Budapest is beautiful, affordable, hip, quirky and effortlessly cool.
Night-time on the Danube.
As you all know, I have been away from home for a while now and despite my life having no real routine, I have found a few constants along the way. I never shower without my thongs on to protect my feet. I am always scoffing at ‘selfie-sticks’ whilst simultaneously wishing I had one. I now have people roll their eyes at me when I say I am Australian and then sigh and say “of course” when I mention I am from Melbourne (well, you asked, buddy). But the biggest constant of all is ‘travel talk’. I have had the same conversation every time I enter a dorm or a new person arrives. “Where are you from?”, “How long have you been travelling for?” and “Where are you going/where have you been?”. Not always in the order, not always expressed like that, but most certainly always these questions. During ‘travel talk’, there are a few places that have come up that have divided people’s opinions, but no one seems divided on Budapest. And I must say, The Hungarian capital comes up often. It has the most glowing reviews of any place that has been discussed in any dorm, ever. Before I left, I was told I must go to Budapest, while I have been travelling I have been told I must go to Budapest and now that I have been I can see why.
From St. Stepher’s
A person along the way told me that Budapest is Berlin and Vienna’s love child. An apt description, although I have not been to Vienna yet, I’ve seen enough Austrian style buildings all across Europe thanks to the all-conquering Hapsburgs to know how gorgeous they are. Berlin’s alternative heart was one of my favourite aspects of being there, and I can see how Budapest has that too. Style and substance. A very attractive mix.
The Fisherman’s Bastion.
The twin cities of Buda and Pest sit on the Danube. Buda, home to the castle and old fortifications is hilly and where the fancier suburbs are located. Pest, where I stayed and where most of the action is, is flat and more like a ‘city’. I spent much more time in Pest than in Buda, really only adventuring over to see the castle and to get a good view of Pest. The city is full of beautiful architecture. The castle, Matthais church and the Fisherman’s Bastion are beautiful. One my first night, I was lucky enough to go on a river cruise up and down the Danube. When the place is lit up at night, it is something else. It is just stunning and all that Hapsburg style is on full display. It was so beautiful I even climbed up the tallest hill in Buda to watch the lights come on is Pest as the sun set. Truly gorgeous.
Twilight.
That funky ‘Berlin’ style comes from doing things like spending nights out in so-called “ruin bars”, where owners have purchased old dilapidated apartment blocks, filled them with alternative art and some beer taps and let the masses come flooding in. We went to two, Instant and Szimpler. Both attracted a large crowd who came to socialise, dance, drink and admire the art. But there’s plenty on during the day too. My favourite thing to do was while away the hours in tea-houses with good company and chocolate cake. My favourite, Altair, was like being in a cat run. you could climb up ladders into cubby houses and lounge on plush pillows across 3 levels. Speaking of cats, I also went to a cat cafe, where 10 cats live to be hassled by people like me while I drink hot beverages. Delicious Hummus bars, Tex Mex and Pita places in the Jewish quarter where you can get a filling lunch for 5 Euro or so. A plaster fun-house (remember those?) for adults on a Friday night where you can paint gnomes, Ballerinas and sunbursts whilst you have a wine. There was also amazing vintage clothing stores to browse through, which was a little heartbreaking for the shopping addict in me does not have the budget for clothes, only food, a bed and maybe a museum depending on how much food and a bed was. These strange and quirky places were an important part of my visit. To take it slowly here in these sort of places was just what I needed after rushing through Krakow.
Up top in Altair.
There are more traditional attractions that are also a real draw card. I spent my time wandering around the enormous Central Market, full of souvenirs, fresh food and over-priced lunches, at St Stephen’s cathedral, where you can view the city from the cupola and the man himself’s mummified hand (yes, it is horrifying), along the water to the beautiful Parliament building that apparently Michael Jackson was keen to purchase, past countless quirky statues of famous Hungarians and tributes to Holocaust victims and wandering along chain bridge which was the first to link Buda and Pest. I have been to a fair few museums in my life, and since my Eurotrip began, I have been to quite a few more. Museums about art, myths, wars, the holocaust, broken relationships, uprisings, occupations and all manner of things. I have to say, Budapest’s House of Terror museum is one of the best curated museums I have ever been to. Ever. Covering the actions of the Nazi and Communist party’s reign of terror over the Hungarian people inside the very building (The building was both SS and communist party head-quaters during it’s time) where the museum stands. A mix of lights, sounds, multimedia and interviews. The information was dense, but powerfully delivered. One room displayed Propaganda videos next to real accounts of what was going on including torture, interrogations and executions. The tributes to victims were sensitive and the naming of victimisers was fair. It is hard for me to explain without images, but I highly recommend it. Another must-do in Budapest is its medicinal baths, I went to The Széchenyi Bath, which is the largest medicinal bath in Europe. Despite going at 7pm at night on a coolish October evening, the water was warm and relaxing. The outdoor space has fountains, moody lighting and it set under the beautiful old building. It was so relaxing despite many young couples attempting to eat each other’s faces off in the water. That water is supplied by two thermal springs, their temperature is over 70 degrees each. Locals and tourists alike come to enjoy the water in the pools inside and out and in the sauna, which was apparently so hot it would ‘burn your face off’. After that review I decided not to try it.
Big crowd for the mummified hand (!)
I was worried that Budapest wouldn’t live up to the lofty expectations I had for it. Quite literally, no-one had said a bad word about the place. Lucikly for me, the city is as fun as it is beautiful and as quirky as it is elegant. ‘Travel talk’ paid off. For this girl from Melbourne, Australia who is travelling for a bit over 8 months through Europe and Asia.
Ali's adventure 