Hungary For More

Day: 211

Towns / Cities Visited: 135

Countries Visited: 25

Steps Taken Today: 21,730

Steps Taken Around the World: 3,495,602

We awoke leisurely for our final day of exploring the gorgeous capital of Hungary. With most of our sightseeing already complete, we set off after breakfast into the warm morning sunshine and meandered back towards the flowing vein of the Danube which splits this city into Buda and Pest. Crossing the river once again, we turned right and headed to one of the most important buildings here: Buda Castle. It sits perched prominently atop the crest of Castle Hill, its blue dome topped tower creating a recognisable silhouette against the bright blue sky. As we passed the long line of people waiting to catch the funicular to the top, we couldn’t help but chortle. We would not be joining the sardine can of lemmings before us, but rather chose to commit to the shoelace express, even if it meant huffing a little as we climbed the stairs.

There has been a castle here since 1265, but the current baroque masterpiece was not constructed until middle of the 18th century under the Austro-Hungarian rule of Maria Theresa of the famous Habsburg dynasty. After Buda was besieged in 1849 however, artillery fire resulted in the central and southern parts of the castle being burnt out…