Budapest - The Imperial Grandeur — Tuljak! Travel Blog

We love Budapest! Finding a better expression of our affection for this city is difficult. I don't think we have been to another gourmet city in Europe that was so accessible. We picked central Europe because of the price concern after our trip to Denmark and the Netherlands last year. Even though we enjoyed our trip last year, we determined we could have a gourmet vacation in Central Europe at a fraction of the cost. The focus of this trip may be the Czech Republic, but we can not skip out Budapest. Our only idea of Budapest was the grandeur as co-capital of the Habsburg Empire.

What fascinated me about Budapest and Hungary itself was their ethnicity. Despite being in the center of the European continent, Hungarians are of Central Asia of origin, and its language is only related to Finnish and Estonian. The pronunciation of Hungarian words is among the 'strangest' in Europe. I am always fascinated by the name of a country in its own native language. For instance, the word China originated from the first dynasty of '’ The name of Japan (pronounced as Nippon in Japanese) meant the Rising Sun. The Hungarian name for the nation of Hungary, Magyarország, has absolutely no relation to its English name.

Hungary's infamously 'foreign' language prompted me to learn basic phrases like "Excuse me, do you speak English?" I understand we only visited the capital, but Hungarians are a friendly and hospitable bunch with excellent English. Despite my efforts to learn some basic Hungarian phrases, there seemed to be little or no opportunity to apply them. Like other Uralic languages, I find it quite easy on the ear and poetic. There is a very special cadence, and it is easy to pronounce if it is hard to memorize.

Fisherman's Bastion, a tribute to the ancient Magyars.

Given our overly ambitious itinerary (shocking!), I decided to stick with Budapest and not venture into the countryside. The four-and-a-half-day visit seems to be a good way to kick off our honeymoon, and Budapest's reputation for fine living certainly makes it a good place for Brian to unwind after his exhaustive trip to Germany and Poland. It was also a stressful few days for me. Having just taken my first ARE exam the day before, my brain was fried, and I was looking for a relaxing downtime. The travel from the airport to the city center was not exactly world-class. It was very surprising that there was no direct train or subway access. It was a solid 15-minute bus ride and then hopping on the end of the Metro 3 line. Surprisingly, it was not better than a typical New York MTA subway car.

Now, Budapest metro tickets are cheap... I paid about $16 for a five-day pass. It was certainly liberating to see no fare control in the system and just come and go as you wish. At the same time, they were pretty aggressive with catching free-riders. When I ran into the first checker on my ride, I thought she was trying to sell me something. In fact, during our stay in Budapest, there are ticket checkers half of the time. That was quite a higher percentage than in Scandinavia, for sure. We twice ran into the same old lady ticket checker on the vintage Metro 1 Line. And we loved the way she busted the guy sitting next to us. We talked about asking her for a picture if we ran into her the third time.

Anyone could afford the elegance of the Szechenyi Bath.

Budapest was also the first time we tried out Airbnb. Well, that could have been a whole other post. But I am quite happy to say that it is quite a bit of saving, and our little place was managed and perhaps owned by a hotel across the street. Brian was obsessed with that connection; I suppose it was somehow not an authentic Airbnb experience. On the other hand, the little studio apartment was located at the heart of the Jewish Quarter, where all the clubs and restaurants are located. It is somewhat a Williamsburg of Hungary.

Our first order business was to tackle the famous bathhouse. Of the three recommended by Rick Steves and most guidebooks, we went for the one classified as the most intimidating, the Rudas Bath. It is the least touristy of the three and most clearly best resembles its Turkish root. I took a little convincing from Brian to try the Speedo on. I picked Rudas because it is the most indoor of the three, closest to our apartment, and it is best to dive right into the experience. The bath was quite an experience, and in the interest of not making this blog post too long, I will do a separate blog post about it. Our first night was rather low-key but typical of our time in Budapest. Bath and food are the highlights of this lovely city. Unlike our previous trip, I thoroughly researched restaurants in Budapest, bringing us to our first-night dinner at Zeller Bistro.

View of the infamous Széchenyi Chain Bridge from Buda Hill.

Hungarian food may not be considered equal to French or Italian food, but we happened to have some of the most splendid meals here. Of our ten meals, four of them stood out. Looking back, we did not go to a Hungarian restaurant in Budapest. Zeller Bistro represents our food experience in Hungary well. In a good European fashion, the service was slow but courteous. There seems to be pride in service; the wine, in particular, was excellent. Every dish we had was meticulously presented, flavorful, and seasonal. At Zeller, the obvious highlight was the foie gras creme brûlée. There were bits of black flakes that were so yummy and delicious that we wished we should have asked. Of course, that was our introduction to Hungarian wine. Even the little free apple champagne was refreshing and delicious. Like many restaurants, many of the top restaurateurs in the city also operate their own vineyards. The bill, which came out to around $25 each, made me happy at the end.

