The Várnegyed is huge, up there you do not only find the massive castle, but also the National Gallery, the Castle Gardens, the Halásbástya (in German the "Fischerbastei") and of course - maybe the most famous building on the hill) - the Maýás-templom, (in German "Matthiaskirche").
But before you venture out to discover all these place of excitement you should invest a couple of Forint and ride the Sikló up to the castle hill. The stretch of the funicular is ridiculously short, but it was built and opened in 1870 and it gives you this feeling to do something that people a loooong time ago have done just the same, maybe riding up to the palace with their families on a Sunday afternoon. And if you listen closely you can still here the whisper of people having fun almost two centuries ago...
And then you are right inside the castle district and enjoy the great view. Getting out of the Sikló on the left hand side you wander into the Gardens where you find the castle and the national gallery. You should reserve more time if you want to visit extensively, because it would take you at least half a day. (This is what the travel guide says, I doubt it. If you REALLY want to go see all that you can find there you might want to book a day.)
We did not have that whole day so we wandered off into the opposite direction to find nice and surprisingly quiet little lanes and then of course the Máyás-templom.
It looks surprisingly modest from the outside, but legend has it that the founder of Hungary, King Stephan I., has also founded this church by his very self in 1015 (which is probably more fiction than fact). During the Turkish occupation the church even served as a mosque, but still it has been there since at least 1250 (which is proven), and it´s maybe most popular chapter in History happened when Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elizabeth of Austria were crowned as King and Queen of Hungary here. Franz Liszt had written his famous "Hungarian Coronation Mass" right for this event, and another legend has it that the people calling "Ferenc! Ferenc!" in front of the Máyás-templom actually ment the composer and not their new king. I think I mentioned before that Franz Josef was not very well-liked in his new kingdom...
Inside the church it was also surprisingly quiet. I wonder how it must have been like on the day when the Royal Couple was crowned....
What upset us a bit was the fact that you have to pay extra to be able to climb up the few stairs of the Fischerbastei. You are high up and then they want you to pay extra just for a few meters more after you have paid for the church anyway? What we also found very surprising that also just a few meters away from the Máyás-templom they built a huge hotel which is almost towering over the church and steals a lot of the feeling. I mean, who allowed this crazyness to be built?And as long as we are at it, why not IN the church itself?
With this in mind but also with a lot of good memories it was time for some hot tea and some postcards to be written (none of them has unfortunately arrived at their receiver´s so far. Is it me or the Hungarian mail?) Then we returned to Kettenbrücke and to our hotel to prepare for the events of the evening.
I had been to the Cafe New York years ago, and at that time it was almost a landmark of Budapest but also a little run down which I felt sorry about. Meanwhile it was closed and stood empty, but finally a very rich 5*group bought it, invested lots of money and brought it back to its former glory.
I think they really liked that we went along with the orchestration, went "ooh" and "aah" and really enjoyed the waiters making a grand huge fuss about us. The food of course was excellent. It comes like this...
And it got almost kitchy when the piano player started a potpourri of "Phantom of the Opera", *sigh*... It was a perfect evening (for at least half the price that you would pay for something similar in a "Western" country, even though it still was insane) and we really really enjoyed it. But I am not sure if we will be going there again, because expectations would be enormously high, and it could not get any better. Still: Take the chance if you are around!
4 comments:
Ui, der Sikló schaut cool aus (und den haben sie uns anno 2009 offenbar vorenthalten)! In Prag gibt's auf den Laurenziberg rauf ja auch sowas Ähnliches - warum haben wir sowas in Wien nicht??? Frechheit.
Matthiaskirche seh ich zum ersten Mal in ihrer ganzen Pracht, als ich dort war, war sie außen komplett eingerüstet und innen sehr gloomy (wahrscheinlich durch das Gerüst rundherum). Wart ihr auch im Café Miró? Das ist eins der wenigen Dinge an die ich mich lokaltechnisch erinnern kann... ^^
Meine Postcard ist unfortunately nach wie vor nicht arrived. Aber die Hoffnung stirbt zuletzt! ;)
Vielleicht haben wir kein Sikló in Ermangelung von irgendwelchen Hügeln im unmittelbaren Zentrum? Als Alternative kann ich eventuell die Lilliputbahn anbieten, *gg*. Als passender Sikló-loser Hügel fällt mir jetzt höchstens der Weg auf die Gloriette ein, und bei genauem Nachdenken ist die Gloriette auch nicht wesentlich niedriger als der Budapester Burgberg. Also vielleicht können wir ja hoffen?
Im Café Miró waren wir nicht, siehe mein Statement x tollen Cafés, aber wir haben eh selber so viele - es wäre schwierig gewesen DAS bekannte Café herauszufinden, und für mehr hätte die Zeit vermutlich eh nicht gereicht. Aber es gibt durchaus ein paar Cafés, wo ich gerne das nächste Mal hin möchte, weil man dort angeblich auch gut essen kann. Und am Burgberg waren wir im Café Pierrot, auch sehr empfehlenswert, wenn man wirklich draußen sitzen kann auch total schnuckelig hergerichtet mit Lichterketten, Palmen, begrüntem Innenhof....richtig liebevoll. Meine beiden Wien-Postkarten sind alle beide angekommen, vielleicht dauerts nach Krakau einfach länger? (Weg über Kopenhagen?) *hoffhoff*
Der Gloriette-Hügel war auch mein erster Gedanke! Wenn sie tatsächlich Schirennen dort machen wollen, brauchen sie sowieso einen Lift rauf, also her mit dem Sikló! :D
Oh, Café Pierrot klingt toll. Hab nur gefragt, weil es ein lustiger Zufall gewesen wäre, wenn ihr auch dort aufgeschlagen wärt. Obwohl du ja, glaub ich, mit Miró nicht ganz so viel anfangen kannst, oder?
Morgen an meinem Postkasten: Neue Chance, neues Glück! ;)
Wir reichen gemeinsam eine Petition im Wiener Rathaus ein, dann kriegen wir garantiert unser Sikló! *gg* Wir können ja auch mal gerne eine Cafe-Tour nach Budapest machen, verbunden mit allem anderen, was uns so dort unterkommt. Mit Miró kann ich tatsächlich nicht allzuviel anfangen, obwohl ich in gewisser Weise diesbezüglich ein bißchen lernfähig bin, immerhin bin ich seit Barcelona sogar an Gaudí interessiert. Und in Palma hab ich in der Kathedrale sogar erkannt, dass Gaudí da vorbekommen sein muß, noch bevor ich es gelesen hatte. Vielleicht gelingts mir also sogar, mit Miró eine Beziehung herzustellen...
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