Again, in the spirit of #JUSTGO, we scrapped the idea of Kyoto geisha/ninja reveries in the 11th hour for somewhere a lil colder & a lil less trodden on - BUDAPEST.
Our inbound/outbound on Qatar Airways was pretty seamless, we had a whole row to ourselves on the way out (Excellent, QR, excellent). Upon arrival we we greeted by chilly winds and effortlessly manoeuvered our way to our oh so beautiful apartment in Hariz Koz near Vaci Street on the Pest side where Agnes warmly explained the fixtures of our abode for the next 5 days. So cosy & perfect for two and better than any suite I've ever stayed in...it felt like home.We spent our first night exploring the life by the riverbanks of the Danube & drawn by the Giant Eye of Budapest, we stumbled upon a lil Christmas market with spicy gluhwein & rosti!
Day 2
We started the day walking along the Erzebet/Elizabeth Bridge over to the Buda side of the city where we trailed the perimeter of Buda Castle searching for brunch. Our trusty Tripadvisor app pointed us towards (WHATS THE NAME OF THE RESTAURANT???) and we had one of the best goulash and grilled chicken decked with a very generous chuck of slightly seared mozzarella. Here was also our first encounter with Hungarian wine which become a standard accompaniment for almost every meal.
Post awesome brunch we explored the vicinity of Buda Castle, a magnificent fortress overlooking the city. From there we visited the war museum and had a cake+cuppa breather in a cafe which made strudels that would prove offensive to Germans.
Shortly after sunset (5pm???), we made our way back to Pest to catch our night cruise on the Danube...3 glasses of champagne, live music by a violin-violin-viola trio & 90 mins ride cost something like RM80/pax. Amazing.
Well then. It seems that I am unable to edit existing posts. Michele has done one on Budapest already so I'll just butt in here with my two cents of the 6 days we had alternating between Buda and Pest.
It all began in 2009 on a cruise on the Austrian Danube. The crisp chill of the December air called for wine and cigars on the top deck of our boat as it made its way upstream amidst wooded banks on either side. I was in love.
Michele shared with me some lovely images of Cappadocia, of Fairy Chimneys, hot air balloons and cute little houses carved into rock. I see your rocks, I raise you a river. I had no pictures of the Danube then as we exchanged Whatsapp messages one lazy evening, save for what I had carried with me in memory.
Now, Istanbul, of course is another story, for another post.
Cut to 2014, "Let's go to Budapest, its got the Danube running through it!" said the Bunny in one of her random outbursts. Well, instead of asking why, I say, why not! A little bit of background here. I do not actively seek travel, because I do not know what I want to see of the world. I am instead ever open to suggestions, with one place as good as any as I come unencumbered with expectations. So far this policy has served me well. Memories of travel through Istanbul still lingered, and a getaway with Michele was a much needed change of scenery. It took all of 10 minutes to say yes to that.
Prior to departure I had read up a little about the history of Hungary. From what I can remember, Hungary was carved up in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles (truly, the pen is mightier) and later found itself between the Red Army and the Nazi's. Allying with the latter, they again found themselves on the losing side of World War 2 and soon became a part of the Soviet Union, its people having suffered atrocities at the hands of both. To this stood the House of Terror, which stood inconspicuously along what I remember to be the Champs Elysees of Budapest, a long stretch of road ending with Heroes Square (which was more like a semi-circle). But enough about history, on to the present.
If there was one thing I picked up from the Bunny, it is that the world is to be enjoyed through its food. Really. Think about it. The British went all the way to India for spices. Ghandi marched for salt. The Americans threw tea into the Hudson river. Okay, so the latter two aren't exactly on point, but I wasn't really expecting anyone to pay that much attention here :p Where do I begin?
For one, the amazing Kartoffelpuffer, or, as the Bunny calls it, Rosti. Essentially, shredded potatoes marinated in spiced batter and then deep fried in what I have come to suspect is lard, until crisp and golden brown on the outside and moist and puffy on the inside. About the size of a dinner plate, we had one for each night we were there without fail to go with steaming hot cup of gluhwein, spiced red wine with cinnamon, star aniseed, oranges, and chillies. Hot food and drink undoubtedly go well with cold weather.
And what better way to come in from the cold to a hot bowl of Hungarian Goulash! This humble meat soup became our staple for the week where the day simply couldn't start without a thought paid to where next we could try a different kitchen's take on it. Not to be outdone, the little Jewish cafe we happened upon served a killer helping of garlic soup topped with freshly grated cheddar which took me back to Old BSC and the Austrian restaurant at the foodcourt, Kaiserhoff, which garlic soup lingers like an itch yearning to be scratched. Bunny had hers with beef brisket (I don't believe the Hungarians have a word for "vegetarian" - everything was loaded with meat) which was less tendon-y and more meaty than I would have expected. While plus points are definitely given to having such soul warmers in the chill of autumn, I still maintain that Jake's in Damansara serves up the best Hungarian Goulash ever. So bunny and I are saving that up for when nostalgia hits hard. Any day now!
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