Budapest

Budapest: A city of spas and fallen empires
Distance traveled: 4173 mi
Cites Visited: 1
Countries Visited: 1
Thermal Mineral Tub dips: 8

Imagine if Paris had been abandoned in 1945 and spent that last 25 years picking up where it left off. That's the feeling we had during our time in Budapest, a city as ornate and romantic as Paris that is still trying to remodel itself after the Soviet occupation. This is nothing new for the Hungarians as they have had the misfortune of living in a area of Europe that has been conquered by the Romans, Huns, Austrians, Ottomans, Nazis, and Soviets. But after every occupation they have rebounded and rebuilt bigger and better than before. This has led to spurts of frantic rebuilding where they have borrowed architectural styles and artistic influences from multiple regions and periods in Europe. Even now, construction seems to be happening at every block in the center of Pest.

Anyway, enough of the history stuff. We spent 7 days Budapest and were enamored, especially with the Spas. Budapest is known as the "Spa City" since it sits on about 100 thermal hot springs and has a multitude of mineral thermal pools throughout the city - to which we treated ourselves for an entire afternoon.

And as a Mexican American and lover of all things spicy (Janelle's love for spice is also legendary among the Mexican community), we also thoroughly enjoyed Hungarian cuisine. It was hearty, spicy and had plenty of veggies which pleased my wife the nutritionist. We were even brave enough to cook goulash in our apartment one night.

Don't speak Hungarian? No worries, almost every Hungarian we encountered, except for the train ticket inspector, spoke English and was very friendly (despite their serious demeanor). We had no problems getting around despite our Hungarian illiteracy.  It was a great place to kick off our travels - it's fun, interesting, cheap and comfortable.

Hope you enjoy our picture diary...

Budapest

Crossing the Chain Bridge on our way to Buda Castle. Budapest is made up of two cites, Buda on the west side of the Danube a.k.a Budapest's Beverly Hills and Pest on east where most people actually live and work.

Buda Castle on top of the hill. Served as the palace for multiple Hungarian monarchs. It has been destroyed and rebuilt many times over. The current incarnation is nothing close to the grandeur it had before it was blown up by the Nazis. It seems that this whole area was rebuilt halfheartedly. It looks like an office building up close and it is infested with bus loads of tourists. Get your picture of the view of Pest and get out!

View of Pest from Buda Castle

The Hungarian Parliament building currently under going a major renovation. They let pedestrians walk dangerously close to all of the debris and equipment. Notice the mishmash of architectural styles. The whole city's style seems to clash a bit.

Hungarians call themselves Maygars and are very proud of their heritage. The Maygars were a marauding band of central Asian warriors that settled in the Carpathian Basin. A very long time ago they conquered much of Eastern Europe. Some think they were related to Attila the Hun, which is where the name Hungary comes from.

A waterfall at the end of our hike to Gellert Hill

The mighty Danube river crossed by eight bridges in the Budapest area. This river flooded in June 2013 and got as high as 29 feet which is almost at street level.

Budapest at night is just as captivating

Spas

We spent a day at the Széchenyi thermal baths - one of the many spas you can find in Budapest.  This place has a great atmosphere with both young and old having a blast. It has an indoor section that has saunas, steam rooms, countless mineral pools and cold plunges with ice troughs for the aficionados that do temperature cycles from a sauna to a cold plunge. The outdoor area has thermal pools ranging from 85 F to 100 F. Nothing is chlorinated except this pool in the picture. This is the thing to do in this city.

Whirlpool "ride" in the colder thermal pool. Did you know that a day at the spa is part of the Hungarian health care system? Apparently all of the different minerals have healing properties and is covered by their health care plan. Being extremely relaxed is probably also good for your health.

Communism

Hungary was subjected to back-to-back dictatorships with the Nazi and Soviet regimes. The House of Terror museum was constructed to remember the victims that were detained, tortured and executed by the secret police of both regimes, which used this building as their headquarters.

After the fall of communism, a bunch of creepy Soviet statues were removed from Budapest and placed in a park outside of the city known as Memento Park. This a statue obedient worker doing... who knows. The joke is that he is a spa employee running after a customer who forgot their towel.

Soviet soldier who has just "liberated" Hungary from the Nazis

The first McDonald's behind the Iron Curtain. Just another example of America spreading freedom...and obesity.

A Soviet built Trebant. Buyers had to pay a 50% deposit and wait eight years to get this car in the good 'ol  days of communism. Some of these babies are actually still cruising around Budapest. We wanted to take a test drive since this will be the car only we'll be able to afford after our trip.

Food

The Grand Market Hall - a massive indoor market with two levels: produce and meats on the first floor, shops and street food on the second. A great place to buy the Hungarian staples, paprika and sausage. 

Mi a vegetáriánus?

A Hungarian street food called Langos that consists of fried dough, sour cream, cheese and a topping of your choice. Tasted like bland version of something you could get at the state fair. I think we ate it wrong. Maybe it was supposed to be served only after 6 shots of Palinka (Hungarian Brandy) 

Since we a had a full kitchen, we made Hungarian goulash from scratch. Secret ingredient: Gulyskrem - A paste of spicy paprika and other spices. Janelle made me substitute the lard with butter. Marriage is all about compromise.

Having some Hungarian/Asian fusion at Ket Szerecsen. Hungarians are fond of other spicy cuisines like Indian and Thai since it complements theirs so well.

Where we stayed:

We rented an apartment with an outfit called Budepesting  www.budapesting.com. They have apartments all over the city. Cheap, clean, and central  - with wi-fi.

Good places to Eat:

Belvárosi Lugas Vendéglő (1065 Budapest Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 15) -  Hungarian food. A decent option in a very touristy area by the Parliament and Basilica. Hearty portions of spicy Hungarian cuisine at a reasonable price.

Menza (61 Budapest Liszt Ferenc Ter 2) - Nouveau Hungarian food. Good food in Liszt Ferenc Ter - a square with plenty of mediocre restaurants.

Két Szerecsen (1065 Budapest Nagymező Street 14) - Hungarian/Asian. Good example how other spicy cuisines mix well with Hungarian.

Grand Market Hall (1093 Budapest, Vámház körút 1-3, Hungary) - Hungarian. A fun place to shop with the locals, buy souvenirs, and to try some local street food.

Gerloczy Cafe (1052 Budapest, Gerlóczy St 1, Hungary) - Hungarian/French. A yummy cafe located in the heart of the city. A great way to avoid the populated tourist street, Váci utca. 


Good places to drink:

Szimpla Kert (1075 Budapest Kazinczy St 14) - The original ruin pub located in the Jewish Quarter. They started out about a decade ago as a way of utilizing space in condemned buildings. Today there are many to choose from and are a unique way to experience the nightlife in Budapest. 

Cafe Kara ( Across from the City Park ) - An outdoor cafe with views of the main entrance of City Park which includes Heroes Square. Offers good views, reasonably priced food, drinks, and shisha. Mostly locals playing cards and games. A relaxed way to spend the afternoon.

Alexandra (1061 Budapest, Andrássy út 39)- An elaborate Vienna style coffee house. Slightly pricier than other coffee shops (or maybe we were just budgeting more at the end of our time there) but a lovely place to plan out your day over a good cup of coffee.