19-20 August 2013
Day 10: Getting there
This was really easy, as the trains in Europe normally are. We walked to the nearest train station and when the train arrived, everyone madly jumps on and a few minutes later we're off. With speed like that, it's hard to justify taking a plane because of the 4 extra hours involved with flying (checking in, passport control, collecting bags).
Arrival
Our hotel was right next to the train station so it was easy to check in and dump our stuff. After we all went for the standard walk around the city to see some bits and pieces but as we soon found out, we'd arrived between a weekend and a public holiday so there was hardly anything open. We were all hungry and we quickly realised how much we take (food) shops for granted and it's only when nothing is open that you realise how easy we normally have it. Anyway, hunger induced ranting aside, we walked through a market, along the river and finally the team leader and I went up to the hilltop castle for a beer and some nice views out over the city.
Dinner
We had a group dinner that night at a Hungarian restaurant and they were offering a goulash so I had to try it. It was more of a soup, so not as thick as the previous one, but still tasty. The highlight of the dinner (well, for my friend and I) was the 3L beer giraffe that we ordered to share between us. It was cheap (go east Europe) and looked impressive on the table, oh and it was a great beer too.
Clubbing
Hungary is known for ruin bars which are, as the name suggests, a bar that looks ruined (on purpose). The one we went to was called Szimpla and it was filled with plants and all sorts of eccentric furniture and decorations like a bath tub chair, manikins and (strange) paintings. We started upstairs, where it was a bit quieter, then we moved downstairs to get involved in the public holiday the next day so no work festivities. We joined a table of Swedish and Norwegians for an awesome night with beer, sheesha, people being drawn on with pen and even these nicotine teabag things that you stick under your lip.
Wandering
After we left the club it took my friend and I a few hours to get home (it was a 25 minute walk) because we found food, more beer and did the old two steps forward and three steps backward drunk walk.
Day 11: Lazy morning
It's no surprise that I wasn't moving very fast in the morning but I made good use of the free breakfast and took the time to do some washing.
Bike
Budapest is a city that is good to see by bicycle because it's spread out and you can ride on the roads without fearing for your life. I made my way into town and found a bike hire shop that was open (remember today is a public holiday). I followed the crowds and found a few areas that had police blocking the roads so markets and celebrations could spill out onto the road. One of these areas was the island in the river, which is really nice to ride around, and the other was the stretch of road below the castle on the riverfront.
Lunch
As I rode past the markets below the castle I had to stop and try some of the food because it looked and smelled so good. I ordered by pointing and waving my arms madly and ended up with a dish that I can best describe as a chicken stew and it was as good as it looked.
Heroes' Square and City Park
I saw some other people from my tour wandering around the markets and they suggested a castle area on the other side of the city so that was my next stop. The first thing you see, after all the bugs that splattered on your sunnies from the ride over, is a large open area with a bunch of statues, named Heroes' Square. In the background you can see some castles so after a quick photo stop I headed over to the castle where more celebrations were going on. The castle itself was pretty decent; it is in good condition, quite large and is surrounded by a decent sized park. There were also celebration happening inside the castle that were similar to other areas of the city; lots of people and market stalls.
Protesters?
On my way to drop the bike back I came across a large group of people sitting in an intersection so they blocked off a few roads and tram tracks. There were police all around them and some dude in the group with a megaphone but I couldn't tell if they were celebrating and patriotic, due to their Hungarian colours, or protesting. In either case, it wasn't violent and the cops didn't seem too worried.
Dinner
We asked the nice hotel staff for a recommendation for dinner and that's how we ended up at Huszar's. It is a traditional Hungarian restaurant and the waiter was an absolute champ, which made us all love the place. He told us a few stories about his family and explained what all the celebrations were for: Saint Stephen's Day. You can probably guess what I ordered by now... GOULASH! I also packed this one with a lot of chilli sauce so it had a nice kick to it.
Szimpla Attempt #2
Two of my group didn't make it to Szimpla the previous night so they were both well rested and keen to go out, which was not the case for the rest of us. The rest of the group went home and I, being the gentleman I am, showed the other two where Szimpla was and cashed in on a free beer I was owed. On the way we also heard the teasing sounds of about 25 minutes of fireworks being set off at the Chain Bridge. They were teasing because we really wanted to see them but we were too far away to get there in time :( It sounded amazing though. The atmosphere in the bar was a lot quieter than the previous night so I'm very pleased that we happened to stumble upon this bar on such a great night.
Thoughts on Budapest
Day 10: Getting there
This was really easy, as the trains in Europe normally are. We walked to the nearest train station and when the train arrived, everyone madly jumps on and a few minutes later we're off. With speed like that, it's hard to justify taking a plane because of the 4 extra hours involved with flying (checking in, passport control, collecting bags).
