A morning at the Royal Palace & Matthias Church – Budapest & Eger, Part 8

This post is the concluding post of a long delayed series about our travel to the Hungarian cities of Budapest and Eger in the autumn of 2022. We had just spent one great day in Eger and wished we had spent more time in the Northern Hungarian town of Eger ( A Day in the elegant town of Eger – Budapest & Eger, Part 5) .We had spent an amazing few days in Budapest where we had marvelled at the Hungarian Parliament ( A morning in & around the Hungarian Parliament – Budapest & Eger, Part 1 ), visited the biggest Church in the city ( Visiting the St Istvan’s Basilica – Budapest & Eger, Part 2 ), spent a great evening at the Heroes’ square and the city park ( Heroes’ Square, Vajdahunyad Castle & Pest by night – Budapest & Eger, Part 3 ), enjoyed a morning at one of the famous thermal baths that dot the city ( The Gellert Baths, Jewish Quarter and the hike upto the Citadella – Budapest & Eger, Part 7 ) & even enjoyed a nice night cruise on the Danube (Buda by night & a Night cruise down the Danube – Budapest & Eger, Part 6 ).

I had spent one great morning up at the Fisherman’s Bastion watching the sun rise above the beautiful city across the Danube ( Enjoying a sunrise at the Fisherman’s Bastion – Budapest & Eger, Part 4  ). A fogged out morning on our return from Eger had prevented me from going up to Castle hill again so on our last morning in Budapest I was hoping that the fog would stay away.

We woke up the next morning and I peeked out of our window to see that there was fog, but it wasn’t as bad as the previous morning. As it was our last morning in the city we decided to go up to Castle hill anyway as the better half had not been up there in day time and we still had to visit the interiors of the Matthias Church there. So we got up early and got ready and we started on our way up to Castle hill which was now well known to me having been up there so many times in our time there.

The way up to Fisherman’s Bastion

On the stairs up to Fisherman’s Bastion

The better half poses on the stairs of the Fisherman’s Bastion

We reached the Fisherman’s Bastion but sadly the fog was still dense enough to mask the sunrise. We could just see the tip of the Hungarian Parliament and the dome of St Istvan’s Basilica across the Danube peeking out from the fog making it a surreal scene. We knew there was a river right there, but we just couldn’t see it!

The dome of the Hungarian parliament peeks out from the fog

The faint outline of St Istvan’s Basilica peeks out from the fog

So we decided to concentrate on the fact that we were the only people there in the Fisherman’s Bastion and take photos of the beautiful architecture on display. I had lugged my SLR tripod on the trip and hardly used it (  I don’t carry one now, just a small mobile tripod for me on my European travels now!). I had carried it all the way up castle hill and I set it up and used it to take a few photos in that beautiful locale, justifying somewhat my decision to take the tripod.

The better half poses at the empty Fisherman’s Bastion at dawn

A deserted Fisherman’s Bastion on a foggy autumn morning in Budapest 

A selfie at the windows of the bastion

The better half poses at the window of the Fisherman’s Bastion

Setting up the tripod to take a photo with the Matthias Church

Finally using the tripod on our last morning in Budapest

A SLR selfie with St Istvan up in the Fisherman’s Bastion

When you have a tripod you take photos from all angles

The sun rises behind us on a foggy morning at the Fisherman’s Bastion

With the beautiful Matthias Church in the Background

With the statue of the Holy trinity

After we had exhausted all the places where we could take a tripod selfie I put the tripod away and we went towards the castle which we hadn’t been to yet. The reason we hadn’t gone to the Royal Palace area on Castle hill yet was that there were extensive restoration efforts on at the Royal Palace which made it look like a block under construction rather than a palace. On the other hand we didn’t want to leave  Budapest without visiting one of its famous landmarks. Also there was still time for the Matthias Church to open for visitors. So we decided to take a walk around the courtyards of the Royal Palace which are free to visit. There are a few museums in the complex including the Hungarian National Gallery & the Budapest History museum but we were not inclined to spend out last morning in Budapest inside a museum.

We walked towards the Green domed palace which was once the top Renaissance palace in Europe but those glory days are long gone. The current palace is a post WW II reconstruction which is said to be historically inaccurate. It is nonetheless an imposing presence up the hill overlooking the rest of the city.

The court theatre on the way to the Royal Palace

The sun rises above the Royal Palace ( Királyi Palota ) on a hazy morning

We walked through the huge palace courtyard which has a decorative fountain called the King Matthias fountain which showed the king enjoying his hunting. Because of the extensive restorations along the way the courtyards were almost deserted and we were not complaining.

The King Matthias Fountain at the Royal Palace

An ornate lamppost with the King Matthias fountain in the background

With the decorative King Matthias Fountain in the Royal Palace of Budapest

The reconstructed palace is humongous

We walked on through the empty courtyards wondering why the crowds at the Fisherman’s Bastion didn’t wander through here. Historically accurate or not, the palace looked appropriately grand for a Royal Palace.

