Budapest
July 18, 2006
Coat of arms long castle hill walls.
I can't really weave a cohesive narrative right now, so I'll just write about a few things in random order:
1. Went to go see an "underground" Hungarian rock band that was playing in an outdoor venue by the river. The music was actually pretty decent and there were hundreds of mostly young Hungarian fans dancing and cheering in the crowds.
Chain bridge.
2. Checked out the famous baths of Budapest, but actually found them quite disappointing! To be honest, they just seemed like big swimming pools with some cheesy statues surrounding them. Although the water was nice, I could have just been at the local YMCA (albeit with more speedos).
3. Ate authentic Hungarian goulash cooked in a giant pot in the backyard of the hostel. It was hot.
4. Went to a lot of cool museums. The House of Terror, in particular, was pretty amazing. It is a museum with lots of interactive exhibits designed for people with short attention spans like me.
5. Explored some cheesy labyrinths beneath castle hill with an oil lamp at night.
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Coat of arms long castle hill wa…
Chain bridge.
Fountain in castle hill plaza.
Posing next to some wall art in …
Top of castle hill, overlooking …
Above a gate.
Buda and castle hill at night.
Vaci U., a popular shopping street.
Hostel room.
Hostel gazeebo and hammocks in t…
Owners of the hostel made tradit…
More hammocks, where I passed ma…
Gazeebo.
Really good dessert and cake place on top of Castle Hill in Buda. Founded in 1827, it used to serve desserts for Hapsburg royalty. Its small, shaded, and cozy interior is the perfect place to relax after a hike up the hill. I sat at a small table by the counter and ordered a slice of the Ruszwurm specialty chocolate cake. Out of all the dessert places I went to in Eastern Europe (and I went to as many as I could), this was probably my favorite. I preferred the chocolate cake here to the cake at Gerbeaud, which is a more “famous” cafe and bakery in Pest. The chocolate in the Ruszwurm cake had a richer flavor and the cake itself had a tastier consistency and texture. Definitely recommended if you like great desserts!
Inside Ruszwurm. I guess they se…
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This restaurant, located on a moored ship along the bank of the muddy Danube, was highly recommended by my guidebook, but I found the food unremarkable. I ordered some Hungarian pork chops, which were prepared in a pepper sauce. It wasn't bad, it seemed like a dish you could get almost anywhere else, and a bit on the expensive side for Hungary.
Despite the average tasting food, this seems to be a pretty popular restaurant for tourists. The only reason that I could think of for this is that the outside seating, on the deck of the ship, seems to afford some beautiful views of the river and city during sunset. By the I arrived at 7PM, all of the seats outside were taken. Unless you want to sit in the gloomy dark interior of the ship (and if so, you are probably better off going to another restaurant), I would recommend making reservations early.
Despite the average tasting food, this seems to be a pretty popular restaurant for tourists. The only reason that I could think of for this is that the outside seating, on the deck of the ship, seems to afford some beautiful views of the river and city during sunset. By the I arrived at 7PM, all of the seats outside were taken. Unless you want to sit in the gloomy dark interior of the ship (and if so, you are probably better off going to another restaurant), I would recommend making reservations early.
I was really looking forward to checking out the baths in Budapest, but to be honest was quite disappointed in the entire experience. The Szechenyi baths are supposed to be some of the most famous. In fact, they seemed no different than glorified swimming pools with some tacky decorations. Some of the outdoor pools had jets that would periodically shoot up bubbles, and another had a donut-shaped loop that whisked people around along a circular current. These novelties were fun for approximately 5 minutes.
The castle labyrinths on Buda hill are an odd but enjoyable experience. Apparently the entire complex of underground caves was created entirely by thermal springs, and it has alternately served as a pre-historic residence, military bunker, and bom shelter throughout its history. In its current incarnation, it is a somewhat cheesy "museum"/haunted house, and the caves are filled with odd sculptures and imitation cave paintings.
I came and visited the caverns between 6PM-7:30PM, during which time they turn off all of the lights and let you explore the entirety of the caverns using an oil lamp. This certainly added a lot to the experience, and I would highly recommend doing one of these "night" visits. I'm not sure it would be worth visiting during the day time, as I think the whole place would come off as entirely too cheesy.
I came and visited the caverns between 6PM-7:30PM, during which time they turn off all of the lights and let you explore the entirety of the caverns using an oil lamp. This certainly added a lot to the experience, and I would highly recommend doing one of these "night" visits. I'm not sure it would be worth visiting during the day time, as I think the whole place would come off as entirely too cheesy.
