Budapest (Sept. 1-5, 2014) Trip Report

in Los Angeles, so I opted to try something from the deli. The store clerk was very helpful in asking if I needed anything and I got a duck liver mousse baguette and a savory pastry (1030 Ft). Both were delicious.
Back outside, I wanted to roam around the Parliament Building area according to the RS guidebook. Just one problem…rain…lots of it. This made me alter my plans for the day so I escaped to the Opera house and arrived just in time for the 3 pm tour (I paid 4000 Ft, which included picture taking privilege and a small performance afterwards). In terms of paying extra for the picture/video taking, I honestly don’t think anyone is monitoring this. They give you a wristband for each service you pay for and they only checked my wrist when I entered the room to see the performance. The building was beautiful and our guide was really informative and nice.
It was still raining and I needed to relax. I headed to the Rudas thermal baths (3000 Ft for a cabin). I took a combo of the Metro, bus, and tram to get here. This was quite an interesting experience. It was really neat being under a dome that was hundreds of years old. It was quite another interesting experience in that it was one of the men only days and you’re basically almost naked. Fun experience if you have no hang ups about walking around almost naked.
Dinner this evening was a quick bite from a restaurant near my apartment. I don’t remember the name of the place (not worth mentioning really), but what I will say is that for 9-9:30 pm on a Monday the restaurants in the area were quite packed. A sign of things to come.
Day 2
I began my day early up at Castle Hill. I took the bus up to Disz Ter and followed the RS guidebook for the walk up here. It was nice being up here at this time (about 9 am or so) because there was hardly anyone there and it felt like you had the place to yourself. As everyone says, you get some great views up here. It was a little more crowded once I got to St. Mathias church. I have to say the interior of this church is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. The colors and intricate patterns that adorn the walls are simply magnificent (1200 Ft). I made a quick stop to Ruszwurm (bakery) down the street to indulge in some sweets. I sat down and ordered a honey and walnut cake (550 Ft). Oh so delicious! I also ordered two more items to go (apple strudel and the famous Dobostorta, 900 Ft). Such a great bargain!
I continued walking towards the other end of Buda Hill where, again, it practically seemed deserted and was nice to have the place to myself. I saw the Buda Hills where you’ll see the “Beverly Hills” of Budapest and I found the grave of a Pasha. Using my map I exited the hill via the gate on the north end (I can’t recall the name) and walked downhill towards the street Csalogany. I had lunch at the Michelin-starred Csalogny 26 (that’s also the address). I thought they had a reduced price lunch menu, but that didn’t seem to be the case. I ordered two items off the menu: panko covered scallops and duck liver with ofal risotto. Both dishes were simply amazing and I recommend everyone come here. My lunch was 7200 Ft (not cheap, but well worth it).
Continued down Csalogany and then detoured to the right just before reaching the Danube to Batthyany Ter. You get great shots of the Parliament from here because you’re literally facing it head on. I hopped on the Metro for one stop to the other side and continued viewing the sites on the Pest side, which I wasn’t able to do yesterday because of the rain. Again, I followed the RS guidebook and I ended the walk at St. Istvan’s. I remember James mentioning a neat gift shop near here. I don’t recall the name of the store, but if you face the entrance of the church it is to the right next to some restaurants. Great gift giving ideas, although I thought most items were a bit expensive.

