This weekend we went to Budapest – probably my most anticipated city to visit in Europe. Years ago, post-cold war Budapest was one of those ultra-secret backpacker destinations that was dirt cheap, yet had a lot to offer. Times have changed a little since th
en, and while it’s no longer the “live like a king on $10 a day” mecca it once was, it’s still cheaper than most of the other major European destinations, yet it now also is a bit more tourist-friendly than it used to be (i.e. there’s little risk of crime). On one bank you have Pest, which is a teeming, expansive city with all sorts of interesting buildings and tree-lined streets. On the other side is Buda, a hilly knoll with castles and cobble-stone streets overlooking the winding river. Together, they form an amazing sight, one which in my opinion rivals the beauty of any city I’ve seen so far.
Budapest has a very long and storied past, which is important in that each period of time has contributed to the city as it currently stands. There are a lot of Turkish influences, which can be seen in some of the architecture; Viennese influences, seen in the cafes; communist influences, seen in the lack of wealth among the older generation; and western influences, seen in the fact that only 20 years after the fall of communism, a huge portion of the city speaks fluent English. That was the thing that surprised me the most; every waiter, shop owner, vendor, etc., all of them could speak English. More than people in Geneva, even. This borders on shocking due to the fact that it’s occurred so quickly; there’s no way English was taught in schools until recently (if even now), but everyone learns it – even though geographically, there are no English-speaking countries nearby. Made it much easier to travel, although we did try to use the simple Hungarian phrases we memorized. Anyway, on to the trip…
The first morning, we navigated the fastest escalators on planet earth into the subway, on our way to the Szechenyi baths. Here, I donned my speedo and bathing cap in joining the locals in an old-school thermal bathhouse! If you ever get the opportunity to go, the thermal baths in Budapest are great; we went early in the morning, and there was still a nice chill in the air as we sat in the extremely comfortable 85-degree water. I can’t think of too many better ways to start the day, or to continue it, as we stayed a couple of hours just floating around.
After this, we got serious, and decided the best use of our time would be to aim
lessly walk around. The weather was perfect – not too hot, not too cold – and the leaves were in full autumn color-changing mode. There’s a great road cutting through the center of Budapest, full of squares, statues, and other assorted sights. One of their big monuments, Heroes’ Square, is simply monstrous – the pictures truly don’t do it justice. We walked throughout the rest of the afternoon, and ended up going to an opera later that evening. It was at this point I remembered I don’t particularly enjoy opera, but since it was a cool opera house it was alright for a couple of hours.
The next day was started by going to the greatest café in Europe – a very unpretentious, 20-ft-ceilinged establishment serving great coffee and amazing breakfast sweets. To me, this typified the entire Budapest experience – the city is still in a stage where it doesn’t have enough money to be snooty (kind of the opposite of Geneva), so you have these venues that are gorgeous and really nice, but have normal prices because they still rely on the lower and middle classes for business. In ten years, I imagine this café (and many others like it) becoming high-priced and not necessarily having better quality; but for now, it’s just right. Anyway – we finished up the day by seeing a traditional Hungarian folk performance, complete with dancers and a folk ensemble. Simply put, it was really cool.
The final day was spent roughly in the same manner – the common theme being that we tried to see something in the morning, walk around during the day, and eat as much food as possible anytime in between. Because the truth is, not only is Goulash an extremely fun word to say, but when it’s prepared correctly, it’s quite good. So we ate. And ate. And ate. We ate so much that, at one meal, Soph actually left some food on her plate due to being full! In my 6+ years with her, I’ve never been witness to this phenomenon, and it scared me. But the point is – we ate a lot. And it was good.
