We took the no. 2 tram right along the Danube to the Parliament and joined the queue for the 12.45 visit. The tour was well organised and given in numerous languages.
The Parliament building was commissioned when Hungry, under Habsburg rule was three times the area it is today. The empire fell after WW1 and the present parliament only uses a fraction of the building! It is the second largest parliament building, second only to the Rumanian parliament in Bucharest.
We had a choice - climb 130 odd steps or take the lift. On arrival, we were taken through grand ornate halls.
Gold wasn’t spared but it is only a paint effect up to a height of 2 metres and after that it is the real thing.!
The parliament had an Upper House for the aristocracy and Lower House for elected representatives.
The Upper House no longer exists. The aristocracy had a beautiful staircase to access their chamber but today it is only used for distinguished visitors.
The chamber itself was impressive
We also saw the lounge where the aristocracy relaxed It had a blue carpet to reflect their blue blood!! However, the carpet is not the original as the latter was destroyed in the bombings of WW11 and a copy was made by the original carpet manufacturers.
Many of the stain glass windows were also destroyed during the War.
We were brought into the room where the royal crown is kept - no photos permitted!
We departed the building via the employees staircase -all 800 of them!!
Outside, in the Soviet, the Parliament grounds were bedecked with giant statues of Lenin, Marks etc These were removed after 1989 and consigned to an area outside Budapest. They were replaced by Hungarian patriots. The red star, once stop the building, was consigned to the Parliament’s museum
One poignant emblem is the National flag aloft a pole and guarded by two soldiers to commemorate those who died in the uprising of 1956!
We departed the Parliament and walked back via Vaci Utca to the hotel, where we collected our bags and returned to the airport as we had come!
Budapest is a beautiful city, possibly the most beautiful in Europe, situated on both sides of the Danube. It has undergone massive changes since 1988 and with the return of democracy (though their Prime Minister remains in power indefinitely, while the President received a maximum of two terms).Western store and hotel chains have opened here. However, service is an issue still to be addressed.!!
Well worth a visit!
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