#Déak Tér

[greenbagjosh]

Saturday 1 August 1998 - Hot day in Budapest - ride on the Földalatti - Chain Bridge - Buda Castle - What is so special about Pillangó utca - drinking a Dréher along to Romany music

Saturday 1 August 1998

Guten Morgen!  Jó reggelt!  Dobré ráno!

Twenty years ago today, I do something quite unusual.  I visit a new country in its physical form, and visit another new country through the radio airwaves.  And this is actually possible.  How and where?  More will be told in a bit.  Here is the overview - wake up, have a shower (40 ATS fee with towel), have breakfast - take the tram line 51 to Westbahnhof - In the rail pass, write 01 on top and 08 on the bottom - Board the first class train to Budapest, leave about 10 AM - About 11:30 AM cross from Nickelsdorf (Austria) to Hegyeshalom (Hungary), get passport stamp - 1:30 PM At Budapest Keleti Pályaudvar, board bus to youth hostel - Check in to hostel, walk to the "Ferenciek Tere" metro station.  Take M-3 to Déak Ferenc Tér - take M-1 "Földalatti" to Hösök Tere (Heroes Square) and admire the pillars and Angel Gabriel statue - take M-1 to Mexikói Út, eat something unusual at Burger King then back to Vörösmarty tér, buy Hungarian CDS at record shop near the Vigadó, and buy a funny souvenir T-Shirt - Walk along the Lánchid (chain bridge) across the Danube from Pest to Buda, take funicular to Buda Castle - Observe the castle and eastward view across the Danube, even see Parliament, pass by St Matyas church - take shuttle bus to Moszkva Tér and M-2 to Déli Pályaudvar, have sandwich and soft drink - take M-2 to Batthyáni tér, ride HÉV suburban train to Szépvölgyi út and back. - take M-2 to Pillangó utca, sun was starting to set, back to Vörösmarty tér - Chicken dinner at Vigadó and a Dréher beer, and Romani music including xylophone and violin - Take M-1 and M-3 back to Ferenciek Tere, walk to hostel, try to go to sleep in hostel dorm room. And that was all for that Saturday.  But here is the more comprehensive story, feel free to read along.

Saturday 1st August 1998 it was declared official on many Austrian radio stations - the German grammar and punctuation reform had taken effect.  And to think I was in Austria at that time too.  I woke up about 7:30 AM, went to have a shower.  To date, the only time I ever had to pay in a hotel to take a shower, was at Hotel Rustler. ?? It was not too bad, just 40 ATS for the key to the shower room and a towel.  I had my toiletries with me.  After I gave the key back, I was dressed for breakfast.  Breakfast was included in the hotel stay.  They had my favorites, namely breadrolls, butter, jams, coffee with milk, and deli meats.  I remember distinctly in the breakfast room, that someone asked in German if they were allowed to smoke.  The owner said please don't.  ???????

About 8:30 AM it was time to head to Westbahnhof, but my train to Budapest would not leave until at least 10 AM.  I took the tram line 51 to Westbahnhof, and I thought to take the U-6 a little ways up towards Michelbeuern AKH and back, just to kill time.  Otherwise I would get on a train that I would have to transfer anyway.  The train I was meant to take, it was air conditioned, had nice six-person compartments and restaurant car between first and second class.  Before boarding the train, I made sure to mark the next free spaces with 01 on top and 08 on the bottom, leaving three more space pairs. ??

The train left at 10 AM, and would make the following stops Bruck an der Leitha Nickelsdorf (border) Hegyeshalom (border) Györ Tatabanya Budapest Keleti Pályaudvar and on to Szeged, Novi Sad and Subotica in the Vojvodina region of Serbia and finally in Belgrade.

I listened to some Vienna radio stations while the train was going through the Schwechat airport area.  One song I heard was "Alles wird sich ändern" by the band Echt.  The only other time I heard it on the radio was 8th September 2000 while in Stuttgart.  FM4 was off the air as it was only an evening / nighttime channel, it was replaced by Blue Danube Radio until the switch at 6 PM.  The last I heard on that station was Paul Young's 1983 hit "Wherever I lay my hat" cover version of Marvin Gaye, then Blue Danube mentioned the border crossing wait time, and for most of the day I heard almost only Hungarian and some slavic language.