The dinner the next night was equally memorable, if not more. Earlier that day, we spent the morning touring the Great Synagogue and the Jewish Quarter. So what was more appropriate than a nice Jewish meal right at the heart of the Jewish Quarter? Just five minutes on foot away, Macesz Bistro served up a good selection of kosher meals. I have a very limited concept of Jewish cuisine and Hungarian Jewish food. We each got a different tasting menu, with mine being more traditional and Kosher than Brian's. My tasting menu includes Jewish-style egg, stuffed goose neck, matzo ball soup, egg cholent, and flondi.

I admit I was jealous of Brian's modern set menu because it has all the fancy ingredients. But at the end of the day, I was happy to have an authentic Jewish experience. Even the supposedly no-fuss matzo ball soup was divine. But what made this meal memorable was the wine pairing. They paired one glass with each dish, and Brian had one of those epiphanies with this white one and his salmon celery puree dish. On its own, the wine was acidic and sour but instantly delectable with the fish. It was a truly cathartic food experience. I got to try the famous Tokaji sweet wine. Little did I know this was the "wine of kings"” I guess I have a royal taste and who doesn't like drinking a velvety honey wine?

Talking about Jewish heritage, it is a big part of any visit to Central Europe. The marquee Jewish site in the city was for sure the Great Synagogue, the second largest in the world and surprisingly well-preserved. As much as we were amazed by the architecture of the place, we were equally frustrated with the guided tours. At $20, it is one of the most expensive sights, and we thought a guided tour would make it more meaningful. We have proved wrong, especially since they changed the tour time to earlier and thus missed most of the information. The second part of the tour around the neighborhood was not any better. Our guide called in sick, and then we had to ambush another English-speaking guide 30 minutes later. While she was good, there was not much more information that we could get from the Rick Steves guidebook.

My complaints aside, the Jewish Ghetto is a beautiful place that was hard to imagine. It sheltered so many painful memories. The experience of Hungarian Jews is among the most heartbreaking, especially considering the non-existent Jewish community in Hungary today. On the other hand, tourism at the Jewish sites is alive and well; several smaller synagogues were undergoing extensive renovation with or without government funding. In a way, that is more constructive than reproducing a phantom community of the past. It is to forgive but never forget.

Raoul Wallenberg Holocaust Memorial Park.

So one thing people always describe in Budapest as "grand" is. Despite being continuously settled for over two millenniums, there is virtually no trace of its medieval past. Today's Budapest is the grand stage erected by and for the Habsburg Empire. As a co-capital of one of the largest empires of the time, Budapest was elevated as an equal to Vienna. This was particularly evident in Pest, the business-oriented city, which was laid with grand ring boulevards and lined with stately government buildings.

Buda, on the other hand, is more charming and romantic. Home to the royal palaces and the national cathedral, the Buda has long been home to the Hungarian elites and intelligentsia. What we enjoyed about this city was the contrast of the topography between Buda and Pest. There is a level of diversity that goes with the coherency of the urban fabric. There is a certain level of transition that has taken place. The strand of hyper-capitalism after the end of Communism was evident, and there was a clear transient quality to it; I know all of that will likely be gone in a generation. Perhaps that is another good reason to return a few years from now.

The Budapest Opera House, a mini replica of that of Vienna’s.

The stately Hungarian State Opera House was one of the first buildings we visited. It may not be the most imposing structure, but it does show the inspiration for a city to be respected. The guided tour itself was quite chaotic. I would never expect to be on an English tour with 120 other tourists. Even after they split us into three groups, it seemed like we were being herded from one corner of the building to the next. It certainly was not worth the $10 admission, but it was a great way to spend 90 minutes while it was pouring rain outside. There were very much a lot of details that could be glossed over, but it is the mini-concert that was memorable for perhaps the wrong reason. I would have thought they would do a couple of arias in the main auditorium to highlight the perfect acoustic. Instead, we were crowded on the steps of the grand staircase... unreal.

