After leaving Bratislava, we embarked on the second leg of our journey, Budapest. Our hotel was located in the heart of the old Jewish Quarter, so we were surrounded by nightlife and were just around the corner from the famous Szimpla Kert ruin bar.
With most of our time in Budapest being taken up by the Formula 1, we wanted to squeeze as much tourism into day one as possible.
First up was the Dohány Street Synagogue, located close to our hotel, the largest Synagogue in Europe. Destroyed by air raids during World War II, it reopened during the communist era, but was only fully repaired post-communism in the 90s with the renovation finalised by private donations in 1998.
The most striking aspect of the Synagogue to me, was the constant, heavy police presence, which is extremely saddening to see in modern society. People should be able to worship in peace without hatred, especially in an area that was home to so much death caused by hatred within living memory.
After the synagogue, we headed towards St. Stephen’s Basilica, on our way to Budapest’s parliament building. The basilica is one of the tallest buildings in Budapest, with its dome built to be the same height as the Parliament building. It’s a massive, imposing structure, with a large square in front of it. The square is dotted with little cafes, restaurants and bars, and is part of the more pricey area of Budapest.
The Parliament Building was a short walk from the Basilica, where we saw the “shoes on the Danube” memorial, commemorating the Jews who were murdered on the river bank by the Nazi collaborating fascists, the Arrow Cross party.
One of many memorials through Budapest commemorating the victims of the Nazis and their collaborators, including many Stolperstein scattered through the city’s streets at the last known residents of victims of the Third Reich.
Hunger was setting in, so we eagerly searched for somewhere to sample some Hungarian food. We entered one of the cafes in the vicinity and I tried a local paprika catfish dish (which was to die for).
We proceeded onwards to flipper museum, a museum containing vintage arcade machines and an array of pinball museums, some older than imaginable. There were pinball machines for almost every brand you could think of too, Simpsons, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, South Park, you name it, it was probably there. And your admittance ticket allows unlimited plays inside. It’s an experience I highly recommend.
When we finished up in the pinball museum, we began venturing back to our hotel, and whilst in the centre, we noticed a commotion around the entrance to one of the hotels, so decided to investigate. The Mercedes F1 team we’re staying in the Ritz Carlton, and George Russell, one of their drivers had came out to interact with fans.
I’ll do an additional post detailing our experience with the F1 (and tips of how to get tickets/get there), and will keep this one limited to Budapest itself.
After snapping a few pics of George Russell, we returned back to the area around our hotel and went to Szimpla Kert, the most famous ruin bar in Budapest, and it’s an intriguing experience. A hipster haven with disco balls converted to flower pots, alcohol flowing, an array of clientele from every walk of life all interacting in harmony, and it gave off such good vibes. It’s a must visit should you ever find yourself in Budapest.
We freshened up a little in our hotel after Szimpla Kert and then explored the area a little, grabbing food in Karavan next to Szimpla Kert, which was a large outdoor market with different food trucks serving an array of different food options. Here I had a Langos burger, which was deep fried bread with meat in between. It was okay.
After food here, we returned to the hotel and we were called it a night as we’d an early start with the formula one the following day.
The first day of F1 was pretty hectic. We spent the entirety of the day exploring the track, and when we returned to Budapest, we mainly wanted to eat, have a quick drink and an early night, but one of the hotel staff recommended WarmUp bar opposite to us, a cocktail bar with no menu – where the bar staff will try and make every cocktail tailored to your instructions. Whether by naming a few ingredients, or describing something to them. And the results were gorgeous. I wish there was a WarmUp bar in Belfast.
The next morning, prior to F1, we wanted to check out New York Café – one of the most famous (and gorgeous) Cafes in the world, and after ticking off Central Cafe in Vienna, we felt why not get another. However the line wasn’t moving, and the sun was beginning to cook us, so we opted for a downmarket cafe for breakfast instead.
Fast forward day 2 of F1, to being back in Budapest, we had booked a Prosecco Cruise along the Danube, to get a brief history of the city, and views of some of the more famous landmarks lit up at night time.
This cruise was breathtaking – and the only thing that would have made it better was having it to ourselves (sadly we had a group of unruly, obnoxious sorority/frat kids onboard with us from the far side of the Atlantic). But what can you do? These kids have rich parents who paid for them to go away for the summer. If I had the money, and they were my kids, I’d have sent them away too.
Getting to/from the F1 on the day of the actual race was chaotic. So we didn’t have time to do much when we returned to Budapest. Leaving us with Monday to squeeze in everything else.
First up on our last day was a trip to the Buda side of the river, to see Buda Castle, the ornate building offers amazing views across the city, and the famous “Fisherman’s Bastion”, the instagrammer haven where you’ll wait for the influencers to vacate a window to allow you to view the sights.
After leaving the castle, we travelled to Central Market, a large market hall back on the Pest side of the river. There are food stalls amongst all the clothes and Knick knacks.
However, the lines encouraged us to search elsewhere for food, and we opted for the nearby Café Mézes Sörözó, where I had a delicious local style soup, and goulash.
After this, we planned on taking a dip in the Scéchenyi Bath, so travelled out by the subway, however once there, we encountered a 45 minute line, so opted to take a cold shower back at our hotel instead, before having a small pub crawl around our hostel.
ParaNoir was a cool horror themed ruin bar, Klub Vitulla was another ruin bar we came across, perhaps the cheapest from my trip there. Quiet with locals, whilst Szimpla Kert had a larger, tourist crowd. It was a nice break from normality, and Nomad, a bar designed for tourists to mingle with an array of international drinks on offer. And finally Red Ruin, a communist themed ruin bar, that wasn’t great. You can skip it if you’re ever in the vicinity.
We were exhausted after a long day sightseeing, and a weekend jam packed with car racing, so we had an early enough last night. But I can’t stress how fun Budapest as a city is.
Budapest truly is an amazing city, and one of my favourites I’ve been to thus far. I have a deep desire to return to experience the baths properly, to see Memento Park, and just spend a bit more time exploring this phenomenal city.