The train arrived at Nickelsdorf about 11:30 AM to check for passports.  ????????????  I received an exit stamp for Nickelsdorf, the usual Schengen stamp.  About 15 minutes later the train arrived in Hegyeshalom on the Hungarian side.  The ÖBB train locomotive was replaced by a MÁV locomotive (blue and yellow), and Hungarian customs came to my compartment to check and stamp passports.  The stamp I received was red and green.  After leaving Györ, there was a representative of the Hostelling International Hungarian chapter.  She gave information on a program that the hostels participate in, to shuttle guests to hostels in Budapest near Keleti Pályaudvar, all I would need to do, was to find the shuttle bus, and ride along.  

As for radio, between Györ and Tatabanya, I was able to pick up ?????? Slovak radio stations, cabaret comedy ??and music, as if I were actually in Slovakia and not Hungary.  One song I remember was "Vsetko Je Inak" by Vidiek.  Most of the other Slovak material was two-person standup comedy.  

The train arrived about 1:30 PM and I found the shuttle, sort of east of the station.  There must have been at least twelve people on that bus, as the Ford Transit non-turbo diesel engine was struggling to accelerate.  I did find a hostel that was fairly central, the Apáczai Csere János High School and Dormitory, on Papnövelde u. 4, open for non-students during the summer.  I had an ??eight person dorm room and access to the showers and bathroom, but no breakfast was offered.  Cafes were far cheaper than in Vienna or even Prague, so finding a place for an affordable breakfast would not be a concern.

And now would be the first time that whatever I learned for Hungarian, would be put to the test.  My only task at the time, would be to buy a day pass for the metro.  And I had to remember, despite Hungary being next to Austria, few people in Budapest spoke German or English.  When I made it to Ferenciek Tere on the M-3 line, I went to the ticket office, and tried to say "napijegy", with a horrible mispronunciation of the "gy", and I had to repeat and even point to the ticket.  The lady gave me the correct pronunciation and also a day pass for 350 Forint, punched for 1st August.  In Budapest the day passes are valid up to 12:01 AM.  

The Budapest metros at the time, except M-1, were similar to those in Moscow, St Petersburg, and Prague.  I took the M-3 to Déak Ferenc Tér and transferred to the M-1 "Földalatti" which was in operation as early as when the Habsburg Empire still ruled Austria and Hungary.  It follows half its route in a shallow tunnel under Andrássy út.  I took the M-1 to Hösök Tere, and admired the columns, there must have been about twelve, and there is a statue of the Archangel Gabriel.  

I was getting hungry so I went farther northeast to Mexikói út, past the Széchenyi Fürdö (municipal swimming pool open year round).  There was a Burger King and I ordered something a bit different than the usual beef burgers.  They had, similar to the McDonalds McPink, the "Piggy Burger", basically a pork patty served with the usual condiments and veggies and so on.   After that, I took the entire M-1 line to Vörösmarty Tér almost on the east bank of the Danube.  I wanted to buy ???????? CDs in Hungarian, so there was a music store close to the Cafe Gerbaud.  I bought a couple, namely "Majom tango" by Quimby, "Rossz Penz" by Gjon Delhusa, "Ugyánaz a tuz" by Manhattan, and a cassette by rap duo Animal Cannibals, formed by Qka MC and Ricsipí, "Kés, villa" (knife, fork) - they started in 1989 and as far as I was able to find out, they still are together.  No I did not misuse my phrasebook in the record store à la Monty Python ?? "Eye wheel not bye zeese record, eet eese skretched!"

Around the corner there was a shop that sold typical Hungarian souvenirs, for example cheap "puszta" and a funny shirt with some guy with a few liter mugs of beer, a justifiably wide grin, and the word "BUDAPEST Hungary" on it.  I bought one in yellow, thought my photo has only the black version as visible.

After buying my t-shirt, I thought it was a good time to walk along the Danube and cross the Széchenyi  Lánchíd (chain bridge).  The Danube also has active tram tracks on both banks for an unforgettable ride.    