Just a couple blocks from the Opera House was the House of Terror, a museum dedicated to the victims of the totalitarian rules by the Nazis, the Red Arrow Party, and the Soviets. The museum is housed in the former headquarters of the spy agency both during the Nazi and the Communist era. Rick Steves highly recommended the museum, but surprisingly, there was a long line when we arrived. It was frustrating but nevertheless good to know that a good museum explores the tragic history of intolerance. But unlike the Museum of Occupation in Riga or Tallinn, the focus was not just against the foreign intruders. Hungary has to face a much more introspective view of the unfortunate past. It is still not clear whether this is a process of reconciliation with those collaborated Hungarian communist authorities. It is not clear whether the museum was a place of healing or a place of resentment. I will have to judge myself next time I am in Budapest.

Up the Andrássy út is the Hősök Tere, the main formal entry to the City Park. If there is one space in the city that conveys the formalism of Budapest, this will be it. Just like any grand Baroque space, it is for show and nothing else. Low-rise mansions and apartment blocks surround the City Park. Even though there are plenty of monuments in the park, we were there for the Szechenyi Baths. Along the way, they were greeted with monuments like the impressive Baroque boathouse and the pseudo-Transylvanian castle built for the millennium celebrations.

The City Park is also the latest canvas for the edifice complex of the current government. There have been endless architectural competitions recently. The Nationalist government wanted to move all the museums out of Castle Hill and the Royal Palace. Instead, the government will reclaim the space vacated. Budapest is also one of three candidates cities for the 2024 Olympics. It is perhaps inherently risky to have a small nation host the Olympics. Just look at Greece!

Budapest - Park.jpg — City Park Boat House.

Perhaps the one disappointment with Budapest was the Grand Marketplace. The market is magnificent and impressive, one of the grand structures built for the millennium celebration. However, the experience itself was far from perfect. We came here after our tour of the Jewish Quarter. We were starving, and I insisted on bringing Brian to the Market to try the famous langos. What is the best way to describe langos? Well, it is a piece of fried bread with various toppings. From sour cream to cucumber, the topping options are technically endless. Brian was genuinely upset with Rick Steves' recommendation to have langos there. Despite the enormous hall, all the hot food vendors are located upstairs in the gallery. It was a hot mess of a situation with crowds (of tourists, I assume), and it took us ten minutes to get through the 100-foot passageway.

Even though the langos stand at the Grand Marketplace is universally written up in all the guidebooks. We were surprised to find that there was only one stand and the line was out of control. It was a solid 15-minute wait, and the displayed samples were hardly appetizing. I stuck with the traditional topping, while Brian opted for the pepperoni and salad topping. Now, this is a fried bread and not surprisingly oily. I did not necessarily dislike it, but it was certainly a big letdown regarding food in Budapest. Brian was disgusted by langos, and I don't blame him. The environment was not entirely pleasant or sanitary.

Langos aside, I was surprised by how proper the produce section was. Perhaps we were there at the wrong time; there seemed to be a lack of energy in the main food hall. While the displays were beautiful, they did not have the local vibrancy I imagined. Perhaps we should have swung by just after office work hours. Don't get me wrong... it is a beautiful structure. However, its grandness and orderliness convey a sense of a museum piece rather than the bustle of the indoor market.

Kossuth Memorial by the Parliament Building.

Blocks away from the marketplace are the Bálna Shopping Center. It is one of the very few modern buildings in the center of Budapest. It helped set a relaxing pace with no need to rush to the city's outskirts to see some contemporary architecture. Bálna Center was my adaptive reuse project, especially on utilitarian architecture like an abandoned warehouse. Unfortunately, it was situated far apart from the rest of the city fabric. What modern intervention is appropriate for a place like Budapest? Because of my own reservation, I was beyond thrilled to discover the contemporary architecture that is underground. Although contemporary stations like Szent Gellért tér are far between, it is still very exciting. Unlike their counterpart in Stockholm, the spaces are not theatrical but nevertheless impressive, considering how utilitarian it is. I could easily imagine similarly embellishing NYC subway stations.

Just before we headed to Keleti Station to board our train to Bratislava, we spent some time in the area of St. Stephen's Basilica. Located just a short walk from our apartment, there is a very easy-going vibe here. A few days earlier, we were at a casual wine bar, DiVino, watching the sunray hitting the church graciously. It is a nice and slow pace atmosphere that really embodied the good living in Budapest. We were pleasantly surprised by what a good time we had in the city; here is a relaxing pace of life here. Despite having numerous sites, the city is a joy to stroll and people watch. During our last dinner in town, we talked about how this is a town that we would return to in a heartbeat. All the attractions and thermal bath aside, it is a great town for foodies and the simple pleasure in life. I could hope that one day they will restore the non-stop flight between New York and Budapest.

▲

Budapest - The Imperial Grandeur

Baltic Way - Unbroken Chain For Freedom

Tartu - The Soul of Estonian Nation