BadPopcorn » Budapest

Budapest

Written by Ben on July 13, 2006 |

I left Vienna on a train for Budapest. The ride was a uneventful, the passing scenery compensated with very beautiful scenery. Oh, and riding first class rocked… nice leather seats, pull down shades, air-conditioning. It was so comfortable that I didn’t get a headache reading Bill Bryson’s “The Lost Continent”– I’m not saying that the book is horrible, it’s actually quite good.

I arrived in the late afternoon; I was met by my host, Reka, at the train station; and we went back to the flat to drop off my stuff. I wasted no time to settle in and went off to see the city. Reka walked me a bit around town for a nice tour, but we parted– some people actually have to go to work– ways and I sat down for some dinner. I ordered the traditional Hungarian Goulash, and I was so hungry that I shoveled it down my throat before I thought to take a picture. I did take a picture of the sweet cottage cheese dumplings served over a sour yogurt and with powdered sugar and honey. The goulash was very tasty and the dumplings topped me off, I actually went into a food coma. I had to walk it off; then called it a night because the walk didn’t wake me up.

Friday, the next day, we went out to a cafe where I tried a local soft drink. I was quite pleased that Reka mentioned the existence of such a pre-1989 Soviet era soft drink. In the day where the almighty Coca-Cola dominates the global market, and squashing smaller local beverage companies, I was glad to try something new (to me). I quite liked the taste of the drink because it reminded me of the “Lemon” soft drinks from Japan– citrus and sweet.

I parted ways with Reka– work responsibilities again– and spent the rest of the day walking about the city… I mean, I really walked and walked and walked… I was so dead tired that it was apparent to others. I would have liked to provide some nice historical (or insightful) stories about the pictures here, but I can only present them as random places in the city of which I mindlessly took pictures:

The following pictures are, however, of the castle located directly west of the river. The climb up to this castle (and the walk down) finished me off. I’m not sure if I was fully able to enjoy the castle, I think my mind shut down when I got there. But I know that I saw no fewer that three churches in that castle… that’s the interesting story I could tell– gosh I was tired.

After spending the rest of that night recuperating, we got up Saturday to visit a small town (used to be a size of a village just a few years ago) about 30 minutes north of Budapest. The town had no tourists when we arrived, but had a fair amount by the time we left. We went for lunch through a back alley up the hill into a small niche where a fast food lunch shop had set up shop… and it sold Lángos (first picture). This treat is a piece of deep fried dough that is traditionally covered in cheese, sour cream, and garlic sauce; I had one with sausages stuffed in the dough. These things are high in calories and fat! It was explain, to me, that the Hungarian people used to be nomadic so they needed foods that could give them enough energy to travel long distances. This dish definitely met those requirements. We sat up at the top of the hill, next to a church, trying to polish off these greasy lumps. I came close, but it KO’d me. We sat around for a time longer so our stomachs could digest. Not that we were in a rush because our plan was to spend the rest of the day leisurely walking through the town and down the river banks; a stop in a garden cafe helped us wake up; and finally left for Budapest when we had enough.

My final full day in Budapest was spent indoors watching DVDs, with a side trip to the Hero’s Square. I got caught in the rain, again. But the rain came down in such a way that gave me a feeling that I haven’t felt since I was a child in Yellowstone National Park. The sun was shining warmth down upon me, the rain came flowing straight down in wide spread drops, and I could look up into the sky and feel it all come down without actually getting wet. It was quite odd, and it was quite euphoric. It’s something that I just can’t properly put to words. Anyways, the rain came down for a good 5 minutes, while I stood in the square gawking, before it stopped. I walked on to the near-by castle– a small thing tucked inside a large park. It was at this castle where the rain really came pouring down soaking everyone to the bone, everyone not standing under the tree. This happened to be the first time I’ve been caught in the rain, while in shorts and unprepared, without getting soaked; it was a sign. I walked back home after the rain stopped (15minutes) and watched DVDs for the rest of the day. It was much needed rest.