BUDABEST

Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Budapest, Hungary
Upon arriving in Budapest Trisha and I were promptly shuttled into a cab by a very persistent Hungarian man who totally hosed us for the fare as we paid in dollars. Sigh. Always do your research for conversion rates before getting into a cab, folks. The driver did give us a good tip on booking a river cruise that night, so there’s that. Our lack of preparedness aside, Budapest immediately seemed like a great city to explore. It was warm out, and the streets were full of people in sandals and shorts. Once again, Europe, you’re killing me with the temps.
We settled in to our flat, which turned out to be a nice spot in a very secured building and in the best location for exploring. After dropping our bags, we set out to get familiar with our surroundings. We found a great little street fair happening across from our building with lots of local artists. Trisha and I both purchased a few items to take home.  We returned to the flat to change into a bit nicer clothes and set off to find some dinner and get down to the dock for our cruise.
We ended up finding a restaurant that did a variety of meats cooked on hot stones. Seemed filling and gluten free so we sat down. They brought chalices of red wine the size of our head to start. After sampling we understood why they served so much – you’d need to drink a lot of it before it began to taste good… Trisha and I both ordered Argentine steaks and frites. Our meals came out on the very hot stone, smoking but obviously quite raw. Thank god the server asked us if we knew how to cook it and demonstrated slicing it up and roasting over the stone. As Trisha hilariously pointed out, “we would be eating raw meat if we didn’t get the tutorial.” This was the funniest moment of our time in Budapest as it was totally true. We both assumed the hot stone was to cook the meat as a whole, not little chunks as your meal progressed. A good laugh for sure. It was actually really delicious and the wine did indeed start to taste better and better as the meal went on.
Afterwards we meandered through the city center before making our way to the docks. The cruise was operated by the Danube Legend tour company and it was to last about an hour and showcase all of Budapest’s architectural wonders illuminated along the river. It was magnificent and I highly recommend anyone coming to Budapest to take the tour. It was a great way to get oriented to the city, but it was just absolutely stunning to see the spectacular buildings shimmering along the shores. The Parliament building in particular was just mind boggling to see. It took 17 years to complete and is modeled on British Parliament but with eastern influences added to make it one of the most beautiful buildings I’ve ever seen. Upon the completion of our one-hour tour (said in the sing-song voice of Gilligan) we made our way back to the flat and poured ourselves in bed.
All was well until, at 4 am, some type of bird decided to sing us the song of his people. It was literally the loudest bird and it was giving us the full performance. Even my ear plugs didn’t really drone him out. Since it was now Monday, the working residents of Budapest all got up early to start their week. Which also included vacuuming the hallways of our apartment complex… With a rough night of sleep behind us we got up and out the door for a full day of exploring the city.
We headed to the castle first as the one thing I really wanted to do was to ride the funicular up the hill to the castle. Upon making it to the entrance we sadly discovered it was closed that day for maintenance. Womp womp. I knew there was quite a bit of history and some views I wanted to see, so I made the trek up the mountain on foot. Trisha decided she’d be happier down below and found some spiced wine and a spot of sun to wait for me. I got up pretty quickly and was treated to some awesome views of the city stretching below. With the river separating Buda from Pest, and all of the bridges connecting the two sides it made for a pretty great scene. I then continued past the castle and found the Matyas Templom, or Mathias Church. The church was used as a coronation church by Hungarian kings for centuries, also a mosque for over 150 years by the Ottoman Turks, once owned by Franciscans, Jesuits, and is now a thriving Catholic church. Lots of history! I didn’t go in, but instead continued to Halaszbastya, or Fisherman’s Bastion. The Fisherman’s Bastion was built between 1895 and 1902 as part of the series of developments that were to celebrate the 1000th birthday of the Hungarian state. It’s one of the most popular destinations to take photos in Budapest as you get unparalleled views in all directions and it has seven turrets in honor of the seven Hungarian chieftains. You can climb each of the turrets and gaze out the arched windows for slightly different scenes of the city below. I was lucky as there weren’t a lot of people and it was incredibly peaceful, sitting on the cold stone walls and watching the Danube snake through the city far below.
After getting my fill of the view I wandered back down to find Trisha enjoying herself immensely, soaking up the vitamin D and feeling quite rested. We took off in search of lunch. We walked and walked and walked to the next bridge (Elisabeth bridge) to get back to Pest and by this time were both cold (the weather had really turned on us), hungry and tired. Always a great combo. We stumbled into a little wine bar where Trisha got her first taste of goulash and I ordered the meat and cheese plate. I wish I had taken a photo of this cheese plate as it was an odd array of strange deli meats and essentially kraft singles. Not great, but I nibbled on the turkey and a few slices of pepperoni and gazed longingly at Trisha’s steaming bowl of deliciousness.
From there we found ourselves on a delightful little shopping street full of traditional Hungarian souvenirs. We both bought a few more items to take home, including some beautiful little line sketches of Budapest that are really special. We snagged a seat on the patio of a little café looking over yet another bridge (the Liberty bridge) and the Great Market Hall. Trisha settled in while I popped over to quickly walk through the stalls of fruit, vegetables and rows and rows of dried peppers waiting to become paprika. After a glass of wine or two we made it back to the flat just as the weather had really turned blatantly cold to change and find some real food for me after a string of unsuccessful meals. We found a cute little diner that had pork chops with ratatouille and it was hot, flavorful and comforting. The perfect meal after a very long day.
We ended our last day by finding one of Budapest’s many ruin bars. Ruin bars can be found in the old Jewish quarter, which for decades was left with many dilapidated and abandoned buildings after the deportation of 10,000 Jews during WWII.  In the early 2000s a group of college grads decided to create pop up bars for the bohemian youth that would move around in the different abandoned buildings. The trend caught on and now there’s a few that are no longer transient but have established facilities. We went to Szimpla, the original ruin bar and most popular. It is massive, sprawling what feels like over a city block, with lots of different rooms all with different themes. It was so much fun exploring all the nooks and seeing where the next door would lead us. Trisha and I stayed for quite a while enjoying the hip atmosphere and people watching. The best people watching was when a group of American men all arrived with their backpacks, hip phones and fleece jackets. There were about 5 of them and they all looked exactly alike. Quite fun watching them navigate around together.
Budapest was an absolute delight and I’m sorry we didn’t have longer to explore and visit more of the historical sights. The people are all very kind and there is so much to learn with the abundance of history that oozes around every street corner and down every passage. I sincerely hope to return one day.
This entry heralds the end of vacation and we’re on the bus to Zagreb as I type. Once there, the work portion kicks off with the rest of the delegation arriving tomorrow. It will be full of fun as well but we’ve certainly enjoyed traveling together with no agenda but our own

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