Hungry in Hungary

Look at me updating this thing! Perhaps it’s the sheer amount of work pressure, but I constantly find myself looking for other things to do that don’t include writing reports for work, or developing new training materials. Strange isn’t it. Well let’s make the most of it.

In May, I returned from New Zealand, and immediately needed a holiday, taking off with a friend on a semi-impromptu trip to Budapest for a long weekend. Flying straight from Bournemouth, the trip was one of the most painless I’ve experienced, with seamless security checks, and fast immigration processes.

Arriving to a city baking in the sun, it was a hot day of walking around enjoying the sights and sounds of the Pest side of the river. Clocking up 20km on the first day, we stopped past the Hungarian Parliament, Shoes on the Danube, St Stephens Basilica, Dohany Street Synangue, and ended at Mazel Tov Bar for some traditional Jewish sweets. After retreating from the heat of the day, we decided on a late dinner of Mexican food and drink – not quite the Hungarian delicacy we had imagined, but delicious none the less.

Day 2 saw us heading to the Széchenyi Thermal Bath, a beautifully ornate building containing up to 18 different thermal baths and sauna’s. Starting in the outdoor pools, we moved ourselves around the complex, discovering light sauna’s, steam rooms, cooling dip pools, and my absolute favourite, a salt room, where the air felt soft and delectable. We had aimed to spend a few hours at the Baths, but after a break for some deep fried cheese and hot chips for lunch, we found that we were able to entertain ourselves (read: sit and doze in the water) well into the evening. For anyone wanting to explore the baths, it is much cheaper to buy tickets at the complex than be conned by the various websites stating they were helping you cut the lines. If you get in before 10am, the lines are minimal, and the locals are slowly leaving before the tourists arrive in hordes. Again, we ended the day eating anything but Hungarian food, choosing an all-you-can-eat Sushi resturant on the way back to the hotel.

Out last full day in Budapest took us to the Pest side of the city, and up towards the Castle. We explored the Central Market Hall, caffeinated up, and started towards the Gellert Hill, aiming for the Budapest Castle Hill Funicular. Heading up the hill, we were greeted with the changing of the guards, and realised once we returned to the UK, that a new Prime Minister was being sworn in that weekend, meaning that the official residence on the hill was in a state of change over. Again, it was a day of walking and views, and I’ve never been so glad for sturdy sneakers and sunscreen.

And finally, we headed to Margaret Island, a peaceful island in the Danube between Buda and Pest, home to some medieval ruins, lots of sporting facilities, and some friendly bars. By this stage, I was fighting a blister on the bottom of my foot, and was feeling the effects of a few solid days of walking the city, but it was a thoroughly wonderful trip away with great company. There is far too much to see in Budapest for only a few days, especially if you are one for museums and history, but I feel we were able to explore a lot of the city, and get a full feel for the culture.