On the other side of the bridge, namely the Buda, was a funicular.  To ride the funicular up to the castle, required a 100 Forint ticket, and the napijegy was not valid.  At the top was the castle and part of the Habsburg-era old town.  The castle itself was built more or less on Greco-roman styling, with corinthian-order columns.  Walking northeast towards the Szent Matyas church along Szent György utca, there had to be twenty of the Hungarian flags flying, the ones with red, white and green.  Szent Matyas was a quarter mile farther along Disz Tér and Tárnok St.  Szent Matyas has its bell tower at the "south" corner closest to the street and the shorter parts are to the other directions, giving it its distinctive design.  The Fishermans Bastion overlooking the Pest part of the city across the Danube, is accessible by Szentháromság tér.  

After that, I took the shuttle bus to Széll Kálmán tér, known in 1998 still as Moskva Tér.  I took the M-2 to Déli Pályaudvar, the south long-distance rail station.  I was hungry and bought a pepperoni, salami and cheese sandwich for about 200 Forint and a can of 7 Up.  That would be enough until supper.  I think it was about 5:30 PM or so.  I wanted to take a ride on the HÉV suburban rail system, particularly the current route "H5", so I had to go to Batthyáni tér station and transfer.  

To get to the HÉV station, I had to go up one escalator level, and cross a corridor to the tracks for the HÉV, there were two or three as I remember.  The trains looked like they were from the mid 1970s to early 1980s, and looked more like the trams and Földalatti than the M-2 and M-3 Metro trains.  After the HÉV train  left Batthyáni tér, there was only one other underground station, Margit Híd Budai hídfö.  The conductor checked everyone's train tickets and also my napijegy.  I alighted at Szépvölgyi út and took a photo of the departing HÉV train.  Waiting for the return train, I think it was fifteen minutes, and I think it was 6:15 PM when I returned to Batthyáni tér.  The HÉV station is in a shallow tunnel compared to the metro.  Taking the escalator to the street, I boarded a tram line 19 and rode only to Halász utca along the Buda side of the Danube, and had an excellent view of the Hungarian parliament building.  The parliament building is very distinctive, one of the most recognizable buildings on the Pest side of the Danube.  In 1998 there were still many Trabants and Wartburgs to be seen, many in either rice pudding color or baby blue, same as prior to the reunification of Germany of October 1990.  

Since tomorrow (Sunday 2nd August 1998) the train would not leave until 12:30 PM, I had to find a place to put my clothes bag, so I had to ride the M2 from Batthyány tér to Keleti pályaudvar and see if there was a left-luggage or locker room.  The left luggage was attended, so I could go place my bag there for about 600 Forint until it was time for the return train.  It was starting to get dark, around 8 PM, and there was one last place I wanted to see, and that was Pillangó utca.  In Hungary, Poland, and also Serbia, in the summer, the sun rises and sets earlier, significantly earlier, than it does in Spain.  I think by about two hours.  In Spain for example, it can be dark until 7:30 AM and in Hungary the sun can be up as early as 5:15 AM.  If somehow the European Union discontinues the Daylight Savings Time scheme, the sun will rise as early as 4:15 AM in some locations of the Central European +1h time zone.  

Pillangó utca is the first surface metro station after the Puskás Ferenc Stadion, renamed from "Nepstadion".  This is one of the few stations on the Budapest metro that have side platforms.  You can even see the third rails on the platform edge side.  Even on the new M-4 that was opened in 2014, the third rails are on the platform side that cannot usually be seen.  I crossed the pedestrian bridge to the westbound platform and could see the sun set.  The street lights went on and it was time to head back to Déak Tér and Vörösmarty tér to find somewhere to eat.

I found an inviting place close to Vörösmarty tér and where I bought my t-shirt.  This was the Vigadó.  They had live music, particularly from a ?????? Romani band that had a xylophone and violin, for a uniquely Hungarian dining experience.  I had a Dreher beer to start, and then chicken with paprika with vegetables.  I must have stayed there for over an hour because the music was very good.  I listened to the radio only when the band went on break.

After supper, I took the M-1 to Déak Tér and the one stop by M-3 to Ferenciek Tere to walk back to the hostel.  While trying to go to sleep, I listened to the radio, even hearing the classic "Ringo" by Lorne Greene. "i knew there was still a spark of good, in Ringo ??Riiingo - Ringo??"

My roommates that night seemed to have more energy than myself, were a bit noisy until around 1 AM, made it difficult to sleep but I managed to sleep all the same.  

