Friday, May 4
It’s Star Wars Day! “May The Fourth Be With You”. We saw about a dozen people in full regalia in the subway tunnel. Most were dressed as storm troopers and one young lady was dressed as Princess Leia. They appeared to be on their way to a party but were happy to pose for photos. We wish we could share all of our photos with you but there are just too many. Since arriving in Rome we’ve taken 3,257 and a handful of videos. We’ve already taken 250 during the four days we’ve been in Budapest. It’s such a picturesque place that we may need to buy more disk space.
(Star Wars Day)
We started the day by attending a tour of the House of Parliament. It’s an iconic building along the Danube River. It’s an enormous building and is completely symmetrical. It’s the largest building in the country and the second largest parliament building in the world. The interior includes 10 courtyards, 13 elevators, 27 gates, 29 staircases and 691 rooms. There are statues and coats of arms everywhere. The building was inaugurated for the millennial anniversary in 1896. About 100 pounds of gold leaf was used in the decorations and it is the predominant color. The central hall, under the main dome, contains the Holy Crown, scepter, orb and ceremonial sword used for coronations since the 12th century. The crown was used by more than 50 kings and the last person who used it was Charles IV in 1916.
It’s a magnificent building. The outside was designed in the Gothic Revival Style. The interior is ornate and covered in gold. By decree all materials were required to be sourced from Hungary. Similarly, all craftsman were required to be Hungarian. The interior contains two deliberative chambers – one for the upper and one for the lower legislative bodies. Today Hungary is unicameral so the upper chamber is used mostly for tours.
Our tour began in the aptly named “Golden Staircase” and proceeded through several hallways to the main, ceremonial staircase, which has – drumroll please – 96 steps! It’s a large space that’s perfect for diplomatic receptions. Afterwards we entered the main dome and saw the crown and other ceremonial artifacts. No pictures were permitted in the main dome. Our last stop was in the upper chamber. The way out went through a small museum featuring information about the building’s construction before being led out through the gift shop. The entire tour took about 35 minutes.
(Central Staircase)
By now it was around 9:45 am and we went in search of some coffee. We’d seen a shop nearby that had been very busy the day before. When we got to it we saw that it was closed. We had similar issues in Bulgaria. In the U.S. people are used to getting their morning jolt before work. Many shops we’ve seen only open later in the day. They function more like cafes and seem to be popular places to socialize. Fortunately the cafe next door to our apartment was open.
The coffee that they served had a very distinct flavor. It was mellow and smooth with a strong taste and absolutely no bitterness. We enjoyed it very much. We thought it might have been a blend containing Robusta but the barista said it was 100% Arabica from Columbia. They must have a unique resting process.
Afterwards we went back to our apartment and “rested”. We wanted to be fresh in order to see Mozart’s Requiem that evening. Of course neither of us rested. I processed almost 1,000 photos and Deborah did laundry. Still, it was less strenuous that walking around outside.
The performance was held at Saint Stephen’s Basilica. What we hadn’t known was that the concert was to begin with a performance of Bach’s Toccata, Air and Fugue in D Minor on the church’s organ. We were thrilled. We really wanted to hear the organ and had originally planned to attend one of the weekly concerts. Unfortunately, those concerts were a little pricey. Now we were going to get to hear the organ and save some money. It was a great day to be alive!
The organ and the organist’s keyboard were at the back of the church while the seats were set up facing the altar. We listened without seeing anything. The organ had a large, rich and beautiful sound that completely filled the church. The space had a pronounced echo that both helped, and in some places, detracted from the performance. One thing we both noticed was that the organ had vibrato. We’d never noticed this before in any other organ and thought that it was unusual. We figured that perhaps the pipes were electronically controlled. Afterwards we researched this and found that some pipe organs are equipped with tremulants, which have been in existence since the 16th century. Don’t be too hard on us – we’re only string players.
The same person who played the organ conducted the Requiem. The orchestra was a little on the small side. There was just one bass, two cellos and two violas. We both thought that the performance could have used more bass.
The choir was a professional group who’s name, translated into English, means Downtown Chamber Choir. The ensemble had about 50 members. They were very good. The soloists were all members of the Hungarian State Opera. Conductors are beneath mention.
The performance was fantastic. The sound of the choir easily filled the hall and we were all bathed in luxurious sound. We really enjoyed the soloists. Their voices were strong and sweet and they blended well with the orchestra. It’s a shame it wasn’t a sing-a-long. We were dying to participate.
We walked out of the basilica singing all of our favorite parts – basically the entire thing. By now it was around 9:30 pm, the sun had set and all of the buildings were lit up. We walked north along the river and took way too many photographs. It may not be obvious to people who subscribe and get our blog via email but it’s worth pointing out that we’ve been changing the main picture on the web site for every country we’ve been in. We just updated the site with a picture of the parliament building. You can see it here: Website Photo.
(Széchenyi ‘Chain’ Bridge and Buda Castle)
During our travels we found a riverside pub and ordered a Pálinka. It’s a fruit brandy that’s popular in this part of Europe. They are known to have a high alcohol content – often as much as 40%. Pálinka is normally served in a shot glass. We ordered one shot of sour cherry which we shared. It was good but not really our thing. We tend to prefer wines. Hungary is actually famous for its high quality wines but that experience will have to wait for another day.
(Matthias Church and Fisherman’s Bastion)
We got home around 11:00 and stayed up past midnight watching, “The Crown” on Netflix. Yes, we’re wild and crazy people.
Distance walked: 6.8 miles