Budapest — Béla Bartók Boulevard and Buda Castle

Fortunately for my hunger, I already had a lunch spot picked out, on Béla Bartók Boulevard, just to the south of the bath and hotel complex. This is a major thoroughfare with dual tram lines running down the middle, but fairly quiet because it was Sunday.

I had pita and hummus in a vegan cafe. It was a delicious and filling meal.

But I also had my eye on dessert. Down the boulevard is Stühmer sweets and coffee shop. The brand has a long history. Friedrich Stühmer came from Hamburg in 1866 and settled in Pest. The chocolates he made became sought after and widely consumed. After WWII, the business was nationalised. In 2004, an entrepreneur, Péter Csóll, acquired and reinvigorated the brand, and has built factories and outlets.

It looks like chocolate overload on the table, but what I had was absolutely the real deal.

With the amount of energy consumed, I had to work it off, so I walked back to the Danube bank.

Then I walked up the steps to the Fisherman's Bastion.

Apparently it takes its name from the guild of fishermen on this bank of the Danube who not only plied their trade but also defended the castle in time of war.

A view of the Danube and Pest from the bastion.

Next to it is Matthias Church.

This, a search tells me, is a statue of Stephen I.

I can only imagine what it must be like in high season.

Another side of the church.

I caught the bus down the hill. The decoration on this building caught my eye.

From there I took a tram back to the guest house and rested until the evening.