Visiting Hungary's

Visiting Hungary's Ancient Capital: Budapest

by Scott B. Roat

Most tourist bureaus have stacks of brochures for people interested in Paris, London, Rome. But it will likely take extra minutes for your travel consultant to return from his files with information on that ancient city of the Near East, Budapest. For the experienced traveler, however, it can be a most enjoyable, inexpensive vacation getaway.

Although not in what is commonly thought of as Western Europe, Budapest is easy to reach. A Visa ($5) takes only two days to get at any of the offices of IBUSZU, the Hungarian travel agency, in Vienna.

Why Vienna? Because, while you can fly or drive to Budapest, one way to get there is on the Orient Express. That fabled train stops in Vienna. The train, one of three a day between the cities, pulls into Keleti pu, Budapest's East station, after a five-hour journey.

Budapest is an amalgam of sister cities; Pest and Buda are the big sisters, divided by the broad, stately, slate-blue Danube. Buda and her little sister Obudá, both ages old, with narrow streets and courtyards, are on the hilly west side of the Danube. Pest, the younger city on the more level east bank, is the shopping district and commercial center.

The Danube river is central to the city's life. Restaurants cluster on its banks; tourist boats come and go. Margaret Island is the home of teeming night life. (History also lurks along the river. One bridge, for instance, is guarded by stone lions. In legend, a cobbler discovered that the lions have no tongues, and the sculptor was so ashamed he committed suicide by throwing himself into the river from the bridge his silent lions guard.)

Before the city unfolds before you, it is wise to have arranged hotel accommodations through IBUSZU. A nice double room costs between $10 and $15, including breakfast. Young, economically-minded travelers can get a bed at a youth hostel for under $2 (breakfast generally not included.)

Once you have a place to stay, a quiet boat ride on the Danube is most relaxing after the train ride. It also affords one of the grandest views of the city, including the striking Parliament building with its innumerable spires. In the evening, the river sparkles with reflections from the lighted bridges near Margaret Island.

After the boat ride, $10 will get you dinner for two with wine. Dinner might include Halaszle, a spicy fish soup available only in Hungary, roast duck with a side of noodles and sautéed vegetables, a slice of strudel, candlelight and gypsy music. Hungary produces excellent wines, such as Egri Bikaver ("Bull's Blood") from vineyards on the volcanic slope near Lake Balaton. Ordering in restaurants is never a problem: most waiters speak English (all speak German), and if yours doesn't, he'll bring you an international menu or find someone to translate.

The most breathtaking view of the three sisters is from the castle, Belepojegy. Of course, it's at the end of a long, tiresome climb, but the view is superb. Halfway up the hill is a 40-foot statue of St. Joseph. A stream cascades down the mountainside from beneath his feet. Near the foot of this waterfall is the mighty fortification, the Palace Anjou. The palace, a public museum, sits on a much smaller hill than the castle and overlooks great fields of dandelions that once soaked up the spilt blood of battle. The palace's turrets rise majestically around hidden courtyards set off exquisitely in modern sculpture.

The landscape in Budapest's city park focuses on a peaceful, shimmering lake, crossed by a bridge. If you stop on the bridge towards evening in winter, a Brueghel painting comes to life on the lighted skating rink. In the center of the lake sits the castle of Vajnahunyad, ivy-clad and wildly romantic. The castle, an eclectic hodge-podge of historical architecture -- domes, spires and turrets that don't match -- houses the city's botanical gardens. It is a strange and vivid sight that will stay with you for many years.

Also worth seeing is St. Matthias, a 16th century Gothic Revival church. Its roof is of astonishingly bright tiles like a Middle-Eastern mosque. The church's lacy, ornamental stonework is outlined by ages of macabre urban soot, and reflects strangely in the mirrored walls of the new Hilton next door.

It's worth taking a few hours to absorb the enormity of St. Matthias. Start by contemplating it as you sip espresso in the Hilton's outdoor café; then slowly work your way inside the church. It's easy to imagine ancient, holy ceremonies within the massive stone walls (or to attend modern ones, for the church is still used regularly). It's well worth the 50-cent admission to tour St. Matthias' catacombs and winding stairways through the old tombs, up again into the priest's quarters, through the wings, past the State jewels and back into the sanctuary.

Budapest welcomes tourists to unlock the heart of its great past. It has a good transportation system (including the oldest subway in the world, other than London's, that is still in use) which is truly dirt cheap. There are tourist bureaus to help with any problem, shopping that is ridiculously inexpensive (especially for lovers of classical music in search of recordings). Its people are forthright, outgoing and hospitable, and quite willing to help visitors despite a language barrier.

Where, after so many centuries of alternating independence and oppression, do the people of this city get their spirit? A possible explanation is inscribed on the dedicatory tablet of the Mithras sanctuary at Aquincum. "Fonti Perenni," it reads, "to the eternal source."