That is almost all for Saturday the 1st August 1998.  There was a little more I wanted to see of Budapest before going back to München, I was also able to find an excellent place for breakfast.  I got to see the most peppers in my life on display.  And then at 12:30 PM I had to go back to München.  So there is more fun for tomorrow.  Köszönom!  D'akujem!  And Gute Nacht!  

[carried-by-a-useless-vortex-blog]

Homeless, social scenes are part of a culture - Budapest, September 2012 // Sara Christiaens

[greenbagjosh]

Sunday 2 August 1998 - yummy eggs with bell peppers - paprika market near Nyugati pu, apartment blocks near Köbánya Kispest and Yugos you never saw before - long train ride home to M-Ostbahnhof and tribute to FM4′s Julia Barnes

Sunday 2 August 1998

Hi everyone, jó reggelt and dobré ráno

In spite of the noisy roommates, I hope you slept well.  Today will include a long train ride home, but first a north-south journey with an unforgettable breakfast at a cafe.  We make it home about 9:30 PM.

The summary of the day for those who may not have time to read everything - around 5:45 AM wake up because the sun rises earlier in Hungary than in Germany - took shower, got dressed and checked out of hostel.  See Trabants, Wartburgs and 4-door Yugos along the way - went to Ferenciek Tere, bought a napijegy for the metro, xfrd at Déak Tér for Keleti pályaudvar - left clothes bag at left luggage, mark my Eurail pass with 02 08, leaving two more spaces - took trolleybus to Nyugati Pályaudvar, strolled around the open market, lots of peppers to admire - breakfast at Mephisto Cafe, with excellent Hungarian egg scramble and best coffee in Europe - metro M3 south to Köbánya Kispest, and to Határ út with tram to Lehel utca - last tram ride along the Danube, 12:30 departure for Vienna and München - cross into Austria after Hegyeshalom and Nickelsdorf - train reverse about 3:30 PM at Vienna Westbahnhof, five more hours until München Ostbahnhof - local U-Bahn trains and bus to home via Max-Weber-Platz and Arabellapark - and hear complaints from roommates about the alarm clock in my room ?? - at least I made it back. Well that was all for a Sunday in Central Europe. Let's have some more fun in Budapest before getting on a train for about eight hours.  (in comparison with the last two days, the prose is much shorter for today)

On Sunday 2nd August 1998, it was a sunny day for the most part.  Due to Hungary's eastern position in the Central European +1 (+2 in summer) time zone, and being in the same zone as Paris and München, the sun rose earlier than in Germany or even France or Spain.  Even with the noisy roommates, I woke up about 5:45 AM.  The hostel did not offer breakfast as the cafeteria was shut for the summer.  So I had to find somewhere else for breakfast.  I took a shower in the men's dorm shower area, got dressed and checked out of the hostel.  I needed a place to put my clothes bag as I did not want to carry it around all day.

Walking to the Ferenciek Tere metro station, I thought to myself I could properly pronounce the word "napijegy" properly.  Along the way I saw a few Trabants, Wartburgs and even a 4-door Yugo.  Most people in the USA would likely only know of the 3-door hatchback, but Zastava also made a 4-door sedan version as well.  It is only logical that the Yugos would be present in Hungary since it shares a border with the then-Yugoslavia.

Once I entered the Ferenciek Tere station, I went to the ticket counter and bought my napijegy.  This time the ticket seller understood what I needed, and gave me a napijegy for 2nd August.  Then I went on to Keleti pályaudvar, changing at Déak Tér.  At Keleti, the baggage handler could speak some English and asked for 600 Forint to watch my bag.  He gave me a claim ticket for when I wanted to get the bag back.  After Keleti, I went on a trolley bus northwards to somewhere outside of Nyugati Pályaudvar.  Nyugati is only a commuter rail station.  To the north is a shopping center, but what I found interesting, was to the east of Nyugati, was a farmer's market.  Almost half of the produce sold was actually paprika.  Some red, some green but mostly yellow.  Paprika is probably the most recognizable vegetables from Hungary.  Photos of the paprikas can be found in the "Rechtschreibreform" album, towards the end.

