Day 28: Gellert Hill — Matt Goes Exploring

Perhaps the best part of traveling alone is the freedom to move at your own pace. If you see something and think "that looks interesting, I'm gonna go look at it" you just do, rather than having to let someone know, or convince people to join you. I'm not saying it's bad to travel with other people, you just have to compromise sometimes. This has been a very key point every day of my journey, but it was very apparent today.

After an unfortunately rough first nights sleep here in Budapest, I woke ready to make the day better. One of the most interesting sights from the brochure I had looked through last night was a place called Gellert Hill. It advertised a good hike and a great view of the city, so I was sold.

Fun fact about Budapest for those who don't know: the city was once two cities, Buda & Pest, until they finally built bridges over the Danube River to connect the two. To get to Gellert Hill I had to cross over from Pest into Buda. I had wondered which side I was on until I found out today.

When I reached the other end of the bridge I was face to face with an enormous fountain carved into the side of a hill. Little did I know (and looking back it was really obvious) that this hill was Gellert Hill. The fountain was designed so that water came from further up the hill, and trickled down over blocks of stone, giving them a green slimy moss. I saw that there were steps on either side of the fountain leading up the hill.

I didn't know this hill was Gellert Hill, and if I was really dedicated I would have followed my Google Maps directions around the hill to the other side. But instead I said to myself "I'd regret it if I didn't go up here." So I started climbing.

I definitely made the right choice.

The stairs led to a monument above the fountain. A statue of a man facing out to the city holding up a cross. That's as much information as I can give on it. Behind him was a semi-circle of columns that gave me one of my favorite pictures of the day:

I took a panoramic shot from inside the semi-circle, so it came out in a strange way, but I like it.

I saw that the paths and stairs continued upwards, so I followed them. I came out on top of the hill by an old Hungarian fortress built in the 1850s. I read an informational plaque on the side of the fortress that told the history. When the King built it, the people saw it as a looming military threat that could be held over them at all times, preventing any thought of rebellion, so they hated it. Eventually the city took it form the military and put it to good use. Then in World War II the Germans took control of it, before the Soviets defeated them, destroying half of the fortress in the process. Now it's just a fortress at the top of the hill. From what I saw there was no way inside that wasn't blocked off in some way. There are a few cafes and gift shops set up but that's about it. But there was a great view of the city.

I walked around the fortress and I found three big statues. The biggest one in the middle, with the two others on either side. The statue in the middle was raised high into the sky, and held a palm frond over her head. This is when I realized I was on Gellert Hill. I remembered reading about a statue called "The Statue of Liberty" which stuck with me because I thought we had that one. It was described as a woman holding a palm frond, and it was on top of Gellert Hill. So I was finally able to put two and two together.

I took my time going down the hill. Letting curiosity guide me. There were many great viewpoints of the city and the river that I stopped at for some time each.

When I eventually reached the bottom I walked along the river, eventually coming to the Chain Bridge. Another landmark I had read about in the brochure. I had no plan to go to this bridge, I just ended up there. I didn't mind.

The Chain Bridge was the first bridge to connect Buda and Pest. It is guarded on each side by two lion statues.

When I got back over to Pest I found some dinner. I finally found a pizza place that serves it without the cheese. I haven't been able to do that since Rome. A good end to a good day.

I think tomorrow I will try to find The Grand Budapest Hotel. But if it turns out to just be a Wes Anderson movie maybe I'll go to a spa or something.

Thanks for reading, and here's to tomorrow.