I could not believe the main item on my shopping list in Budapest was paprika and here we were in the iconic Central Market Hall buying it by the bushels. (What have I come to?!) The smiling sales lady did not seem surprised, guiding us adeptly through the different varieties and with a surreptitious look around I realised I was not the only Indian around. Have we lost taste for our homegrown fiery chillies? Sacrilege!! But, traditional Hungarian goulash would be just another stew without that smoked paprika…
For me, in Europe the number one destination had always been Budapest and then Prague but when the man suggested adding it, as rather an appendage to a packed itinerary, I was reluctant but in the spirit of carpe diem I agreed. Budapest was a blur of 24 hours and we made the most of them, planning smartly. Sprinkled with a liberal dose of serendipity, like the paprika in the goulash, it turned out be a special sampling!
The hilly Buda and the flat Pest, conjoined names with distinct entities came together as one entity only as late as the 18th century to form one of Europe’s biggest capitals. Imagine the sprawl of the city which houses almost one third of Hungary, which once, along with Vienna was the co-capital of the Austro-Hungarian empire. The Turks also ruled here, their legacy the famous hammams or baths that channelize the natural springs spouting healing waters here.
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Time is of the Essence
With absolute paucity of time, walking was unfortunately the first to take a leap out of the window. Budapest, like all European cities has a plethora of good walking tours to choose from but none matched our time there. What we took instead, was a 24 hour pass that gave us seamless access to the metro and trams and buses.
The afternoon we arrived we spent in Buda side and the following morning we explored the Pest Castle Quarter, not wasting time in doing to and fro.
Szia Budapest
We reach Budapest at noon, willing to get into the expensive cab ride from the railway station to our stay but no one is willing to take us. So, back we go into the station and down to the metro underneath it. A tram ride and a short walk follows, bringing us to our accommodation in District V. Quickly settling into the spacious apartment where a very thoughtful personal note for the man has been kept, we head out.
Minarets and Markets
In the bustling streets of District V we discover there are enough restaurants and grocers catering for familiar, closer-to-home palate. At a crowded square we find thronging groups being taken inside a distinctly Moorish brick building. We stop to admire at the Dohany Street Synagogue, the biggest in Europe. With its onion domed minarets and exposed brick finish, it is unlike anything around. Made in the last century, it served the huge local Jew population and in the Second World War it marked the edge of the Jewish ghetto. Today it feels like a pilgrimage place with the complex housing a functional synagogue, a museum, a holocaust memorial amongst other parts.
Then we make a beeline to the Central Market or Great Market Hall. This brick, iron and glass structure topped with a colourfully tiled roof is the largest and oldest market place in the city. The green and yellow Zsolnay tiles look warm in the evening light. In the vaulted interiors we find groceries (paprika!!), fresh produce, souvenirs, local handicrafts et al. Closing time is upon us so there is no time to linger and sample the street food available here.
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By the Danube
We catch tram number two from the intersection nearby for some spectacular sightseeing along the river front. The Danube, barely blue here, still has all the important monuments facing it. We alight at the parliament building to take in the humongous neo-gothic structure with perfectly symmetrical wings spreading on either side of a central cupola reminiscent of an Italian renaissance church.
Two regal lions with their noses in the air and coiffed manes guard the entrance. Sadly it is not possible to take a tour of the interiors or waltz down the waters of the river to see it all lit up in the night. A lot of renovation work is going on around the expansive square but it is artfully camouflaged behind screens draped on the building with the purported final design printed on it. One can see the eventual façade long before it materialises.
We stroll to the promenade by the river where the holocaust memorial- Shoes on the Danube Bank is. The brilliance of this poignant memorial lies in its simplicity. Cast iron shoes, of men, women and children point, a little accusingly perhaps, at the river which swallowed the Jews shot here after being made to take off their shoes. They are a moving reminder of the horrors meted out during the Second World War. The sun sets in a fiery orb, radiating light like the star it is, between the spires of a church across the river.
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Tea or Tipple and Trdelnik
We retrace our rides and cross the iconic New York Café, rated as the most beautiful café in the world, with its opulent interiors brightly lit. It looks cozily inviting to us pedestrians.
Later we head to sample the night life of Budapest and discover the bar that set the bar, and the trend, is within ambling distance. The crowd is still building up outside the ruins of Szimpla Kert, the original Ruin Bar. The music is pulsating, the setting eclectic and the drinks flow as do people, through the maze of rooms of the dilapidated industrial building living a rocking second life as a party hub. The evening ends on a sweet note with traditional trdelnik, freshly done. The layered pastry dusted with sugar and cinnamon, wrapped around a wooden roller being turned a toasty brown over fire, is demolished as soon as it is warmly served.
Phoenix Fairytale
Early next morning we catch a bus to the base of the Buda Castle quarter. This historic hill, seat of the powers that be, has been reduced to near rubble, rebuilt and redesigned innumerable times since the 10th century. It has survived the Mongol hordes, the Turks, World Wars and the rise and ebb of numerous dynasties. We make short work of the long climb through deserted streets. There are just a handful of people at Fisherman’s bastion, a wall with beautiful arches which make perfect frames for the view- the deep Danube, a natural moat below and the vast expanse of Pest beyond the Parliament. Buda and Pest are bound together by many bridges apart from the famous Chain Bridge.
Chinese couples with their personal paps, make the most of the fairy tale turrets and arches in the morning light. (They know good lighting!) The massive neo-gothic Matthias church towers up and dwarfs everything around. The colourfully tiled roof adds an eclectic element to the pristine white exterior. The slender bell tower soars above even the church.
From the Holy Trinity Square we walk through a lane lined with quaint buildings, one which has a labyrinth underneath where Count Dracula was once held, crossing the Sandor Palace, home to the President, to the Buda Castle which now houses the national library, the historical museum and national gallery but it has not opened yet. Just the impressive statue of the Duke of Savoy is all the company we have.
The clock is ticking and we manage to find steep steps going down the outer wall and from the Chain Bridge we catch a bus and an underground ride back to the flat. It is difficult to rush when Budapest’s blooms beckon a lingering look and last picture. It has been a whirlwind trip to a city that has risen resiliently time and time again. Someday perhaps we will walk into what a peek is all we had time for from the outside.
Fact File–
Getting Around- The Budapest Basic Travel Card(BKK) offers unlimited rides on buses, trams and the metro for different durations. They are available at all transport hubs.
Staying- In the Buda side stay near the Castle area or District I and in Pest in District V or VII. Another option is staying close to the Deak Ferenc ter, a hub where a lot of the metro lines and trams intersect.
