Wanderings in Pest, Budapest, Hungary

"They said that, of course, Budapest is beautiful. But it is in fact almost ludicrously beautiful." - Anthony Bourdain

While we enjoyed exploring Buda, and loved the views of the Danube and Pest beyond, it was the latter that we spent the most time in. We stayed there, we ate and drank there, we visited museums and we wandered its streets.

Let me take you on one of those wanderings for this week’s Monday Walk*. We’ll start with St. Stephen’s Basilica, just a couple of minutes’ walk from our apartment. We actually made two visits here: one for Mass on Sunday morning and one to tour the church.

Construction of the church began in 1851, and it was finished and consecrated in 1905. Thus it is relatively new. That shows in the richness of its decoration, art works etc. The gold gleams, the paintings are rich with colour. While not enthused by the use of dark red marble, I was much more taken with the many mosaics of saints, cherubs and Bible scenes that adorn the dome and ceiling.

The church is dedicated to Stephen, the first King of Hungary (c. 975-1038). One of the side chapels holds a casket with a relic, his right hand (see photo bottom right in the gallery above). ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).