We have visited Budapest on several occasions, but this was the first time we spent our Christmas holidays in this beautiful city. And I can tell you: it was amazing!
Of course, we were not the only visitors. In spite of the cold weather, Budapest was very crowded. Many foreign tourists enjoyed the wonderful Christmas markets, the illuminated trams and bridges, and the cozy and festive atmosphere.
We found the most beautiful markets around St. Stephen’s Basilica and at Vörösmatry Square. The fair in front of St. Stephen’s Basilica was amazing. The entire area was illuminated with lights and decorations and the stalls offered traditional Hungarian handicrafts, food and sweets.
The market at Vörösmatry square, only 600-700 meters away from St. Stephen’s Basilica, offered lots of delicious food. There were many benches and tables around and we could not resist tasting traditional potatoe pancakes, mulled wine and chimney cake with cinnamon taste.
Although the temperature was around 2 degrees Centigrade, many visitors enjoyed their ’dinner’ in the open air. We saw them eating huge portions of langos, sausages and goulash. No offense, but we were not astonished to see so many obese Hungarians…
Roaming along the Danube we admired the illuminated House of Parliament and the Chain Bridge. We also visited West End, the biggest shopping center of Budapest, and we took a whole afternoon to observe the facades of the Palace District.
The Palace District is located in the heart of District VIII, the historical and cultural center of Budapest. No wonder that it has earned a place on Time Out Magazine’s list of the coolest neighborhoods. In the second half of the 19th century, during the golden age of development in Budapest, the rich aristocratic families built elegant palaces that still stand today. Some of them were renovated, other ones are quite neglected.
This district is located behind the Hungarian National Museum that is surrounded by a beautiful garden. Looking closely at the palaces, we discovered many unexpected and unique architectural ornaments. Relief sculptures, mosaics, coves and ornamental window frames could be seen on many facades. Behind every entrance, hidden over every doorway or balcony, we found beautifully crafted reliefs. Some of them reflected the status of the previous owner of the building, other ones showed religious and historical topics.
But when you visit Budapest, don’t forget the statues! There are so many of them: not only in central areas, but also in backward streets and at hidden squares. I really liked the statue of Kalman Mikszath, a famous free thinker and journalist. His statue can be found at Mikszath Square, a favorite meeting point for locals and tourists with a unique atmosphere.
Another impressive statue is ’Taltos’ outside West End mall, made by Kalman Veres.It was created for the Hungarian pavilion at the 2000 World’s Fair.
At Liberty Square (Szabadsag tér), close to the Parliament building, we saw several memorials and monuments, e.g. the Soviet War Memorial, Ronald Reagan’s statue and the Memorial to the Victims of German Invasion. Moreover, we found an impressive exhibition reminding us of the Jewish victims in World War II.
Before planning our trip, I had read a lot about the famous Kolodko mini statues, which are positioned all over Budapest. There are 37 of them and they are scattered throughout the city. They are incredibly popular among locals and tourists. Special ’treasure hunting’ tours are organized to find them all.
The author of these guerilla mini-statues is Mihaly Kolodko who was born in 1978. He created these small bronze statues to commemorate well-known cartoon characters and famous people in a funny way. Each sculpture has its own story.
As it was rather cold, we decided to postpone our treasure hunting until our next visit to Budapest. However, we discovered two mini-statues: ’Dead squirrel’ at Falk Miksa Street and ’Kermit the Frog’ at Liberty Square. A good beginning, in particular as the frog was protected against the cold with a white knitted shawl!
During our journey to Budapest we have discovered a lot of new interesting attractions and I am sure that we will continue exploring this wonderful city in the forthcoming period!
That famous Dutch directness – “so many obese Hungarians”!
Glad you had a great time.