A deserted courtyard at the Royal Palace in Budapest

The better half poses with a statue of her sun sign

The sun starts to shine on the dome of the Royal Palace in Budapest

We walked on through the palace courtyards down to the terrace which has yet more great views over the Danube. Yet again we didn’t encounter more than a handful of people strolling through the wide streets inside the complex.

Walking down to the terrace without a person in sight

The (then ) under restoration Chain bridge with the silhouette of St Istvan’s Basilica beyond

The terrace has a huge statue of a “Turul Bird” from Hungarian Folktales who guided the Magyar people from Central Asia and dropped his sword here indicating it to be the permanent home for the Magyar people.

Both of us take turns to get photos with the mythical Turul Bird on the terrace

In front of the palace right under the dome is a regal looking equestrian statue. This statue is Eugene of Savoy, a Frenchmen who had great success against the Hungarians greatest enemies , the Ottomans. I assume the exploits of the said French general (In service of the Habsburg Emperors) to be so great to have a statue in a prime position of a Royal Palace in Hungary!

The statue of Eugene of Savoy in front of the palace

A couple of Indians take their photo with a French General in Hungary

With that we had made a full circle around the Royal Palace complex and we made our way back to Matthias Church which would now be open. We bought our tickets at the ticket window right opposite the Church and went inside. Again the beautiful church was nearly empty . I am not religious but I enjoy the beautiful architecture and art that fills these beautiful churches in Europe, so I am always surprised to see the square outside teeming with people but not a soul inside!

The official name of the church is The Church of Our Lady but even the locals call it Matthias Church for Matthias Corvinus, a renaissance king who got married here. A church has stood at this location for 800 years the today’s version dates to the 19th century and obviously restored after WW II.

The interiors of this church are a feast for the eyes and definitely worth the price of entry. It is covered from floor to ceiling in gilded paintings depicting various scenes from Hungarian history. The Gothic styled arched ceiling is decorated too and the floor mosaics and stained glass windows complete the grand interiors of the church.

The beautiful interiors of the Matthias Church

Arched painted ceilings and mosaics on the floor at Matthias Church

Not an inch of the walls are undecorated – painted delicately from floor to ceiling

Delicate stained glass windows at the Matthias Church

A side chapel at the Matthias Church – photogenic any way you turn !

The altar at the church dedicated to Mary

Art everywhere you turn at the Matthias Church

A crucifix below elaborately decorated ceilings and surrounded by colourful wall and windows

The Loretto Chapel with a 15th century statue of Mary and Jesus – saved from the invading Ottomans by plastering over it

I was like a kid in a candy shop clicking away to glory. With the glorious art around it was difficult to get a bad photo. I was glad we hadn’t missed visiting the interiors of this church as we would have certainly missed one of the most colourful churches I have seen.

The Matthias Church in Budapest – a must visit site

More photos from the interior of the Matthias Church

After gawking at the church art for a long time we did our church routine and sat in the pews for a few minutes before saying goodbye to Matthias church and walking back into the bright sunshine at the Fisherman’s Bastion.

Happy that we didn’t miss visiting the interiors of the Matthias Church

One last photo of the interiors before stepping out

We still had some time left before we had to return to our hotel for breakfast and checkout so we spent the time taking photos of the better half at the most famous social media spots of Budapest – The Fisherman’s Bastion. The early morning fog was dissipating and so the better half got what she wanted – photos with the iconic Parliament in the background in daylight!

The better half gets her photos at the Bastion in the daytime!

Even the corridors of the Fisherman’s Bastion are photogenic

With the iconic towers of the Fisherman’s Bastion in Budapest

The Parliament makes an appearance as the fog dissipates

After a great morning spent up on castle hill in Budapest

One last Budapest panorama without the Parliament for a change

We then returned to our hotel where we went straight to the breakfast room to catch the breakfast before time ran out. We had built up a nice appetite walking up and down the hill and we enjoyed the last of the great breakfasts at the Park Plaza ( then art’otel), Budapest.

Enjoying our last breakfast in Budapest

With our tummies full we went to our great river facing room to pack up. The room had given me great photo opportunities without leaving the comfort of my room.

Night photos taken from the room with my 300mm lens

The Chain bridge at St Istvans Basilica from our room window

Enjoying the famous Budapest panorama without leaving our room

Happy with the choice of hotel in Budapest

We packed up and checked out and went to the Metro station where we used our week long public transport tickets for the last time and rode the Metro to Deak Ferenc Ter where we bought tickets for and got the 100E bus to the airport.

It had been a short but great visit to Hungary delayed a couple of years by the pandemic. We had missed out on the Euro 20 matches ( scratched that itch by watching a match at Euro 24 ! – A day in Frankfurt & watching a Euro 24 match live – Rhine and Moselle Valley, Part 12 ) but enjoyed the city nonetheless. Budapest was expectedly good but tiny Eger had exceeded our expectations and on each trip since then we have dedicated more time to the smaller towns and villages than the bigger cities whenever we have returned to Europe.

Our Emirates flight back via Dubai went without a hitch and thus ended yet another great European vacation which I have finally managed to document nearly 2.5 years later. ( Just in time to leave for our next trip too!).Hopefully I manage to complete that series without this long a delay.

Till next time with a new series from a new destination.

Bye!