Beautiful Budapest
We flew out of Luton early in the day and were in the heart of the city before lunch. Just around the corner we discovered a delightful bistro and ordered ‘Goulash’ with a bottle of wine. This is hearty fare and deserved a stroll around the neighbourhood afterwards to get our bearings. We were very close to the Parliament building which is the world’s third largest and it sits right on the bank of the Danube – stunning both by day and by night. They have a daily changing of the guard and the soldiers are even allowed to pose with tourists for photos!
The sun was still shining, and we were treated to dancing water shoots and mist sprays before heading down to the river bank in search of the Shoes on the Danube Bank Monument. Most waterfronts are teeming with life and this is no exception – as we walked we came across the sculptures of Attila József the famous Hungarian Poet, The Little Princess, A Girl with Her Dog and the Hungarian artist Ignac Roskovics – all within an hour of starting out.
There’s a funicular railway that climbs up to Buda Castle and the city has an amazing transport network of trams, metro, buses and ferries. Before we knew it, we were travelling all over the city during our stay and considered visiting even more places than we originally thought possible. It’s such a pretty city and areas of Buda with the Mattias Church and the Fishermen’s Bastion are so immaculate that you think you’re in a theme park!
We visited the ruin bars during the day so that we could see what we were letting ourselves in for at night. The story goes that derelict industrial units in the city were set up as temporary spaces by local entertainment talent serving cheap beer. Several years later and Szimpla Kert is now one of many official attractions with all sorts of live music, a well-respected ‘Farmers Market’ and several charity projects. The furniture is still old and there’s graffiti on the walls, but it has such a great atmosphere that it just adds to the odd charm of the place. Plan to go early before the crowds to find a seat in one of the small music venues – your bags will be searched on entry and there’s a strict no drugs policy, so it’s a bit more mainstream now (some even accept Euros) and there are signs outside asking you to be quiet as you leave!
We never did make it to the Szechenyi baths for the party night – or any of the thermal baths - so that’s a good reason to go back. The Szechenyi Baths alone is visited by over a million bathers per year and some others are centuries old. The Turkish baths, like the Kiraly Bath, Rudas Bath or Veli Bej Batha offer a completely different experience again and there are all sorts of spa treatments available. If you’re not into swimming, the Art Nouveau Gellért Baths have been described as ‘swimming in a cathedral’ so you could just go along for the architecture!