I took the M-3 to Déak Tér to find a place to eat breakfast.  There was one place close to Vörösmarty Tér on the Váci utca, called the Mephisto Cafe.  The place looked inviting, and I sat at an outside table.  The servers offered me coffee, and it was the Segafredo coffee that I had on Friday, but with milk and sugar.  I looked in the menu and chose a scrambled eggs and vegetables plate.  The eggs were scrambled with ham and red peppers, and came with cucumbers and tomatoes.  It was probably the best egg dish I had in a long time.  I stayed about an hour, until it was time to get up.  I asked, in Hungarian, to pay the bill, without reverting to either German or English, trying to make use of the phrasebook.  I think breakfast cost 1,100 Forint with coffee, very reasonable.

I wanted to see the south of Budapest, namely in the Kispest.  Taking the M-3 to Köbánya-Kispest, I passed by Határ út which I would transfer to the tram with.  But at Köbánya-Kispest, it was a surface station where I could see the metro car in daylight.  At Köbánya Kispest, it is a transfer station to the suburban railway that goes to the airport among other places southeast of Budapest.  Going back to Határ út, it seemed more interesting than many of the other stations towards Klinikák and further to Déak Tér and Újpest.  At Határ út, I took a tram line 42 to Hungária út, where there was a Spar grocery store, open on Sunday.  In Hungary, the grocery stores are called "ABC-bolt".  I bought some bread, some cheese similar to provolone, and spicy salami.  And also an herbal drink similar to the Almdudler that you can get all across Austria.  Going back to the tram stop, there were a few 4-door Yugos to be seen and here and there also a Trabant.  

I felt there was one last thing to do, it was 11:15 AM and I still wanted to go up and down the Danube one last time.  So I went to Kálvin Tér on the M-3 and boarded a line 2 tram at the nearby Fovám tér stop, and made it as far south as Boráros tér where the H-7 train departs from.  It was a sunny day so the view across the Danube was excellent, though it was hot in the tram.  I had to be sure that I would have enough time to get to Keleti, to catch the train, so I went back and alighted at Vigadó tér, walked to Vörösmarty tér, transferred to the M-2 at Déak tér, and went the three stops over.  I had fifteen minutes to get the clothes bag and board the train.  I made good time, was on the train about 12:10 AM before it left.  Turning on the radio I heard a Cliff Richard song from the early 1960s, I think "Summer Holiday", then the train conductor made an announcement in Hungarian, German and English.  I understood his German and English well enough.  When he came around to check my ticket, I showed him my passport with the ticket and he said Thank-You in English.  I had for about three hours, the entire six-person compartment in first class, all to myself.  So I could just sit back, watch the scenery and listen to the radio.  

The train made a counterclockwise turn before heading left towards Tatabánya and Gyor.  It would be about a half hour before being able to pretend that I was also in ???? Slovakia, as Tata up to Hegyeshalom is within five miles of the Slovak border.  It's like being in a bilingual corridor.  About 2:15 PM the train arrived at Hegyeshalom.  ???????????? ????The Hungarian border guards checked passports and gave me an exit stamp.  Also the MÁV locomotive was swapped for an ÖBB locomotive.  About 2:30 PM the train pulled into Nickelsdorf and entered Austria.  I received an entry stamp.  I think about this area, between here and Bruck an der Leitha, it is the limit of the Hungarian and to some degree, also the Slovak radio reception area.  But it was also the beginning of Blue Danube Radio's range, as at 2:55 PM I was able to receive that station, and hear "Fantasy Love" by Stanley Clark.  I switched to an Austrian station, namely Radio Niederösterreich, and they were playing the last two minutes of Juliane Wehrding's "Sehnsucht ist unheilbar" before the news.  Still the Lassing Mine Disaster was newsworthy, but not much progress from two days ago had happened.  After the news I switched the radio to Hit Radio Ö3, heard the latest Top 40 countdown, I heard "I'm still waiting" by Sasha, "No tengo dinero" by Los Umbrellos, "Laura non c'è" by Nek, "High" by the Lighthouse Family, "Lucky for you" by Espen Lind, and "Dream Lover" by Mariah Carey.  Yes that was considered proper music in 1998.  They were also doing a contest to win a million ATS, which is hardly more than $80k US at those exchange rates.    

They did a cute Grimm fairy tale sketch that went like "Oh schreck, eine ganze Million ist 'weck'" "Gille-gille, am Montag gibts nochma a Mille" "eine Million, das wäre die Sommersensation!" and all these years later I still have it on tape.

