Hungary - Budapest

I first learned about Hungary and its capital city of Budapest from Batman, my favorite superhero.  I know, he can’t fly or run at the speed of sound, and bullets don’t bounce off his hide, but he’s a self-made, brooding crimefighter with a dark edge, a lot of money, and a batcave housing a tricked-out batmobile.  In the autumn of 1976, I curled up on my bed with the latest edition of the Batman comic book purchased with pocket change from the convenience store located at the top of my neighborhood.  Back in those days, a kid could venture out from home without fear of abduction and be rewarded with the satisfying bubblegum and candy smelling whoosh from opening the 7-Eleven door.  Sometimes I had money to spare and supplemented my monthly comic book purchases with a Coke Slurpee, the ultimate frozen beverage.  I loved comic books back then, and I found the sleek artwork and dark storylines extremely compelling even though they were mostly over my pre-teen head.  In issue number 281 of the Batman comic book, the Dark Knight travels to the capital of Hungary, and I was introduced to an exotic, dangerous-sounding city deep in communist territory.  Now I’m in Budapest….just like Batman.

We left Krakow, Poland at 8:00 Sunday morning on a six-hour journey bound for Budapest, Hungary, on a Lux Express bus.  The coach was roomy and comfortable with working video monitors, wifi, and excellent free coffee, which made Lux Express a capital outfit in my estimation.  The bus was about half capacity, and we stretched out in our seats ready to relax after a 5:30 wake-up and a harried morning of pre-travel preparation.  On our way out of the city, the bus passed by our neighborhood at the edge of the Jewish Quarter, and we had one last early-morning look at our familiar buildings and churches perched above the Vistula River with swirling vapor hovering near the surface of the water.

Our route to Budapest took us almost due south through Slovakia over the Tafta and Lower Tafta mountain ranges.  I had planned to sleep during a major portion of this journey, but the view from the bus window kept me from my slumber as we passed one natural wonder after another.  The colors of autumn had crept into the lower elevations, and orange-tipped maples stood closely with drooping evergreens cut through with the flow of slate-blue rivers, which the bus followed at a measured pace.  On two occasions about thirty miles apart, the low mountains divided, and the river expanded to expose huge islands with sheer evergreen-covered slopes capped with medieval castles that seemed to be ordered extensions of the stony summits.  As we ascended higher into the ranges, the contours of the mountains became more defined by grassy balds, their sides dotted with clumps of trees that looked like green gumdrops placed at random.  At the highest pass surrounded by snow-capped peaks, the driver pulled into the parking lot of a ski resort and launched into a lengthy monologue in some Slavic tongue, which I assumed to be an informative description of the beautiful area in which we were traveling, and finally, switching to Count-Dracula-accented English, he uttered tersely, “ten-minute break.”

We ate a quick lunch of egg salad sandwiches, and during the remainder of the bus ride, Joseph and Deveny were comfortable in their seats lost in the video offerings of Lux Express while Deena and I managed to get some intermittent periods of sleep.  We rolled into the grey-concrete-blocky outskirts of Budapest about 2:00 and began collecting our gear ready to escape the confines of the coach.  Instead of a regular transport terminal, the bus pulled into a large litter-strewn parking lot and drew up next to a numbered curb signaling the end of our journey—I don’t remember Batman making his Hungarian arrival in such rudimentary fashion.  After collecting our luggage, we marched about one-hundred metres to the Nepliget metro station and made quick work of buying tickets and finding our train platform.  Twenty minutes and four stops later, we ascended into the busy streets of Budapest and after a four-block walk, we were met by our host, Laszlo, who gave us the keys to the flat we’re calling home for the next seven days.  We were thankful for one of the least stressful transportation-to-accommodation transitions we’ve experienced so far.

After abiding tight quarters in Krakow, our apartment in Budapest seems like stately Wayne Manor with a separate bedroom, a roomy bath, large kitchen, and a sitting area with a sofa that converts to a bed.  The sunflower-yellow walls are topped with twelve-foot ceilings bordered with reclaimed timber beams.  The rooms are trimmed with moldings, casings, and doors that have been stripped and refinished with a rich walnut stain, left unvarnished giving the space a comfortable rustic feel.  We love it.  The flat is located on the second floor over a cafe in the corner of a five-story building one block from the the Danube River right by the Liberty Bridge. Our front window looks out on Vaci Street, a major pedestrian-only avenue lined with shops and restaurants running parallel to the river.  Across the street behind our building there is a sprawling meat and produce market housed in a former transport depot with a basement occupied by a well-stocked Aldi supermarket.  We rested from our travels a bit before venturing out for some light exploration and finished our day by diving right into Hungarian culture with a tantalizing three-course dinner from Burger King.

Our Apartment Window

Just like home...kinda

Neighborhood restaurant...we're staying out of this one

Next day, I fried ham slices in butter to accompany toast and jam for breakfast, and we lazily started our week in Budapest.  Amongst other conveniences in the kitchen, there is a coffee machine similar to a Keurig, and after my second cup of strong Sicilian blend, I deemed this appliance, like our printer in Potsdam, A Gift From the Lord.  The geraniums in our window box were bright red in the mid-morning sun as the children got into some schoolwork, and Deena and I investigated a walking tour for the afternoon.  We try to schedule these tours on the first day in a large city so we can immediately get a handle on the history and workings of our new temporary home.  We always select the free walking tours which allow for tipping the guides based on their performance—we haven’t been disappointed yet, and we tip our guides generously.  Evidently there is friction going on between outfits offering free tours and companies charging for their services, but we like the free-tour format and will continue to use it as long as it’s available and stay off the travel blogs that feed fuel into the fire of travel drama.

We met our group at the Lion Fountain and set off on a five-kilometer, three-hour odyssey that took us from the heart of the business district across the Danube to the sweeping views of Fisherman’s Bastion high in the hills above the city.  Our guide, Daniel, was a native Hungarian with a twinkle in his ice blue eyes and one of the longest, thickest, most perfectly groomed beards I’ve ever seen.  We learned first how to correctly pronounce the name of the city which is Buda-pesht, like one would say it after consuming a couple glasses of fine Hungarian wine.  Daniel then told us about the one-thousand-year-old history surrounding the towns of Buda and Pest, across the Danube from each other. In the late 19th century, they combined to form a unified Budapest, the capital city of Hungary.  With a population of two-million people, a strong economy, and postcard-worthy views, Budapest is called the Paris of eastern Europe.  

Chain Bridge

As we crossed the legendary Chain Bridge on our way up into the hills, we looked down and saw mid-sized cruise ships navigating the swiftly-flowing waters of the Danube which link several European capitals.  We stopped for a short coffee break before climbing multiple sets of stairs ending at the Buda Castle and the medieval streets leading to the Fisherman’s Bastion, the final stop on our tour.  The sky was taking on the hues of sunset with layers of watery blue, pink, and soft purple behind the dark line of the hills beyond the city.  From the height of our view, the fading sunlight gave the buildings and spires along the Danube a soft cream-colored glow, and we beheld Budapest in multiple layers of perspective, each one a delight and an inspiration to know more.

Looks like a mural

Budapest