Budapest Finale!

St. Matthias Church. Look at the roof.

Alright, I know you're getting tired of Budpest, but there's one more day of awesomeness to aprise you of and you're gonna like it! And I know the question you are asking yourself, no these photos are not photo shopped. The sky actually  looked like that.

Fisherman's bastion around St. Matthias on Castle Hill.

View of the Parliament form Castle Hill

We heard from the guides of the free walking tour that there would be "Gregorian Chants" at the Matthias Church for morning mass on Sunday. Not sure what they consider "Gregorian Chants" but listening to the choir was a feast for the soul.

The heavens descend upon St. Matthias after mass.

Every inch of the interior was painted beautifully.

 

Looking out over the city with our duly purchased communion bread.

Fisherman's Bastion and St. Matthias

Cool looking dragon

Café across from St. Matthias Church

After mass and communion bread we ventured to the "Hospital in the Rock." This hospital is part of an approximately 6-mile (10-km) stretch of interconnected caves and cellars beneath Buda Castle Hill. This museum is dedicated to a former secret emergency hospital and nuclear bunker (according to our guide and wikipedia). We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, so you won't be able to see the wax figures and WWII era bandages, nor will you get to see me ring the nuclear siren which was rather successful. But you can see the entrance and our WWII lantern.

Entrance to the Hospital bunker with my lantern.

 With the Communist red coursing through our veins from the hospital (ok not really, but it did feel communisty) we got our catharsis in a French-type bistro on the other side of castle hill to great success.

Cafe Déryne. Delicious!

After much walking and hectic running about (ok, that didn't happen. but it needs to sound like we needed to relax) we decided to check out the legendary (again exaggeration) Hungarian baths. Again, no pictures allowed inside as the bikini clad patrons would probably mob the offender and throw the camera into the steaming pools, but, thanks to google, you can get a good idea of what it looks like.

Thermal baths at Rudas

It was a very interesting cultural experience. We had no idea how the locker system worked and were haphazardly attempting to unlock changing room doors at random when a kindly, elderly Hungarian man showed us how to use our fobs. Then there were the baths themselves: one central pool with four additional pools ringing its edge with increasing (or decreasing) temperatures. Two rooms off to the side housed the sauna and steam. Although the steam room was 20 degrees less than the sauna I felt like I would die in there.



One good thing about it getting dark so early is that you feel like it's 10 when it's really 6. So we got out of the baths with an hour until dinner and decided to explore the ruin bars we'd heard so much about. We made a pit stop on the way for what's called a "Chimney Cake," so named because the heat escaping from the funnel shaped roll looks like a smoking chimney.  They wrap the dough around wooden dowels and bake it rotisserie style. After it's golden they slide it off and roll it in sugar (or in our case marzipan shavings) and serve. It was one of the most delicious desserts I'd ever had. Thank you street food!

After partaking of that delicious morsel, we found the first ever ruin bar, Szimpla. It felt like stepping into Beetlejuice. "Ruin Pub" is the direct translation from the Hungarian appellation because the pubs are literally housed in tenement building once doomed for destruction. Instead of cleaning them up, white washing the heavily graffitied walls and throwing in Ikea staples, the pub owners leave the heavily marred interior the way it is and add in cool lighting, retro furnishings, and multiple bars to make this the coolest pub I've ever stepped foot in.

Walking into Szimpla

Beetlejuice

Right after the following picture we had an impromptu conversation with two elderly, proper English women on a walking tour through Hungary. It was pretty adorable to see them cradling their beers and admiring the dilapidated surroundings.

See what I mean about the graffiti?

To end the evening, we ventured past the Parliament building for a delicious dinner that rivaled the Versailles meal that was twice the price.

Finally, after culminating the day in Hungarian Goulash and Venison, I wanted to see the shoe monument. We hadn't had the chance before and it was our last couple hours to do so. Unfortunately we were on the wrong side of the Parliament. Construction blocked the walking path by the river that would have allowed us to reach the shoes. "That won't stop us!" I declared, climbing around the chain link fence. The construction cleared up as we passed the Parliament building, but sadly we were caught by a kindly Hungarian security guard who informed us the way was closed (as if we hadn't seen the blatant signage before). He made us walk back the dangerous route we'd taken instead of passing around the other side, which was maybe 10 yards away. So, sadly, we didn't get to see the shoes.

4:30 in the morning saw us off to the airport to catch our flight, but hey, through the mist even the frigid line for Ryan air looks good. The fog and outdoor loading dock harkens to the Eastern block that, from our experience, has been ousted by a resurgence of friendly Hungarians in the most beautiful city in Europe. (Everyone can have his or her own opinion).