At 3:25 PM the train reached Vienna Westbahnhof, where it would switch directions.  And all good things had to come to an end, no more compartment to myself.  A young man in his mid 20s also entered my compartment with his backpack on a similar adventure to my own.  We did not speak much.  I turned the radio from "Stranded" by Lutricia McNeal on Hit Radio Ö3 to Blue Danube, and it was playing more jazz, for example "Don't say it's over" by Randy Crawford, and then the news was read in English, read by Julia Barnes (sadly she passed away in May 2017, as per https://fm4.orf.at/stories/2845462/).  There was not much news to mention about the mine disaster that was not already said in other similar Austrian media.  She mentioned there was a war going on in the Kosovo.  She mentioned that Hakkinen finished first in the Formel 1 with a McLaren.  I think she did the news very well.  Hopefully this is a nice tribute to Ms Barnes who I remember reading the news in English at 3:30 PM on Sunday 2nd August 1998.  

About 3:40 the train left Vienna for St Pölten, Linz, Salzburg and München.  About 4 PM I listened to one more news report, pretty much the same so it got a bit boring, so music was more of a highlight.  One classic song I heard was "Dedicated follower of fashion" by The Kinks.  About 4:05 PM I thought it would be a good time to take a nap, the compartment air conditioning was cooling much better by then and I did not drink much of the herbal drink compared to the time before I crossed from Hungary to Austria.  ??????????????????????  (no meaningful customs formalities carried out b/w AT and DE) The crossing from Salzburg to Freilassing about 6:30 PM went uneventfully other than the conductor checking that the 02 and 08 in my ticket were still as they were.  The train arrived in München Ostbahnhof about 8:10 PM, and I could alight there, transfer to the U-5, then to a U-4 at Max Weber Platz, bus 37 for home at Arabellapark.  Well I thought I was safe and sound, at 8:45 PM when I got home, but .....

The roommates were not particularly happy.  They let me know, that my radio went off both Saturday and Sunday at the usual time when they wanted to sleep in.  And the next time I leave for the weekend, to be very sure, and I mean, very sure, that I turn off the alarm, before I leave.  It was a moment of humility.  I would go to sleep and make it to work the next morning and have stories to tell.  And soon enough I would be on good terms with the roommates once again.

So what happened after this?  The following week of this story?  What world event(s) would occur, that would be on every newspaper by Friday the 7th August 1998?  ???????? ?????? How would it even affect the USA?  And what were the names of scorn for years to come, after that?  And what did I do a few days later, to get away from it all? (I needed to).  Well, you will just have to tune in by Friday the 7th August 1998 to Sunday the 9th August 1998.

Hope you had fun on the weekend of 31 July to 2nd August 1998.   Alles Gute und schönen Abend noch!

[greenbagjosh]

Original 3rd January 2002 story written in 2017 - visiting Budapest, Hungary.

This is the original story I wrote in January 2017 about my visit on Thursday 3rd January 2002 to Budapest, Hungary.  The story here is about the same as that of the Day 8 story in the current series.  It just came later than expected.  

Today (or rather, yesterday) fifteen years ago, I made my first winter visit to Budapest.  I had been to Budapest more than three years prior, in early August 1998.  At that time it was very hot, in the upper 90s and no air conditioning in the hostel.  This time I was in a proper hotel with radiator heating.

After using the bathtub in my hotel room, I went to breakfast.  They had a buffet of cooked items, including scrambled eggs and grilled mild red pepper.  After breakfast I went to the Györ palyáudvár (rail station).  I think I took the 8:10 AM train to Budapest Déli palyáudvár but not Keleti on the other side of the city.  Déli is more on the central west side, rather than south, as the Hungarian word "déli" would suggest.  Then again nyugáti which means west, Nyugáti palyáudvár is more north than west.  There is no known "zuglo" (north) station that I can think of.  Budapest is a city whose rail stations tend to defy common logic.

The train going between Györ and Tatabanya gets close to the border with Slovakia.  If you have a radio, you can sometimes tune in, subject to the current terrain and train position, a station from Slovakia.  Slovak belongs to the northwestern Slavic language groups and is more like Czech and Polish than Hungarian, which is a Finno-Ugric language, similar only to Finnish, Lappish (Sapmi) and Estonian, and some other languages I have not heard of.  

