Budapest on a bus...

One advantage of staying in the Oktagon district is the choice of breakfast, easyHotels do not cater other than from a vending machine. Thoroughly replete I am, once again, standing opposite the Opera House waiting for a bus. Now this should have been a simple matter as I had the printout in my hand ready to exchange for my ticket however the first big red bus which I approached wasn't the "City Tours" hop on-hop off at all. This one had a giraffe on the front and is a different company. It transpires that there are four different bus operators in Budapest, unfortunately two of them paint their buses red. In several instances the routes and stops for all four companies coincide, they also operate more than one route each. I feel quite sorry for the locals as this does cause some congestion on the already busy streets.

I came to pre-book due to a conversation with a friend of mine who was unable to get a ticket to see the Parliament building, I shall explain tomorrow.  Ah, here is the "original" hop-on hop-off big red open top bus. Boarding, my printout is exchanged for my 24 hour ticket and a book of vouchers which can be exchanged at various museums, galleries, shops and bars. Off we go passing "Franz Liszt Square" and on up the wide Andrassy ut. till we reach the top and do a circuit of "Hero's Square", the city garden and funfair can be seen beyond. The larger than life seven chieftains of the Mygars are depicted around the central column.

As you may, or not, know Buda and Pest were two separate entities before they combined to become the capital of Hungary. I am sitting on the top deck listening to the audio guide as I pick out random shots trying to give a flavour of this great city. The old and the new rub shoulders with the historic and the glitzy. A contrast of wide avenues and narrow side streets make this and interesting ride. Don't forget that you can hop off at any of the designated stops, a fact that I found somewhat confusing as the bus frequently stopped in traffic jams too.

We approach the river and a completely different skyline presents itself as we cross the Elizabeth Bridge. Buda Castle, the Citadel and spas evoke a bygone age of wealth and power. We think of the Austria-Hungarian empire as a pre-cursor to the First World War but the the kingdom of Hungary goes back to the Middle Ages when the Arpad dynasty was created with the King Stephen I (formerly Grand Prince Vajk) in 1000 AD. Later this would become the Hapsburg dynasty as the country split between the Ottoman Empire in the east and Hungary in the west about 1667.

Our tour winds its way past the Funicular and on up to the Citadel before retracing its steps back to the Bridge. Past museum and spa we return to the metropolis. Now where shall I hop off and explore?

View the sights in my album here at "Budapest on a bus"

Tomorrow, 7th July 2017, a tour with a difference and gunboat diplomacy.
Location: Budapest, Hungary

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