Six Bridges on the Danube
Written: Nov 24 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: a good mixture of western and eastern europe, inexpensive, not overcrowded with tourists
Cons: sights are not overwhelmingly impressive, less westernized, and less clean, than e.g. Prague
The Bottom Line: First-time visitors to Eastern Europe could do a lot worse than start here.
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| Marechal_Ney's Full Review: Budapest |
Though I knew very well that it had been years since the collapse of the Iron Curtain, nothing prepared me for how westernized Budapest actually is in the present day. The only remnant of Communism I could immediately distinguish was the rather large proportion of shabby Lada cars on the streets of the Hungarian capital, probably dating back to pre-1990 days (for I doubt Hungarian Lada sales are all that significant now).
Tourism has, of course, expanded rapidly since the Soviet Union’s decline, and we were given ample indication of this over an hour before actually arriving in Budapest, when, on the train, we were given free maps of the city by young representatives of the Budapest Tourist Board (or something of the sort). Another representative of the same organization, after finding out that we had already reserved a quad room at the Hostel Landler, directed us to their free minibus service outside the train station. This entailed a journey across Budapest in a rundown 9-seater van, with an unresponsive driver; but we could not complain, since the trip was free, and saved us a great deal of hassle with public transportation and orientation.
The Hostel Landler itself was a much less impressive proposition, though fittingly inexpensive at 3000 forints ($10.46) per person per night. One of the so-called “summer hostels”, in practice this meant that Landler was nothing more than lived-in university dorms that had become temporarily free over the holidays. Adorned with worn students’ posters on the wall, the room itself was of adequate size - as it should have been, since it was the abode of no less than four university students during term time. The bathrooms and showers were, however, seemingly reminiscent of an army barracks. The showers were vaguely divided into cubicles, with no shower curtains, and emitted a single, solid (and thus uncomfortable) stream of water when used. The toilets had a fearful tendency to either fail to flush, or to run out of toilet paper, thus making the utilization of altogether more acceptable bathroom services in restaurants crucially important.
Budapest is actually an amalgamation of two separate “cities”, Buda and Pest, which are divided by the renowned Danube River. The Hostel Landler was located in Buda, so we decided to explore this side of the river first. Here, in heavy rain, we walked to the Castle District, on a hill near the river. The Matthias Church proved suitably impressive, and made quite a change from other European cathedrals, with its elegant patchwork of aquamarine, yellow, green, white, and maroon roof tiles. The Fisherman’s Bastion, a stone’s throw from the church, offered a great view of the city, spoiled only by the adverse weather conditions. Eventually, we found ourselves in the Castle grounds. The rain had not abated, and an abortive attempt to exit the castle and descend towards our hostel was thwarted by an iron gate. Dejected, we were nearly tempted to take a taxi back, but decided otherwise when a surprisingly honest taxi driver (there are, unfortunately, not a great deal of these to be found in Europe) informed us that our proposed journey would take at least half an hour, on account of traffic.
A few hours’ rest after a tiring return journey meant that we only left the hostel, in search of dinner, after 2100. We soon gathered that it was too late (!) to find any open restaurants in this part of Buda – in the end, we had no choice but to dine at Pizza Hut.
The next day, after once again braving the necessary discomfort of the showers, we walked into Pest. The first brief stop was the Hungarian National museum, with an entry fee of only 300 forints ($1.05). This contained one principal exhibit on Hungarian history from before the 9th century AD to the present day. This was just passable, as far as museums go, with significant emphasis on the wars with the Turks. Most of the labels were in English as well as Hungarian, though there were a surprising number that the museum staff seemingly could not be bothered with, as far as translations were concerned.
The next sight we encountered was St. Stephen’s Basilica, one of Budapest’s main attractions. A marvelous white dome, and an awe-inspiring interior, was feast enough for the eyes. Unfortunately, I could not help but be disappointed at my failure to see Saint Stephen’s mummified right hand, a religious relic reportedly held on public display somewhere within the basilica. I now know that the relic is to be found only after paying to go up the Panorama tower, which at the time I had dismissed as one of the least logical places for it to be held.
After an amusing incident in which one of my friends was fined 1500 forints ($5.23) for showing up on the subway platform without a ticket (the regrettable thing being that he had never intended to take the Metro in the first place), we proceeded along the Andrássy Út to Heroes’ Square, this time in the baking heat of a sunny day. We took a few pictures in the big square (about which we knew next to nothing, having failed to bring “Let’s Go Europe” with us), and then proceeded to the outside of Vajdahunyad Castle in the nearby park. This was supposedly built in a combination of Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque styles, though the time period of its construction, and the precise purpose for which it was built, are unclear to me even now.
Budapest was the cheapest place we had visited, especially as far as eating out goes. Massive three-course meals could be had for less than 1700 forints ($5.93), complete with the Hungarian specialty, Goulash soup. Public transportation was also cheap, the few times we actually used it. The tram system was exceedingly useful (especially for people who wish to take a ride without paying), and the subway was passable (forgetting, for a moment, the somewhat over-zealous platform inspectors).
Just as suspicions of lingering Communism were doomed to be discarded, so too was this the case with reports of the post-Soviet mafia (according to “Let’s Go Europe” especially active around Vaci Út) and gangs of roaming skinheads. Budapest proved a cosmopolitan city, with a goodly number of tourists, though not nearly as many as in yet more westernized Prague. I actually preferred Budapest to Prague, since a smaller number of tourists can mean a more authentic feel and, in this case, lower prices – two things that should be prized by any average backpacker.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Students
Best Time to Travel Here: Jun - Aug
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Epinions.com ID:
Marechal_Ney
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Location: Leamington Spa, UK
Reviews written: 20
Trusted by: 9 members
About Me:
I am a third-year Computer and Business Studies student at Warwick University, in England.
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