Arrival
Our hotel was right next to the train station so it was easy to check in and dump our stuff. After we all went for the standard walk around the city to see some bits and pieces but as we soon found out, we'd arrived between a weekend and a public holiday so there was hardly anything open. We were all hungry and we quickly realised how much we take (food) shops for granted and it's only when nothing is open that you realise how easy we normally have it. Anyway, hunger induced ranting aside, we walked through a market, along the river and finally the team leader and I went up to the hilltop castle for a beer and some nice views out over the city.
Dinner
We had a group dinner that night at a Hungarian restaurant and they were offering a goulash so I had to try it. It was more of a soup, so not as thick as the previous one, but still tasty. The highlight of the dinner (well, for my friend and I) was the 3L beer giraffe that we ordered to share between us. It was cheap (go east Europe) and looked impressive on the table, oh and it was a great beer too.
Clubbing
Hungary is known for ruin bars which are, as the name suggests, a bar that looks ruined (on purpose). The one we went to was called Szimpla and it was filled with plants and all sorts of eccentric furniture and decorations like a bath tub chair, manikins and (strange) paintings. We started upstairs, where it was a bit quieter, then we moved downstairs to get involved in the public holiday the next day so no work festivities. We joined a table of Swedish and Norwegians for an awesome night with beer, sheesha, people being drawn on with pen and even these nicotine teabag things that you stick under your lip.
Wandering
After we left the club it took my friend and I a few hours to get home (it was a 25 minute walk) because we found food, more beer and did the old two steps forward and three steps backward drunk walk.
Day 11: Lazy morning
It's no surprise that I wasn't moving very fast in the morning but I made good use of the free breakfast and took the time to do some washing.
Bike
Budapest is a city that is good to see by bicycle because it's spread out and you can ride on the roads without fearing for your life. I made my way into town and found a bike hire shop that was open (remember today is a public holiday). I followed the crowds and found a few areas that had police blocking the roads so markets and celebrations could spill out onto the road. One of these areas was the island in the river, which is really nice to ride around, and the other was the stretch of road below the castle on the riverfront.
Lunch
As I rode past the markets below the castle I had to stop and try some of the food because it looked and smelled so good. I ordered by pointing and waving my arms madly and ended up with a dish that I can best describe as a chicken stew and it was as good as it looked.
Heroes' Square and City Park
I saw some other people from my tour wandering around the markets and they suggested a castle area on the other side of the city so that was my next stop. The first thing you see, after all the bugs that splattered on your sunnies from the ride over, is a large open area with a bunch of statues, named Heroes' Square. In the background you can see some castles so after a quick photo stop I headed over to the castle where more celebrations were going on. The castle itself was pretty decent; it is in good condition, quite large and is surrounded by a decent sized park. There were also celebration happening inside the castle that were similar to other areas of the city; lots of people and market stalls.
Protesters?
On my way to drop the bike back I came across a large group of people sitting in an intersection so they blocked off a few roads and tram tracks. There were police all around them and some dude in the group with a megaphone but I couldn't tell if they were celebrating and patriotic, due to their Hungarian colours, or protesting. In either case, it wasn't violent and the cops didn't seem too worried.
Dinner
We asked the nice hotel staff for a recommendation for dinner and that's how we ended up at Huszar's. It is a traditional Hungarian restaurant and the waiter was an absolute champ, which made us all love the place. He told us a few stories about his family and explained what all the celebrations were for: Saint Stephen's Day. You can probably guess what I ordered by now... GOULASH! I also packed this one with a lot of chilli sauce so it had a nice kick to it.
Szimpla Attempt #2
Two of my group didn't make it to Szimpla the previous night so they were both well rested and keen to go out, which was not the case for the rest of us. The rest of the group went home and I, being the gentleman I am, showed the other two where Szimpla was and cashed in on a free beer I was owed. On the way we also heard the teasing sounds of about 25 minutes of fireworks being set off at the Chain Bridge. They were teasing because we really wanted to see them but we were too far away to get there in time :( It sounded amazing though. The atmosphere in the bar was a lot quieter than the previous night so I'm very pleased that we happened to stumble upon this bar on such a great night.
Thoughts on Budapest
- It seems like a bit of a poor and dirty city with lots of construction
- It's fairly cheap seeing as it's eastern Europe
- I feel like I had a good experience of what the city had to offer so it's not on my list to go back to but I wouldn't say no to a stopover there
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| A funny give way sign. There were more like this too. |
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| The church on top on the hill, next to the castle |
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| You're meant to pat this guy's stomach for good luck |
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| The giraffe! 3L of beer that you pour yourself at your table. |
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| One and a half days in Budapest....hmmm, better pull out 15 grand. |
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| Illustrates the night at Szimpla fairly accurately. |
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| The chicken thingy I had at the market near the river. It was good. |
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| Panorama from the castle. |
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| Panorama of the Heroes' Square |
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| I'm not sure if they're celebrating or protesting but they look patriotic and they're blocking roads and tram tracks |
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| Entrance to the city park castle |
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| Some strange thing at Szimpla... that is licking a manikin holding a key ;) |
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