A Walk from Buda to Pest and Back Again
On Monday I took some time out and took a walk across the river to Pest. The skies were still gray but the temperature was quite delightful in the mid 70s.
The green bridge across the Danube in front of the Gellert Hotel is called the Liberty Bridge. When the trams rumble across the bridge, your feet shake beneath you.
Looking north you see the Elizabeth bridge and behind it the Castle District. We will walk across the Danube, stroll through Pest for a while and then return over the Elizabeth Bridge.
Just as you reach the east bank there is a building with striking roof tiles and brick work. It is the Great Market Hall, home to a large indoor market. The stairs down in the center of the picture are to one of the three subway lines in Budapest.
There is a pedestrian--only street, Vaci utca, that parallels the Danube.
The street is filled with shops, restaurants, and people.
A few blocks down is a beautifully restored church.
Its interior provides a peaceful haven from the noisy crowds outside.
Just one street off of the touristy pedestrian mall, the street is quiet and residential. The buildings vary from those that have been maintained or remodeled and those that obviously are in a state of substantial disrepair; windows boarded up or gaping and burned out inside.
The road leading to the Elizabeth bridge is lined with beautifully ornamented buildings.
As we leave Pest, we pass by a church and climb to the pedestrian walkway along the bridge.
From the middle of the bridge we have a wonderful panoramic view of the west bank of the Danube. To the north is the Castle District.
To the south is the Hotel Gellert and monastery at the base of Gellert Hill.
To the West is a view of the Citadella at the top of Gellert Hill. The building at the base of the hill is another spa. This spa, the Rudas Baths, is the oldest continously used spa in Budapest. The green dome near the right edge of the picture was built by the Turks.
And straight ahead is a view of the north slope of the hill and the Saint Gellert Monument.
Saint Gellert was martyred for attempting to convert the people living in Gellert Hill. He was bound into a barrel and thrown off the cliff. The waterfall here is a natural spring that comes out of the cliff just below the statue.
As I climbed the steps to the monument, I saw local women selling their needlework.
Looking out from behind the monument, you can see the Habsburg Castle.
I walked back to the hotel along the base of the cliff. Workers were maintaining the gardens. This is the first gardner I've ever seen wearing a mountain climbing harness.
Further down the road, I saw someone bicycling who pulled up to a door in the rock and then started ringing the doorbell. I stopped and waited to see what would happen. Finally the door opened and the guy went inside. I never did see any figure from inside the mountain. Very mysterious.
I suspect that the door in the cliff was somehow connected to the monastery another couple of blocks down the road. With that, I returned back to the Hotel Gellert and my break from the SMABS conference was concluded.
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(c) Copyright 2006
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