It was built in the 1840's. At that time, Franz Liszt was already established as Hungary's greatest composer, pianist, and conductor. He played a prominent part in establishing the museum. He conducted at the opening, and donated many important items. But the most amazing donation of his came later; it was Beethoven's piano.
I'm sure you are wondering what Liszt was doing with Beethoven's piano. It seems that when Beethoven passed away, in 1827, it took a few years to sort out and settle his estate. It wasn't until the 1840's that his belongings were auctioned off. A wealthy Viennese gallery owner placed the winning bid on the piano, and he promptly gave it to Liszt, thinking that he was the most worthy to have it. Liszt placed it in his Weimar home, and cherished it. Ten years later, he turned it over to the Hungarian National Museum.
The piano is a magnificent Broadwood, handmade by the finest piano maker of the day, specifically for Beethoven. It is kept in perfect shape, and is played regularly by world famous pianists. And recordings are available to be heard in the room in which it is exhibited.
They also had other old items that were really cool. For example, Magyar stirrups from a zillion years ago (but there were too many guards around to take a picture). How about these old watches from the 14th century?!
And I love the way this suit of mail appears to have a built-in yarmulke.
When the Soviets took a hike, their statuary was much less appreciated. One giant likeness of Stalin was pulled down and cut into pieces. The two biggest chunks are on display. If you've been following the thread about Dexter, you know - St. Stephen's right hand, you'll appreciate the irony. Sure enough, the biggest piece is Stalin's right hand. The second largest, if you're curious, is his left ear, and they have that too.
Next, we went to the largest market in Budapest. It was modernized in 1849, again in 1896, and once more in 1996.
Seen from this angle, you can see it is really deep, man (subtle humor).
You can see from these pictures that they're still trying to get the traffic control fine-tuned.
Inside, it's pretty reminiscent of the Pike Place Market, except more spacious.
We found some really cute souvenirs for our granddaughters, Naomi and Rosie. 
We also found lunch. Rebecca went with traditional langos, a garlicky fry bread, heaped with vegetables and cheese, or other stuff. I went to a different booth, opting for chili con carne and a Greek salad. Unfortunately, the person who got it for me had a bad cold, and she sneezed enough around my food, and on my change, that I just threw it everything into the trash. Call me over-cautious, if you like, but that's what I did. Rebecca was so nice, she shared her langos with me.
Then we went down in the metro to go get tickets for an evening boat ride. In the train station we had one of those East-meets-West moments. Here's a guy playing the ancient Magyar instrument, the cimbalom (it's like a hammer dulcimer). The exotic sound echoes all over the train station, making a strong statement of national heritage. What's he playing? Sinatra's "I Did It My Way."
Not Beethoven's piano.
After some down time at our hotel, we went out for dinner at a nice place up by the castle, and a return trip to our favorite dessert and coffee place - Ruszwurm. This time I remembered to take a picture of the Esterhazy cake before eating it all. Here it is, missing only one bite.
Then it was time for our boat ride on the Danube. Doesn't the parliament look good?
Time for bed. Tomorrow we go to London.
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