Hungarian Adventure in Buda and Pest

Budapest consists of two areas, that are Buda and Pest, separated by Danube river. Our first visit in Buda area of Budapest was Matthias church that is situated in Buda Castle complex. The first thing that caught my attention when sighting the church was its beautiful mosaic roof. The white limestone structure in gothic style looks divine and compliments the mosaic roof gracefully.





Matthias Church in Buda Area, Budapest

Matthias Church Tower

Although entry to the church is not free, getting into the church is a must. We bought combined tickets to enter  both Matthias Church and Fisherman's Bastion (which is located in front of the church). Price per person on April 2015 was 1300 HUF (AU$ 6-7). Note: Hungarian currency is Hungarian Forint (not Euro).

 

The interior of Matthias church has baroque style that is adorned with exquisite colourful frescoes (wall paintings). Some of the frescoes resemble golden embroideries, which  reminds me to Persian cushions! In my opinion, the church interior decoration displays Eastern influence, which is very unique  - am not sure if this is due the Turks influence who had conquered the city in the past or else. There is a tour inside the church, in which you are allowed to climb to their balconies for different vantage view points of the church.

Matthias Church Interior

 

 

Tombs of the King Matthias and his Queen inside the Church

  

Next to the church is Fisherman's Bastion (Halaszbastya), an old rampart  site that was defended by the guild of fishermen  during the Middle Ages. This site is also one of a kind as it reminds me to "Dwarf houses". The walkway area in this little fortress is an open space with some steps so flat shoes and weather appropriate clothing are advantages. Fisherman's Bastion in Buda is also a highpoint where you can overview Pest area on the opposite side. Both Matthias church and Fisherman's Bastion are in my extra-ordinary places to visit.

Fisherman's Bastion



Fisherman's Bastion from Different Viewpoint

In Fisherman's Bastion Area with Matthias Church Background

 

In Fisherman's Bastion Area with Parliament's House Background in Pest Side

Buda Castle complex has been significantly reconstructed due to major damages in the past. I think all the original architecture and influence has been retained as much as possible, like the Dome decorating the complex and, similar to Prague, its touch of Habsburg (Viennese) influences. The popular part in the Castle complex area is the bronze equestrian statue of Sigismund. Some of the castle area has turned into National art gallery with paid entry ticket. For those art lover, entry is worthwhile if you have time to kill otherwise city sight-seeing maybe a better option.

Hungarian Guard on Duty

Bronze Equestrian Statue in Buda Castle Complex



"Lovers" Inside Art Gallery in Buda Castle Complex



Cool 3D Paper of Medieval Castle sold in Art Gallery - Quite tempted to buy this!

 Typical road in Budapest (Pest side) retains the old and beautiful architecture but I think it needs some good scrub to reveal its true beauty. Essentially, it is not as clean as in Paris or other Western Europe.

Typical Road in Pest Side

We returned to hotel to get ready for our night activity that is watching an opera in Hungarian National Opera House. We never watched an opera before so our goal is simply to experience it. I also randomly chose the opera performance without knowing the story and composer. I chose opera called "Parcifal" by Wagner for 14,500 HUF (AU$ 70) per person for almost-front-row seats. The interior of the theatre is a baroque style with magnificent golden painted carving decorations. Most of the guests were well dressed with the men wearing suit and ladies wearing dresses. I wore my modern "Kebaya" and Batik skirt to match the occasion (actually that night was so cold at approx. -1 degC, I needed to wear my Ugg boot to walk there for warm and comfort! But of course change from Ugg boot to heels upon arrival :) - there is  cloak service available for opera guests).

