The city of Budapest has distinct parts, understandably because it is composed really of separate cities that were only united relatively recently. We went up in the residential areas of the Buda side yesterday. Today, we ventured into the tourist zones, Castle Hill and its surrounding area.
Castle Hill, known as Várhegy in Hungarian, was settled first in the 13th century, when the attacking Mongols pushed the residents of Buda up on the hill, a location more easily defended. The royal court also moved to the southern edge of the hill. More people settled in the area, and the population eventually reached 8,000. The Turks moved into this part of the city, and held on tight. They were forced out by a nearly three-month siege that nearly destroyed Buda. Only about 300 people were left in the city. More recently, the German's used easily defended site to survive a siege of nearly a month in January 1945.
Now, much of the Castle Hill area has been largely invaded by tourists. Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Americans - the invading force was multi-national.
Despite the incursions, the monuments are still beautiful, the view of the city still stunning. The day was hot but the breeze was steady & dry.
After walking around in the hill for a couple of hours, we decided to head to the baths in the City Park, the Széchenyi baths. These are the largest set of baths in Budapest, and they have some of the character of an outdoor pool. That is - if the outdoor pool included more than half a dozen different pools with different temperatures. The water is naturally hot and mineral laden, leading to its reputation for healing. It also makes it wonderful for just floating, something that many of us find quite difficult.
Castle Hill, known as Várhegy in Hungarian, was settled first in the 13th century, when the attacking Mongols pushed the residents of Buda up on the hill, a location more easily defended. The royal court also moved to the southern edge of the hill. More people settled in the area, and the population eventually reached 8,000. The Turks moved into this part of the city, and held on tight. They were forced out by a nearly three-month siege that nearly destroyed Buda. Only about 300 people were left in the city. More recently, the German's used easily defended site to survive a siege of nearly a month in January 1945.
Now, much of the Castle Hill area has been largely invaded by tourists. Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Americans - the invading force was multi-national.
Despite the incursions, the monuments are still beautiful, the view of the city still stunning. The day was hot but the breeze was steady & dry.
After walking around in the hill for a couple of hours, we decided to head to the baths in the City Park, the Széchenyi baths. These are the largest set of baths in Budapest, and they have some of the character of an outdoor pool. That is - if the outdoor pool included more than half a dozen different pools with different temperatures. The water is naturally hot and mineral laden, leading to its reputation for healing. It also makes it wonderful for just floating, something that many of us find quite difficult.
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