the first stop was at deák square where the bkv museum is located - it is right next to the entrance of the metro (if you are coming from the final stop of trams 47-49). i would not say that it is a humongous museum with a whole lot to offer and entertainment for a whole afternoon, but it is definitely worth a visit, whether you live in the city or just visiting for a couple of days, especially since the tickets are surprisingly low, around 260 huf for students, and just over 300 huf for adults. the museum basically introduces the birth and construction of the underground railway system of budapest - you know, how the kis földalatti was laid out, built, then modified and rebuilt. there are numerous memorabilia exhibited, tickets, schedules, construction plans, advertisements, signs, posters, notifications, photos and pictures of the early stations and metro cars.
there are also actual metro cars and a cashier booth of the period exhibited as well, you know, with quite a different exterior design and wooden interiors, with dressed up wax dummies, and the advertisements of the period still on the interiors of the metro cars. when we were visiting, there was also another exhibition going on (it is still on until september 15) - the historical posters and notifications of bkv were also put out - you know, some of them were reprinted recently and placed on some of the vehicles of bkv. they were the ones advising against knitting, eating lángos or other stinky food on the buses. most of these posters were interesting, some really funny, they are real art pieces, for sure. all in all, bkv museum is definitely worth checking out, especially if you are waiting around for somebody in the area and don't know how to spend that free half an hour you have. by the way, bkv is also selling its old, not-used-anymore signs, bus plates, or whatever they are called, you know the signs they put by the windshield of the vehicle which show the destination of the bus or tram. they are surprisingly cheap (under a thousand huf), and there are still such curiosities as moszka tér signs.
the next place we visited was sziklakórház, the 'hospital in the rock' as they called it there. no one to whom i had mentioned this place prior to my visit had any idea about its existence. i had known that it existed, and was somewhere around the castle hill, i even saw an utterly interesting and exciting documentary on spectrum about the underground and cave system of budapest, which awoke my curiosity. i was lucky enough to write an article about sziklakórház for the magazine, then i even managed to snatch a couple of free tickets to the place. tickets otherwise are rather pricey - 3,600 huf for adults, but half price for under-26s and free entry for teachers - but it's definitely worth the price.
the hospital is located nearby matthias church - so if you're going by bus, that's where you should get off - you have to walk towards the buda-side castle wall (and not towards the fisherman's bastion and the danube), take the stairs downwards at the end of the street, then turn right, and voila, you'll bump into the entrance. there are 80 minute long english/hungarian guided tours every hour - people are not allowed to enter the hospital without a guide - with helpful and informative guides who by the way speak very good english (or at least the one we had did). the hospital itself is utterly fascinating, it kind of leaves you speechless when you enter, start seeing things and you realize that there was an entire, life-size, functioning and secret hospital established right under the castle of buda, in the belly of the hill. it is as close as you can get to time travel, a truly unique and cool experience. (it is literally cool, as it's about 15 degrees celsius down there, so you'd better take those warm coats they are offering at the entrance - unless you're one of those hot-blooded weirdos like me who are never ever cold and actually enjoy being cold and freezing.)
if i remember correctly, the hospital was established in the 1930s in preparation for world war ii, was used during the war, then used again during the revolution of 56. they still have the original furniture of the institute, beds, chairs, cabinets, operating rooms and tables, all sorts of machines, gadgets, gas masks, basically everything used in a hospital, and whatnot. (and the sad thing is that the whole interior not at all vaguely reminded me of the current hospital wards and their state.) not to mention, that the souvenir shop sells some of these periodical items - apparently the museum has such an abundance of them. as i mentioned before, the tour was quite long (but not too long) and incredibly interesting, a completely new way to explore budapest and the fascinating history of the city. i don't think we are even able to grasp what lies under the ground in this town - beside the three metro lines everyone knows of. (btw, the website of sziklakórház is also very informative, with lots of fascinating photos, videos and other pieces of archives. it is certainly worth numerous history lessons.)
ps: taking photos at szikakórház was strictly forbidden, hence the lack of photos to accompany this post.
photo credit: all images are via google image.
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