Beautiful Buda

It was a beautiful spring day in late April when we visted Buda. The sun shone from a cornflower-blue sky and a pleasant wind playfully ruffled our hair. The conditions were perfect for exploring a new place and as soon as the tram set us down, I realised that Buda had its own charms which would have worked their magic on me even under a grey and stormy sky.

Unlike busy, hectic Pest, Buda felt like a peaceful backwater of cobbled streets, pastel houses and Gothic spires. Our wanderings didn't take us very far,  as we preferred to stay in the historic Castle District. So we walked and stopped to take photos, hundreds of them (no surprise there); we explored and did the things that visitors do: gazed in awe at the dazzling white loveliness of Matthias Church and spent too much time wandering around the delightful decorative fortification known as Fisherman's Bastion. From there we gaped at the stunningly beautiful Hungarian Parliament across the Danube in Pest. 

Then we walked a bit more. A little ways away we discovered a quiet park with more wonderful views and walked on a carpet of pink and lilac petals, strewn on the ground like confetti at a wedding. We were almost the only ones there and it felt so dreamy, especially when the bells of Matthias Church chimed out at noon.

A little later we discovered a church tower in which Rapunzel would have felt at home and I couldn't help being fascinated by the colourful mosaic tiles that decorated the slanting roofs of so many of the buildings in Buda. It's enchanting and slightly magical. The fairy-tale references were coming fast and hard in my head but I will spare you my comparisons of buildings in Buda to my childhood Ladybird books, illustrated with scenes that seemed to have been inspired by this fascinating city.

We ended the day in Buda Castle, the historical castle and palace of the Hungarian kings since medieval times. The castle complex is now dominated by the royal palace, a Baroque structure that was built in the mid-18th century. While much of the royal palace was destroyed during WW2, it was rebuilt in a simplified Stalinist Baroque style. While I admit to being slightly disappointed that I wasn't gazing at the same palace in which the Hungarian kings and, later, the Austrian Hapsburg emperors frolicked, the current edifice is still architecturally striking and imposing.

There is much to explore in the castle complex and a lot of history to take in but we had some other sights to see before the sun set. As we walked to our tram stop, I was struck again by the pretty colours of Buda, its rich and varied history, and the peaceful relaxed ambiance that made walking its colourful streets one of the main highlights of our visit. 

Location: Buda, Hungary

April 2023