 

Hungarian National Opera House Baroque Style Interior

 

 

 

The opera started at 5 PM and we thought we still could have had a 'late' dinner after the opera. The theatre is equipped with mini  subtitle reader on the top of the stage, allowing foreigner guests to understand the performance. If you sit on the front row, however, this could bother you as you need to keep tilting your head to read subtitles especially in a long opera performance. That was what happened to us. After 4 hours (yes 9 PM), the performance kept going.. and going.. and everything seemed to be in slow motion :). I literally felt sorry for my husband as he was actually struggling to stay awake an keep focusing to the opera  - and so do I!  After finishing the second plot (there are three plots in total so maybe another 2 hours before conclusion), we decided to go back to sleep in our hotel room instead :D. It is certainly not the actor or the opera singer that bored us but I think the whole story plot is somehow very slow and dragging. Upon "investigation", Wagner-composed opera is actually known to be slow to exhibit all emotional aspects of the story, which is not our thing. Based on this, opera might not be our kind of entertainment (I think it will be while before I can convince my husband to watch an opera again :D - maybe Mozart opera will change our current perception).

 

My travel tip based on opera experience is do not skip your homework should you want to watch an opera to avoid disappointment. This is largely to understand not only the story plot but also the opera composer delivery style so you can ensure the opera delivery style suits you.

 

Night View of Buda Area from Our Hotel Room

 

To Budapest with Love

We travelled to Budapest via overnight train from Prague. The main reasons choosing overnight train were to both save the day travel and rest during travel time - actually, we were not sure about this choice  (even flipped a coin to decide :P) but it turned out really well and definitely in our travel option in the future.  

Before evening departure to Budapest, we left Prague for Kutna Hora during the day (that day Prague was snowing! Excited but a bit overwhelmed as I remembered seeing -2 degC  current temperature in yahoo weather!). This is to visit St. Barbara church that is in UNESCO heritage list and church of All Saints/Kostnice Ossuary aka. the Bone church. 

Snowing in Cathedral Complex, Prague

There is small fee to visit each tourist site in Kutna Hora but there are combination tickets which are cheaper with more sites. We chose 3-in-one combination ticket that costed 185KC (~AU$10)/person (St Barbara church, Church of All Saints/Kostnice Ossuary and Cathedral of Assumption of Our Lady).

St. Barbara church was beautiful and majestic. But the big plus is it is in elevated location with its own garden, overlooking Kutna Hora town.

 

St. Barbara Church

St. Barbara Church Interior

Area surroundings St. Barbara Church (1)

Area surroundings St. Barbara Church (2)

Next site is Kostnice Ossuary church that is decorated with human bones. This church obviously is one of a kind and not for the faint hearted. It was still an eerie visit even during the day. I do not think the church is still active as St. Barbara since it looks more like a museum. 

Church of All Saints aka Bone Church

 

Cathedral of Assumption of Our Lady, also in Kutna Hora, is not as expected since it was quite plain with some excavation sites inside - not many photos there at all.   



Combination Site Ticket in Kutna Hora





In front of Cathedral of Assumption of Our Lady



Our train to Budapest was called Euronight that departed at 11.50 PM and arrived at 8.30 AM in Budapest. We chose first class cabin called "Sleeper" with its own bed and bathroom (toilet and shower) for approx. 200 Euro (two small breakfast included). There are other options available (without bed, with bed and shared bathroom). The cabin size is approx. 2.5 m x 2 m (bathroom area included) with bunk beds. Internal heating system and all basics are provided (i.e. soaps, blankets,  some mineral water). Drawback was the train came quite late at almost midnight - if available, next time we would choose 10is pm departure. We slept well throughout the night, had our breakfast in cabin and showered before we arrived in Budapest - overall a refreshing and well-spent train experience!

3xB (Bed, Bathroom and Breakfast) in Euronight Train Cabin

We went to our hotel from the train station using taxi for approx. 3000 Forint (~15 AUD). Our hotel in Budapest was Intercontinental Hotel on the Pest side next to Danube river overlooking Buda Castle.  It was approx. AU$250/night. Nothing wrong with the room but somehow we slept better in a train :)

Intercontinental Budapest Room View

We headed directly to Matthias church in Buda through the Chain bridge as soon as after dropping our luggage.  On my walk, I was miming "My house in Budapest, my hidden treasure chest.."  By George Ezra.

