We veered off the Vaci utca, a major shopping artery, to stroll along the Danube.
I threw my first peace sign of the trip on the Széchenyi Chain Bridge. That's the Buda Castle in the background.
A funicular took us up the steep hill to the castle district where the presidential guard was changing.
The guidebook recommended walking along the western side of the Buda hill, a residential area with expansive views of Oud, another section of the city. Natives were enjoying the sun. One pooch had no use for paparazzi.
We entered the castle district through the Vienna Gate at the northern end, near the National Archives.
Most buildings buildings have flagpole holders.
En route to the glorious terrace overlooking Pest at Fisherman's Bastion and Holy Trinity Square, we encountered an elaborate sculpture commemorating a 19th-century Hungarian king.
Here's Matthias atop his high horse.
He named the colorful Gothic church, built centuries before his reign to honor the Virgin Mary, after himself. Franz Joseph was crowned king of Hungary here in 1867, as was the last Hapsburg king in 1916.
Allied bombing destroyed much of the church in World War II but the Hungarians did a wonderful job restoring it.
Lamb imagery appeared in several different media: stained glass, fresco and sculpture outside.
Thom couldn't resist a nap while I took dozens of photos. Blame the chai tea he bought me at Starbucks.
Do kids even know what these are anymore?
It was past noon by the time we got to the Buda castle proper. Warm autumn sunlight bathed Pest and St. Stephen's Church in the distance.
The castle grounds are impeccably maintained.
We didn't have the time to visit both the Budapest History Museum and the National Gallery so Thom picked the museum. Good choice. History in this part of the world goes waaaaay waaaaay back. It threw a lot of shit at the people, including both both the Nazi and Soviet occupations in the last century alone.
Of course changing swimsuit styles interested me just as much. Simply interactive.
A second nap re-energized Thom.
We exited through two gates at the rear of the castle. First, the Lion's Gate which led to a lovely courtyard.
Then the wrought iron Matthias Gate. That crow on the top is his heraldic animal. He chose the bird after it stole a ring he had removed from his finger.
We took the funicular back down to walk below the castle along the Danube. Blame jet lag for the confused positioning of the video.
This Hungarian doll was blown' in the wind.
Some goulash soup really hit the spot.
When we passed the recently renovated exterior of Rudas Thermal Baths, we learned only men were allowed on Wednesday night, just like the old days. They've been in the same location for nearly 500 years!
First, we checked out the Gellert Baths, just ten minutes away. Like Cher says in "Clueless," "let's do a lap before we commit to a location."
The interior was just as grand.
Thom went on his first shopping spree in the gift shop. The pretty young woman provided an excellent restaurant recommendation. It always pays to ask a local where to eat after someone has dropped a bundle.
The Gellert also houses a very grand hotel.
We walked back to the Rudas, past the Freedom Bridge, in the dark.
The Rudas prohibited photography. I'll just have to remember the profound feeling of going back in time to the 16th century. For close to two hours, there wasn't a phone in sight. We soaked in a communal bath built by the occupying Turks during the Ottoman empire. Hanging wooden buckets, still operated by pulling a rope, refreshed us with cold water. The romance of Budapest at night hit us just as hard walking back to the hotel.
After a couple of glasses of prosecco we headed to dinner in the old Jewish quarter. A shy pug peeked out from a window display.
Our meal at M was superb, especially the dessert.
Persimmon seeds go really well with chocolate cake.
We stumbled upon a final delight before catching a cab back to the hotel. This complicated statue in front of the glorious music school honors Georg Solti, the world-renowned, Budapest-born conductor.
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