Europe Trip: Budapest - Hungry - The Capital in a Week

16 November 2013

My first impression of the Capital of Hungary is a good one, I quietly wander the city until 2:30pm when the free walking tour is going to take place. Which is popular there must be at least 100 people milling around whilst I'm busy munching on lunch I spy both ladies (also single travels) from the bus last night from Slovenia on the tour also very much a coincidence! So we decided that it was meant to be and we should hang out whilst we are in town!

The walking tour is interesting - everyone was relieved when the group was split. I ended up a little side tracked and ended up at a Greenpeace Protest against the Artic 30 with Gayle and was for a short time locked in a cage - who would have thought. Managed to spot the tour on ahead of us and catch up with them. Our tour guide teaches us some Hungarian I now only remember " I guess she can drive" which when said in english with the words run together sounds like the Hungarian way to say cheers whilst toasting your drinks! Which is great as after our tour we decide to hit the local Ruins Bars.

The bars are situated in Budapest’s District VII neighbourhood the old Jewish quarter in the ruins (hence the name) of abandoned buildings, stores, or lots. The neighbourhood was left to decay after World War II so it was a perfect place for an underground bar scene to flourish. (Not so underground anymore though.) From outside, these bars look like normal homes or abandoned buildings they don’t have large signs pointing the way, you don’t hear any loud noise, and there’s no line of people waiting to get in. When you are in these bars, you feel like you are drinking at your local thrift store. None of the furniture matches. It’s all old. It’s eclectic and feels like they just ransacked your grandmother’s house including the curtains.

Great for a night out, of course we stayed till closing time and met some locals who took us out some other local joints and to catch a sunrise - which would have been great if there had been no fog or that we got misplaced on our walk home....

Not to worry though, at 3 in the arvo after a sleep the three of us meet at Hospital In The Rock Museum. The emergency hospital dates to World War II, when Castle District was part of the Government Quarter. The caves and tunnels were connected and fortified and used as an air raid shelter. On the orders of the Mayor of Budapest an emergency surgical hospital was also built within the caves beneath Buda Castle Hill. The hospital was actively used during WW II until July 1945 and then during the 1956 Revolution to treat wounded civilians and soldiers. Between 1958 and 1962 it was expanded to withstand potential chemical and nuclear attacks during the Cold War.

The following day we agree to meet at the pools but due the fact there are three entrances we miss each other but the pools are great and very relaxing, I swim lengths, luckily I have my orange swim cap as for some odd reason it is against the rules to not wear on in the lap pool. The evening see's me off out to catch a NZ Band - Unknown Mortal Orchestra at A38 a renovated Ukrainian stone-carrier ship moored on the Danube and a great venue! Met a lot of locals who even had the bands vinyl records out to be signed, very impressed and they are a neat group of people. Fantastic night.

We have another try at organising a group for the pools and this time succeed, and I'm quite happy to laze around chatting and watching a chess game being played out in the pool. yep in the pool.

The complex is very large and has numerous pools indoor and out ranging in temperature from the plunge pool for those using the saunas to a relaxing 38 degrees in a medicinal pool.

I thought I would spend my last day in Budapest just cruising doing some writing but how wrong I was - a friend I travelled with in Bulgaria is in town and after a couple nights out on the town together she recommend that we spend the day Caving and the evening at Exit Point - I'm in - no questions asked - love the experience had a lot of fun - got stuck once in the cave and enjoyed playing around in the systems. Exit point - Imagine that you and your mates are locked up in a dark, creepy cellar and have only one hour to escape. You have to find clues, keys and the way to the exit through a series of rooms puzzles and mind-breakers.

To top the day off we go out for a evening meal - its not often that you can say you spent 2500 on a meal but as we are talking Forint it equals about $14 NZ and is a beautiful three course (my main is duck mmmm) and glass of wine.

I have loved my time here and the people that I have spent it with. Although I have not ventured far outside the capital I do recommend you put this down on your destination list. And I hope to be able to come back sometime in the future during a warmer month of the year to do some further exploring.