Travel with me ...

After a good night’s sleep in our comfortable apartment we were ready to see what Budapest had to offer. We planned to spend this first morning visiting Buda, on the far side of the Danube, but before that needed breakfast. We found good coffee and tasty pastries right next door in Vaj.

After that we popped back to the apartment to change, as the day was already shaping up to be a warm one. We walked down to the river, passing a small square, József Nádor Square, with pretty fountains and attractive surrounding buildings.

We continued down to the Chain Bridge which we crossed. There were great views of the Hungarian Parliament building, though the wind made stopping to take photos a bit chilly!

On the far side we took the funicular up Castle Hill. We lucked out and were able to get a spot with the perfect view back down the hill as we climbed.

Once we reached the top we turned left to walk along in front of the castle and enjoy the expansive views of the river and Pest on the far side. It was very crowded but not so much so that we couldn't stop and get photos.

We decided against going inside the castle, which houses the national gallery, as it was too lovely a day to spend a lot of time indoors. Instead we retraced our steps past the funicular and the Sandor Palace (a government building) where the guards were exchanging guns in a short ceremony.

Beyond that we had to negotiate an area with a lot of restoration work before reaching some attractive historic streets. I was surprised to see some of the roofs with the feature I had first encountered many years ago in Sibio, where they are dubbed the Eyes of Sibiu.

An appealing terrace at the Spiler Biergarten caught our attention so of course we stopped for a drink and enjoyed relaxing there for a while watching the world go by.

Eventually we continued our walk and arrived at the square in front of St Matthias church, also known as the Church of Our Lady of Buda Castle. The church is thought to have been founded here in the early eleventh century, but the current Gothic structure dates from the second half of the fourteenth century and was extensively restored in the late nineteenth.

We decided to go inside, which meant buying a ticket at a booth on the far side of the square. It proved well worth the admission cost, even if I do slightly resent having to pay to visit a place of worship. The interior was beautifully decorated, there was some colourful stained glass and an ornate pulpit.

And the museum area up in the gallery had a few particularly interesting treasures, especially a 15th century Madonna, as well as great views down into the church.

We took some photos around the square, including the statue of St Stefan, and I sneaked some views through the arches of the Panorama restaurant under the Fisherman's Bastion, but we decided not to pay to walk up on the ramparts as we'd already got plenty of photos of the views.

We descended the hill via some steps below the Bastion which took us through a quieter residential area. We passed a memorial to Péter Mansfeld, a young student revolutionary who was executed at the age of just eighteen for his role in the uprisings against the Soviet government.

Further down more steps led through a lovely small patch of woodland and eventually to the river.

We followed the river north for a short distance and stopped for more drinks at an open air restaurant called The Spot.

From the nearby Metro station, Batthyany ter, we caught a train via Deak Ferenc ter to Vorosmarty utca, the nearest station to the Terror House. This museum is located in a building once used as the HQ of the Hungarian Nazis, the Arrow Cross Party, and later by the communist terror organisations the AVO and AVH. Today it tells the story of those dark periods in the country's history and also serves as a memorial to all those who were imprisoned, tortured, sent to death camps or gulags, or executed.

This isn’t a comfortable museum to explore but it definitely sheds a light on events that shaped present day Hungary. I found it especially interesting in the light of the recent election defeat of Viktor Orban. However I was frustrated that no photos were allowed and could see no reason for this. Indeed you would think they would want the story told as widely as possible.

We returned to Deak Ferenc on the Metro and had a wander around the square, including the unusual sight of a memorial to Michael Jackson focused on a tree where he once shot a video.

We then went back to the apartment to relax for a while before the evening, sort photos, write up these notes etc. In the evening we had a drink at The Diner, very near the basilica, then had a great dinner at Nonloso, which despite the name has mostly Hungarian or Hungarian-influenced dishes. We shared a cold plate with some excellent cheeses and meats, then I had salmon in a tasty sauce while Chris again had the Paprika Chicken (to compare with last night's!) I finished with a light yoghurt and white chocolate mousse.

After dinner we went to ride the Ferris wheel in the square opposite our apartment. The ride was quite short but was fun and gave us some good night views of the city. A lovely way to round off the day!