I took a bus up Andrassy ut to the Opera and then walked up the street to end up at The House of Terror (2000 Ft). Being that I had no relation to Hungarian or Jewish people and Nazism or Communism, I thought I was going to do a quick walk through this place. Wrong! The history of the Nazi and Communist occupation and the suffering of the people occupied by them was immensely saddening and I felt I had to stay to learn more. In my travels I have never been to a more poignant, yet depressing, museum. As sad as the images/videos were to see, it’s in everyone’s best interest to become familiar with this history. I spent about 2 hours or so here.
The rest of the afternoon was spent browsing the stores along Andrassy ut. I came upon a ceramics store (I forgot to note the name, but was on the right side of the street if you’re facing up towards Heroes’ Square between Oktogon and Opera), which had lots of really neat items for sale; very affordable and all handmade of course.
I had dinner at another Michelin-starred restaurant this evening: Borkonyha Wine Kitchen. The first thing offered was their homemade bread. I especially loved the one made with squid ink, which I’ve never seen or had before. I ordered three dishes: a beef rib with lentils and figs, Vichyssoise with rabbit meatloaf, and duck leg confit with foie gras. All excellent dishes and I was very satisfied with my meal (8900 Ft, including ~10% tip).
Day 3
I got an early start again to continue exploring the rest of the Pest sites. I began at Vorosmarty Ter, where Gerbaud is. As it was too early (around 8 am), they weren’t quite open yet so I didn’t get to try anything from here. I walked down Vaci utca (again, dead, nothing open, but was nice to not be surrounded by crowds). I did a quick stroll along the Danube Promenade and saw the famous statue of The Little Princess (with the jester’s hat). I made some random detours off Vaci utca as was recommended in the RS guidebook. I found a nice little park along the way as well as some quiet residential streets.
I ended up at the street Kossuth Lajos u. and found Parisi Udvar (which, contrary to the guidebook, was really not that hard to find). It was open (on the main boulevard side) and I stepped in for a few moments. It was sad to see that this beautiful space is no longer in use. Even the details on the outside are quite remarkable. Looking across the street towards Ferenciek ter I began really noticing all of these interested lamp posts I had seen elsewhere in the city. They’re shaped as tree branches with the lights posing as leaves. As new as they were, I noticed how well they blended with the old buildings of the area. I thought it was so unique and made it quite obvious that there are some great planners in this city.
I continued up Kossuth Lajos (away from the river) and found one the bakeries on my list to visit, Auguszt Cukraszda. I had a walnut cream cake that was really good (550 Ft). I thought it was humorous that I was the only person in there. It must have been between 9 and 10 am by now. I’m sure it gets filled up later. I walked over to the Great Synagogue and got there right when it opened at 10 am. From what I overheard from some of the people in line I understand that the entrance line can get quite long. So I’m glad I got here right when it opened not having known beforehand what time it opened. I didn’t tour the inside of the Synagogue. I only toured the gardens, which were free and saw the Weeping Willow memorial in the back.

I wandered around some of the streets here and came across a café of sorts called A Table, which a local had told me about before. It’s a chain of cafes selling typical French savories and pastries. Although I was not hungry at all, I couldn’t resist buying a croissant just to compare to what I’ve had in Paris. 395 Ft of pure yumminess was my conclusion. I wish I had room from more! Can you tell I’m a food addict and don’t know when to stop? I made my way towards the Great Market Hall. I wanted one last piece of Langos. This time I added garlic to it, which made it even better (800 Ft). Downstairs, I bought some sweet paprika to take home (900 Ft).
I went back to my apartment to gather up my belongings to take with me to Szechenyi Baths. It was shaping up to be a nice day so I wanted to take advantage of the sun. Before going to the baths, I stopped for lunch (yes, food again) at Menza in Franz Liszt Square. I really liked the vibe of this little haven off the busy Andrassy ut. I ordered their beef goulash soup and pork schnitzel. At 1 pm this place was quite busy and I couldn’t help but notice how large this place was. My lunch bill was 3870 Ft plus 300 Ft tip.
I got a cabin at Szechenyi (4600 Ft, ouch!). I entered through the main entrance as it was not busy at all. Once inside and after getting my cabin and proceeded to find the panorama view of the baths as is mentioned the RS guidebook. I kept walking all over looking like a super confused tourist looking for the viewpoint. Where is it? I even asked someone on the top level (where they had a massage area) where this viewpoint was and she said there isn’t one. I gave up and then headed outside. These baths are marvelous and the building that encloses them is simply beautiful. I spent the better part of 2 hours here, in which time I wandered around several areas of the baths. It wasn’t until later that I realized where that viewpoint was. It was on the other side of the baths. I forgot to realize that the instructions for finding this viewpoint in the guidebook were written assuming you had entered from the opposite side of the main entrance. Ugh! Oh well, at least I found it .
I did a quick 1 hour tour of the City Park sights such as Vajdahunyad Castle, 1956 Uprising Monument, and Heroe’s Square). Off to dinner at yet another Michelin-starred establishment, Onyx. I won’t go into too much detail about what I ordered, but I ordered a la carte and the meal was just outstanding in every way. The nice thing about it was that I got some extras including an amuse bouche, a pre and post dessert offering, and a small gift box with a couple of sweet treats. On this particular night the place seemed to be filled only with tourists (with money), so I wonder when the locals come here. My bill was 25,530 Ft, which included the tip. Really expensive, yes, but the food is comparable to any fine dining establishment anywhere in the world.
Day 4
I rented a bike from Discover Budapest (recommended in RS guidebook). It was conveniently located a couple blocks from my apartment. I didn’t like that I had to leave a sizeable deposit (10000 Ft) in cash. This left me with almost no cash and I was trying to avoid using the ATM too much, but I had no choice. I rode the well-marked bike lane down Andrassy ut and swerved left to find my way over to Karoly krt. I continued along this major road and eventually crossed the Szabadsag Bridge. My goal was to get to the top of Gellert Hill. The next 30 minutes were tricky. I didn’t have the means to hold a map in front of me while trying to navigate up the hill, so I decided to just follow any of the streets leading up. Eventually I saw one of the #27 buses that takes you up and behind the hill and used that as my means to get up to the summit. Along the way I rode past beautiful homes, which is always a plus. I finally made it to the top and my back was covered in sweat; signs of a good workout .

