galleries. Today it only hosts conferences while the actual Hungarian Parliament meets in a smaller room not open to visitors. 

The House of Magnates in the Hungarian Parliament building 

That was the last room on display in the visit to the interiors of the Parliament building as we left through a separate arched corridor on the other side. We passed through a small exhibit with a model of the building and an underground corridor lined with statues before coming out of the building itself.

Happy us after our visit to the Hungarian Parliament 

The corridor on the way to the exit from the Parliament

A model showing the architecture of the Parliament building we had just visited 

A corridor lined with statues on the way to the exit 

We reached outside to see that the see that there was no sun in sight still. That didn’t our spirits a bit as we walked around the building itself taking photos. The advantage of being there on a cold autumn morning was that there was hardly anyone around and we got some great photos of ourselves with the Parliament in the background.

Enjoying the cold autumn morning outside the Hungarian Parliament 

Having spent enough time ogling at the parliament we turned our attention to the square behind the Parliament called the Kossuth Lajos Square named after a lawyer & politician who played an important role in Hungarian independence. We took a photo of the monument dedicated to Kossuth Lajos at the head of the square.

Monument dedicated to Lajos Kossuth at the square named after him 

The lawns at Kossuth Lajos Ter / Square with the fallen leaves of Autumn 

At Kossuth Lajos Ter 

The Curia or Supreme Court of Hungary which was being restored when we visited

The Hungarian Parliament from the Kossuth Lajos Square 

We then moved towards the Danube where there was an equestrian statue of Ferenc Rakoczi who led an unsuccessful rebellion against the Habsburg for Hungarian independence more than a century before Kossuth was succesful.

The statue of Ferenc Rakoczi outside the parliament 

More photos outside the Hungarian Parliament 

We then moved to the riverfront which had a great view up to the Buda Castle which we would be visiting on a later day.

Views across the Danube to Buda and the Buda castle on the hill above

Selfies at the waterfront with Buda castle on the hill above 

Right at the Waterfront is a statue of Attila Jozsef a famous Hungarian Poet. Not knowing anything about the poet or poetry in general, the statue itself is beautifully situated and a pleasure to photograph.

A statue of Attila Jozsef outside the Hungarian Parliament 

The iconic trams of Budapest zip through the streets 

We then crossed the street along the river at a pedestrian crossing to reach the extremely poignant Holocaust memorial at the banks of the Danube. This was a place where Jews were made to take off their shoes before being shot by the Nazis and their bodies dumped in the Danube. The 50 pairs of Bronze shoes here are a reminder of those painful times.

The Holocaust Memorial on the Danube in Budapest 

After a few minutes at this tragic site we moved on towards the Monument of National Martyrs on the other side of the parliament as we continued our walk around the area known as Leopold Town.

Monument of National Martyrs in Budapest 

We then moved towards a square called the Liberty Square , named after Habsburg barracks in this place were torn down late in the 19th century. The first statue we encountered was not that of an Hungarian but of the erstwhile US president Reagan. We were surprised to see his statue here but not surprised when we read later that it was a controversial one. That didn’t stop us from having some fun with the statue of Ol Ronald!

Ronald Reagan statue on the way to Liberty Square 

Having some fun with the statue of an American President in Hungary!

Colours of autumn at Liberty square , Budapest 

We reached two monuments in the square, the older one is the Soviet war memorial commemorating the soldiers who died in WW II in the liberation of Budapest. 

Soviet War Memorial in Liberty square, Budapest 

The other newer memorial is the Monument to the Hungarian Victims of Nazis. This again we read later is a controversial monument because Hungarian government during WW II  was an ally of Nazi Germany till 1944 when Hitler decided to take it over irrespective of alliances.

Monument to the Hungarian Victims of Nazis at Liberty Square 

We then left the Liberty Square and moved towards the largest Catholic Church – The St Istvan’s (Stephen’s) Basilica. It was much better weather now and the square in front of the church was relatively full of tourists as compared to the empty scenes of early morning.

At St Istvan’s Square , Budapest 

We would visit the interiors of the church and climb up to the roof for Birds Eye views of Budapest. But that is topic for another post, some other time, some other day.

Even though it has been more than 2 years since our visit to Budapest writing about it has brought back all the pleasant memories of our times there. Hope the readers will enjoy this late travelogue as much as I will enjoy writing it.

Till next time,

Bye.