Apres-Bike

Art and Architecture

We looked forward to feasting on Hungarian sausages at a farmer’s market that was mentioned during the tour. We had a vague idea of where in the City Park it was supposed to be but after some fruitless wandering, we stumbled into the Agricultural museum complex and gave up on the sausages. There were several interesting buildings in the complex of different architectural styles. There was a beautiful Gothic building and a small Church that was, let’s see .. Romanesque? In the center of the complex was a brooding statue, face half-hidden by a monk-like hood, the spitting image of the evil Galactic Emperor in Star Wars. Meanwhile, the museum was housed in an ornate Baroque building called Vajdahunyad Castle. Sound like somewhere Dracula would live? Well, it was, appropriately enough, a copy of a castle in Transylvania.








From there, we proceeded on to see the Museum of Fine Art, where we joined the tour of an American docent. Unfortunately, he spent 2 hours going over the few mediocre Impressionists in their collection, completely ignoring the Raphaels, Dutch Masters, El Grecos and Goyas that were the pride of the Museum. Luckily, I took a quick run-through and discovered these at the last minute.

Without planning it, our museum visits that day started in the Middle Ages at the Agricultural complex, proceeded onto the eighteenth and nineteenth century at the Museum of Fine Art and finally arrived in the 21st, at the Ludwig Museum. There, they had a large collection of American Expressionists and contemporary artists. The building itself was very modern and part of a cluster of modern buildings away from the city center.

We made our way back in time to catch our Danube boat trip. It was obviously a popular tourist activity. There were several boats, parked 3-deep by the river. Lines of tourists filed in, some going downstairs for the dinner cruise, we going upstairs for the drinks tour. Strangely, our cheaper tickets seemed to have the better location. We could even go out on the deck to take pictures. What a beautiful night! All Budapest was lit up. We enjoyed the night air while one floodlit monument after another glided sedately by. I had been told that Budapest sparkles like a jewel at night, and it was true.

The ubiquitous gypsy musicians came on board and played the expected songs. Charo was in the mood to drink and dance again, the other passengers were in the mood to sing along, and I just sat back and enjoyed it all.

We had a late dinner in a restaurant near the hotel, where I had roast goose. It seems I ate nothing but cholesterol-laden foods in Budapest – every meal had goose, duck and/or foie gras, and pastries in between. Thank goodness for Crestor!