Chain Bridge Connecting Buda and Pest

Purse: Louis Vuitton Speedy Bandoulière

My guilty pleasure lately is purse from Louis Vuitton...

I finally bought a bag that I have been considering for a while, a LV Speedy Bandoulière 30. Because it is such a versatile bag - you can wear cross-body, on shoulder (short or long due to extension on strap) and hand-carry. I do like the standard Speedy bag style in the past but being a shoulder girl, the additional strap on Speedy now justify the purchase to me.

Prints
Must admit, I was torn between Monogram and Damier Ebene print. I ended up choosing the Monogram Speedy Bandoulière 30 because of simple two reasons: it is the 'classic' print and it is 'brighter' than the Damier Ebene's one, which may suit my style and personality more.
I have a tendency to choose pastel and light colour items in my clothing selection.

Shopping experience
Worth mentioning that the Sales Assistant in LV Amsterdam Hoofstraat was very kind and had attention to detail - so far the best shopping experience in all LV stores so far. The bags was packaged nicely and thoroughly (even without me asking). Packaging include box, leather cord, dust bag, LV flower tag, tissue paper, key dust bag - I do hear that you may need to ask SA in LV for LV flower tag and key dust bag/pouch. The bag size itself, I chose size 30 simply because it fits my slender body figure.

Here she is (and with me throughout my trip to Europe and Japan)..

 

 



Jacket: Zara | Jeans: Jeanswest | Bag: Louis Vuitton Speedy B 30 | Hat: Tyrolean wool hat

Jacket: Orsay | Legging: Sportsgirl | Bag: Louis Vuitton Speedy B 30 | Hat: Accessorize | Shoe: Australian Ugg Original

 

Top: Traditional Hungarian Clothing | Jeans: Jeanswest | Bag: Louis Vuitton Speedy B 30 | Hat: Tyrolean Hat 



On the train from Salzburg to Munchen with Alpine hat (aka. Tyrolean hat)

My thought
I have not been so gentle with this bag as I have used this constantly for 3 weeks after purchasing it in all weather (snow, rain, wind, heat) in Europe, Arab and Japan.
It has patina a little bit as a result, which am fine and quite looking forward for it (I believe the bag tells story). I was wearing this bag whilst dragging my luggage during all city transfer in my trip - the shoulder strap made it possible!
The bag when empty is lightweight which is important for me as I do not want to carry a heavy full leather bag on its own.
I also love the zipper closure on Speedy bag for travelling as it made things safer rather than open tote bag during travelling (especially when you rest your bags on train/tram/airplane).
It fits a lot (my passport, purse, mobile phone, selfie stick, water bottle, journal, shawl) and heaps more. From wear and tear, I have seen very minor dirt (which can be removed by clean pencil eraser, gently rub please) and some hairline scratch on the hardwear and leather. I did quickly wipe with tissue if it has water droplets (i.e. rain, snow) especially on Vachetta leather. For those who wants a maintenance-free LV bags, maybe it is best to choose Damier Ebene print.

When I was travelling, the bag remains in its shape as I had filled up the bag quite a lot so do not really realize that the bag will "collapse" when it is more empty. I like it more when it retains the shape - hence may consider bag shaper for LV Speedy that is available out there.

Other drawback is that the bag only comes with one internal pocket and it looks like a big hole if you do not organize your items properly. So when using it, there is times that I have to mess the content of my bag to search for things. I am now fully aware of the D-ring presence inside the bag to hook chained/strapped pouch for extra and more organized storage.  I do feel tempted to make the most of it by introducing.. a mini pochette maybe? :)

Price
I bought this bag on March 2015 in Amsterdam for 970 Euro (minus duty free 11%) that ends up around AU$ 1220, which is still much cheaper than in Sydney that retails at AU$ 1610 (Hoorayy!!).

Overall, I L.O.V.E this bag so much. It is beautiful and versatile. Definitely the bag to consider for any occasion.