When I arrived at Déli palyáudvár, I found the way to the metro subway station.  I asked for a "napijégy" which is literally "day ticket" in Hungarian.  It was still at a good price, worth about the price of two and a half crosstown single fares, but not as cheap as in 1998.  One thing in my experience with post-Warsaw-pact nations, is that eventually prices will rise up almost as much as in western Europe.  I took the M2 all the way to Örs Vezer Tere, practically the end of the line.  The end station has no stairs and you can walk past the fare gates to the street.  But if you were to go to the shopping centers, you would need to use the underground passageways.  

After Örs Vezer Tere, I went back downtown to the junction at Déak Ferenc Tér.  There I transferred to the "millenium" line, also known as the M1.  The reason for its name, is that it was completed one thousand years after Budapest was founded as two cities, Buda on the west of the Danube, Pest on the east.  The M1 is very shallow compared to the M2, M3 and M4.  At Vörösmarty Tér, the end of the line, I walked to the east bank of the Danube.  It has a really good view of Buda Siklo, the large castle on the Buda side.  Trams travel up and down the banks.  It does not cost extra with my day ticket to ride the tram.  A little bit north on the Pest side is the Hungarian federal parliament building, as well as Szent Istvan (St. Stephen) cathedral.

I take the M1 back to Déak Ferenc Tér but come back up to the street.  I wanted to see the Synagogue and Jewish Cultural Center at Astoria, but was disappointed to see the sign saying that it is closed for renovations.  It would not reopen until long after I went back to the USA.  Instead I take a ride on the M3 line from Déak Ferenc Tér northwards to Újpest-Központ, stopping also at Nyugati Palyáudvár and Léhel Tér.  

After looking around the streets at Újpest-Központ, I take the M3 back to Déak Ferenc Tér, transfer to the M2 and ride to Keleti Palyáudvár.  I wanted to see the train schedule for trains returning to Györ so that I don't stay too long in Budapest.  At the time, the M4 is only in planning, and no construction for it has yet taken place.  Access between the metro station and the long-distance rail terminal is not exactly without steps, though there have been elevators installed in the past few years.  As far as the train platforms go, the platforms are low and it's a steep climb into the trains.  Romania's Bucharest Gara de Nord is similar, but Sofia Gara Tsentralna has at least decently medium height platforms.  

Before it gets too cold, I go back to Vörösmarty ter, make my way across the Chain Bridge to the Buda side, then take a cable car up to the castle.  The castle has a nice view eastward to Pest and federal parliament.  I head down to the city past Szent Matthyas (St. Matthias) church and a bit further to the river is the Fishermans Bastion which I visited February 2006.  I board a minibus that heads down to Moszkva Tér metro station where I have a snack, basically just a sandwich and soft drink.  Then I take a tram ride across the Danube at Margit Híd.  Then I return on the HÉV railway to Kossuth Lajos Tér.  Before heading back to Budapest, I take the M2 to Déak Tér, head up M3 to Nyugati Palyáudvár and walk around the shopping center.  

About 4:30 it is getting dark.  I go back to Keleti Palyáudvar, and take the 4:45 PM train to Györ.    It is supposed to arrive in Györ about 6:30 PM.  When I return to Györ, it is very dark other than the street lighting.  Supper is still being served at the hotel.  After supper I watch a few hours of Hungarian music videos, listen to “Living on an island” by Status Quo from an Austrian FM radio station somewhere in Burgenland, and go to sleep.

Next story:  The big drop at Vienna-Hütteldorf and a walk to Stephansplatz and Prater.

[greenbagjosh]

Thursday 3 January 2002 - Train to Budapest - spot the Little Princess - Metro Museum visit - Buda Castle and view of the Danube

Hi everyone!  Grüezi mitenand!   Hallo allerseits!   Üdv mindenkinek!   Ahoj všetci!

Twenty years ago today I visited Budapest for the first time during the winter.  I previously visited Budapest in the summer of 1998.  I wanted to visit a few places that I had not already been.

I woke up about 6 AM, and had a bath, as my bathroom at the Klastrom did not have a shower.  Then I went downstairs to eat breakfast from the breakfast buffet.  They had scrambled eggs, fried sausage, vegetables, fruits, coffee, fresh bread rolls, and orange juice.  It was included in the overnight stay.  