The top has awesome views of the city as well as very interested photos of the city during different time periods. The most poignant of these was the photo from 1945 showing the destroyed Chain Bridge. I spent about 30 minutes or so up here trying to cool down and took wonderful pictures of the views I saw.
On my descent down the hill I went down a different road in the direction of the Elizabeth Bridge. Once here I continued up along the Danube on the Buda side. I had lunch at what I consider a blessing of a restaurant and recommend all readers to visit. It’s called Zona and is almost directly in front of the Chain Bridge. I came here on the recommendation of a local that I was put in contact with from a friend here at home. I ordered a three course meal (a la carte and 2 course options are available). My first surprise was when I received an amuse bouche (very rare to get that for lunch). My 3 courses included a celery root soup with mussels, mangalica pork medallion with pasta, and a coconut mousse stuffed with pineapple chunks, pineapple sorbet, and mango. BEST MEAL of the trip so far (had already been to Prague and Vienna prior to this). And then I also got a petit fours dish afterwards. All this for a whopping 3940 Ft. You MUST GO! It was so good that I decided to reserve a table for dinner later tonight.
I returned the bike (4 hour rental, 2000 Ft). I had lots of free time after this point so I decided to go back to familiar territory and relax once again at Rudas Baths (3000 Ft). When I left it was late afternoon and I had wanted to get some sunset shots from Buda Hill. Unfortunately, the lighting was not ideal. The skies were a bit hazy and cloudy (like the days before) and prohibited a good amount of sunlight to hit the city. Instead I just snapped some pictures from the base of the Chain Bridge. My final wanderings of the city were in Erzsebet ter (near Deak Ferenc ter Metro stop). I loved watching how people were gathered in this park and were just relaxing and letting their feet soak in the manmade pond. Walking a bit further there was an outdoor café filled with people and then I saw these water fountains embedded in the grass of the park. On my next visit I will definitely have to partake in this activity.
Dinner was at Zona. They had a special this evening where the 5 and 6 course menus were priced the same. So, naturally, I opted for the 6 course. I won’t go into detail here, but I will say that some of the dishes weren’t as great as what I had for lunch. My dinner also came with an amuse bouche, a post-dessert refreshing drink, and petit fours. I still love this place despite the not so stellar dinner I had and would gladly return upon my future visits to Budapest. Dinner was rater pricey at 16,765 Ft. I’m sure this place will garner a Michelin star soon.
My last meanderings in Budapest took me to Szimpla ruin pub. It was after visiting this bar that I told myself I need to come back to Budapest with at least one other person. There were so many groups of people together and I seemed to be the only person by myself. I still enjoyed the people watching of the whole scene. I then walked over to Gozdu Udvar, which is a pedestrian only zone of lanes filled with restaurants, cafes, and bars. Again, I wish I had more time to take advantage of this.
Day 5
Well nothing really to say here other than my quick morning taxi ride to Keleti train station. I made a couple of observations while leaving. First, it was about 6 am and while waiting for my taxi (which I phoned for) and I couldn’t help but notice that people were still in the streets from partying all night (do people here ever sleep?). Second, I was sort of panicking because I wasn’t sure I had enough cash for the cab ride. That’s when I noticed a small sign inside the cab that listed the rules and regulations of the cab and to my utter surprise I noticed that they accept card payments with no additional fee. Thank you, Budapest! You were kind to me.

What a wonderful review! I just returned from Budapest in August and my 3 1/2 days weren't nearly enough, I find that I am utterly unable to stop thinking about this lovely city and will have to make do until I can return by reading everyone else's trip reports.

If my luck draws out well, I hope to be back within a year.