Yep, that was one long day! After 12+ hours on the go one can be forgiven if sleep is more important than the blog. It’s now 2:40 am and sleep seems to have evaded me for a while until the pain pill kicks in so here we go.

Our day began with a guided tour of the city. Budapest is actually two distinct cities divided in half by the Danube River. Pest is very flat and mostly commercial while Buda is very hilly and is mostly residential. Along the river there are some very spectacular buildings including the Parliament buildings on the Pest side and the Palace, St. Matthias Church and the Fisherman’s Bastion on the Buda side. Our first stop was at Heroes’ Square – the largest and most impressive square in the city. Originally built in 1896 and rebuilt after WWII, it celebrates the thousandth anniversary of the Magyar conquest of Hungary. Behind the square is a large city park that houses a zoo, an amusement park and one of several natural spas in the city. We then stopped at the beautiful St. Stephens Basilica, a neo-classical building that is the third largest in Hungary. We will return there later to sing. A brief drive across the chain bridge – one of eight automobile/pedestrian bridges connecting the two halves of the city – took us to Fisherman’s Bastion – a neo-gothic castle structure just in front of St. Matthias church. From there you get a panoramic view of the Pest side of the city. The church was the first parish church in Buda and has a number of different architectural styles associated with it since it has been rebuilt many times. The most interesting feature for me was all the frescoes on the walls. One last stop at the Citadel gave yet another panoramic view of the city along the Danube.

We returned to the Pest side for a few hours of free time. The bus dropped us off close to the Great Market Hall and Vaci Street – both very popular tourist stops. The Market Hall is a large three storey structure which has serves as a market since the late 1800s. It not only includes vendors selling fresh produce and meat but also includes vendors selling typical Hungarian products popular with the tourists and a number of stalls selling Hungarian food. Unfortunately it was very crowded and there was limited seating so we decided to look elsewhere for lunch. Vaci Street is our Yonge Street turned into a pedestrian mall. It is dotted with outdoor cafés, souvenir shops and other businesses. We found a nice, shady spot at one of the outdoor cafés and enjoyed a rest and a tasty lunch. A stroll down the street was somewhat like running the gauntlet with restraunteurs seeking your business and all kinds of others hocking their wares. We had a private unrequested concert by a gypsy with a very out-of-tune violin and were propositioned to purchase an iPhone in its original case. We were somewhat glad to get back on the bus!

Back we went to St. Stephens Basilica to change, quickly warm up and then sing three pieces during the 6pm mass. The acoustics were remarkable and the reverberation lasted for a number of seconds – meaning we had to watch the conductor and not listen to the sound since we were singing a cappella.

The bus then dropped us off down by the river so we could enjoy dinner at one of the waterfront cafés. During dinner the sun began to set and one by one the buildings along the river were lit up. It really is a beautiful city at night. After dinner we walked the promenade and found many of our Canadian friends at the ice cream cart! A nice treat to end a rather hectic but enjoyable day.