This was a great trip for a lot of reasons; first, the city is just amazing. Words really can’t describe how nice the buildings are and how great everything looks. Second, there was the fact we got to go shopping and eat out a lot. Buying things is fun. Third, there were so many cool things to do – there were the Baths, the Central Market, music – there’s even a 1000-year-old mummified hand in the city’s Basilica! That’s just cool. And lastly, the history of Budapest, and Hungary in general, is at such a crossroads of different cultures and time periods that there’s a lot to understand and absorb – which we were able to attempt over coffee and cakes in the wonderful cafes. And how can you not enjoy a little deep thought and introspection over a cup of coffee?
en, and while it’s no longer the “live like a king on $10 a day” mecca it once was, it’s still cheaper than most of the other major European destinations, yet it now also is a bit more tourist-friendly than it used to be (i.e. there’s little risk of crime). On one bank you have Pest, which is a teeming, expansive city with all sorts of interesting buildings and tree-lined streets. On the other side is Buda, a hilly knoll with castles and cobble-stone streets overlooking the winding river. Together, they form an amazing sight, one which in my opinion rivals the beauty of any city I’ve seen so far.Budapest has a very long and storied past, which is important in that each period of time has contributed to the city as it currently stands. There are a lot of Turkish influences, which can be seen in some of the architecture; Viennese influences, seen in the cafes; communist influences, seen in the lack of wealth among the older generation; and western influences, seen in the fact that only 20 years after the fall of communism, a huge portion of the city speaks fluent English. That was the thing that surprised me the most; every waiter, shop owner, vendor, etc., all of them could speak English. More than people in Geneva, even. This borders on shocking due to the fact that it’s occurred so quickly; there’s no way English was taught in schools until recently (if even now), but everyone learns it – even though geographically, there are no English-speaking countries nearby. Made it much easier to travel, although we did try to use the simple Hungarian phrases we memorized. Anyway, on to the trip…
The first morning, we navigated the fastest escalators on planet earth into the subway, on our way to the Szechenyi baths. Here, I donned my speedo and bathing cap in joining the locals in an old-school thermal bathhouse! If you ever get the opportunity to go, the thermal baths in Budapest are great; we went early in the morning, and there was still a nice chill in the air as we sat in the extremely comfortable 85-degree water. I can’t think of too many better ways to start the day, or to continue it, as we stayed a couple of hours just floating around.
After this, we got serious, and decided the best use of our time would be to aim
lessly walk around. The weather was perfect – not too hot, not too cold – and the leaves were in full autumn color-changing mode. There’s a great road cutting through the center of Budapest, full of squares, statues, and other assorted sights. One of their big monuments, Heroes’ Square, is simply monstrous – the pictures truly don’t do it justice. We walked throughout the rest of the afternoon, and ended up going to an opera later that evening. It was at this point I remembered I don’t particularly enjoy opera, but since it was a cool opera house it was alright for a couple of hours.The next day was started by going to the greatest café in Europe – a very unpretentious, 20-ft-ceilinged establishment serving great coffee and amazing breakfast sweets. To me, this typified the entire Budapest experience – the city is still in a stage where it doesn’t have enough money to be snooty (kind of the opposite of Geneva), so you have these venues that are gorgeous and really nice, but have normal prices because they still rely on the lower and middle classes for business. In ten years, I imagine this café (and many others like it) becoming high-priced and not necessarily having better quality; but for now, it’s just right. Anyway – we finished up the day by seeing a traditional Hungarian folk performance, complete with dancers and a folk ensemble. Simply put, it was really cool.
The final day was spent roughly in the same manner – the common theme being that we tried to see something in the morning, walk around during the day, and eat as much food as possible anytime in between. Because the truth is, not only is Goulash an extremely fun word to say, but when it’s prepared correctly, it’s quite good. So we ate. And ate. And ate. We ate so much that, at one meal, Soph actually left some food on her plate due to being full! In my 6+ years with her, I’ve never been witness to this phenomenon, and it scared me. But the point is – we ate a lot. And it was good.This was a great trip for a lot of reasons; first, the city is just amazing. Words really can’t describe how nice the buildings are and how great everything looks. Second, there was the fact we got to go shopping and eat out a lot. Buying things is fun. Third, there were so many cool things to do – there were the Baths, the Central Market, music – there’s even a 1000-year-old mummified hand in the city’s Basilica! That’s just cool. And lastly, the history of Budapest, and Hungary in general, is at such a crossroads of different cultures and time periods that there’s a lot to understand and absorb – which we were able to attempt over coffee and cakes in the wonderful cafes. And how can you not enjoy a little deep thought and introspection over a cup of coffee?