I walked to the rail station to catch the 8 AM train from Györ to Budapest Déli Pályaudvár.  It went from Györ through Tata, Tatabánya, Budaörs and stopped at Budapest Kelenföldi before ending at Déli.  Along the way, the train passed close to the Slovak border, so when I brought my radio with me, I could receive stations from Slovakia.  At Déli there was a metro connection, so I had to buy a day ticket, or a "napijegy".  In 1998 I had trouble pronouncing that word, but in 2002 I had practiced it enough to be understood.  The napijegy cost 750 Forint and was valid for the entire day.  I took the M2 to Déak Tér and changed to the M1 to Vörösmarty Tér.  At Vörösmarty Tér was the northern end of the pedestrian street Váci utca.  Also the location of where I bought some CDs was there but the record shop had closed down.  I walked down Váci utca to Vigadó tér where there was the Little Princess Statue and a nice view across the Danube of the Buda castle.  

I walked along Váci ut, and saw an ad for the herbal digestive liquor Unicum.  I had seen a similar ad in August 1998 when I last visited.  I turned left on Kossuth Lajos utca, past Ferenciek Tere to Astoria.  At Astoria, the Synagogue was under construction, and was not opened for tours until mid-January 2002.  I returned February 2006 and went on a tour.  I took the metro M2 to Déak Tér, and at the top of the escalator was the metro museum.  It was located in the former location of the metro stop of the 1896-built M1.  The other two lines at the time, M2 and M3 were built during the communist era and thus had subway cars that were from the USSR, the same as those used in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Prague, Warsaw, and Sofia.  

After that, I took the M2 to Keleti Pályaudvár to inquire about a return train to Györ, picked one for about 5 PM, returned to Déak Tér and I took the M3 train up to Újpest-Központ, which was the northern end.  In August 1998 I had been to the southern end at Köbánya-Kispest.  Újpest did not have much interesting to see, but at least I was able to go as far north on the metro.  

I took the metro M3 to Déak Tér and changed to M1 and went to Oktogon and changed to a tram to Margit Híd.  Then I transferred to the HÉV line to Batthyány tér.  I took M2 to Déli Pályaudvár and ordered a salami sandwich at one of the food vendors.  I had a local beer with that.  I took the M2 to Batthyány tér and then a tram to Clark Ádám tér where the cable car to the Buda castle was located.  My napijegy was not accepted so I had to pay an extra 250 Forint for the upwards journey.  I think it was about 3 PM and there was not much sunlight left.  I went on the south side first, making sure that I saw the dozens of Hungarian flags flying, as well as the eagle statue.  I walked to the fisherman's bastion next to the Matthias Church.  I had a nice view of the Danube, but it was getting dark, so I had to find a way back to Keleti.

I took a minibus from the Matthias Church, to the station Széll Kálmán tér and then the M2 to Keleti.  It was about 4:30 PM when the sky went black.  There was a train to Györ that left about 5 PM and would arrive about 6:30 PM, just in time for me to have supper at the Klastrom restaurant.  When it was time to board the train, I found a seat in first class.  The train seemed to be from the 1980s, when communism was still part of Hungary.  Its heat was okay, was not air conditioned and the toilet was an open system.  Once the train left Budapest, I took out my radio, tuned in some music, and one song that I recorded to blank tape was "Könnyek a szemedben" by Fehér Csoki.  I thought this was by the band Manhattan, as I have the 1997 CD "Ugyanaz a tüz" and one of the voices was familiar.  Csoki went solo sometime after 2000, and he was a member of Manhattan from the early 1990s.  

The train arrived in Györ about 6:30 PM.  It was a cold walk to the hotel, but at least it was not snowing.  I was able to eat supper as they were still serving.  I ordered the beef goulash and a beer.  It was very good.  Then I went up to my room and watched more videos before going to sleep.          

Tomorrow, I take the train from Györ to Vienna, step down with full luggage to the track floor, buy a 72 hour ticket in Euro, take the Lokalbahn from Meidling to Karlsplatz, buy a round trip ticket from Vienna Südbahnhof to Bratislava Hlavni Stanica, and enjoy some roasted chestnuts and potato pancakes.  

Hope you will join in tomorrow’s adventure!

Ich hoffe, Ihr nehmt am morgigen Abenteuer teil!

Remélem, csatlakozol a holnapi kalandhoz!

Dúfam, že sa zapojíte do zajtrajšieho dobrodružstva!