Last weekend, my roommate and I were experiencing a minor case of cabin fever from being stuck in our apartment doing homework. So, on Sunday, we decided to take the afternoon off from studying to explore Buda, which is on the other side of the Danube from us. We took the metro to get there, and then started wandering around. We found a mall right off of the metro stop and checked it out, but decided to explore more outside since it was such a nice day. I pointed out a street sign that had a picture of a structure and a person with an arrow pointing up where there were stairs. It looked interesting, so we climbed up the 7 or so flights of stairs. Once we got to the top, we realized that we had found the Castle District! We wandered around there, finding the remains of an old church, a walking street with a beautiful view of the city, a museum, and finally, the castle. There was a woman selling hot mulled wine, but we left her stand as soon as we heard the price per glass...2000 HUF, which is about $10! We figured it was because the castle was a tourist destination. After looking at the castle for awhile, we went outside of the walls of the Castle District and found a beautiful pathway filled with greenery.
We had seen a sign for the Labyrinth, which was built in the caves under the Castle District, and was used as a cellar, dungeon, and fallout shelter in the past. At the beginning of the dimly lit labyrinth, there were lots of mannequins depicting an opera that takes place in Budapest. Music from the opera was playing, which had somewhat of a creepy vibe. There were also parts of columns from hundreds of years ago. I think the oldest one we saw was from the 1300s. In some parts, there was hymnal music playing, which seemed fitting. Once we got through the opera section, there was a section focused on Dracula. This was definitely the creepier section. Apparently Dracula (the real person) was in love with King Matthias' sister, but Matthias ended up arresting him and had him held and tortured in the Labyrinth. I got freaked out when I heard other people walking by us once in the Dracula section...oops! I am more easily scared than my roommate!!
We had a great day. I will definitely have to get back over to Buda to explore more!
Buda Castle
Pathway around the Castle District
Creepy mannequins in the Labyrinth, depicting a scene in an opera
Me in the creepier part of the Labyrinth! Notice the fog..
Anything creepy jump out at you in this photo other than the coffin? No? Look in the background...
View of the city along the walls of the Castle District
A view of the Buda Castle
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