Through the eyes of a Magyar
Written: Dec 27 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: To many to list
Cons: Budapest can be dirty
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| fundy's Full Review: Hungary |
If you're one of those people who can be moved to tears by the sheer beauty of a place,
Than this is what Budapest will do to you. First off, I hate to brag but I feel as an American
I was able to experience Hungary as no tourist has ever been able to, I lived with my
Hungarian friend for almost 1 month, it was truly a magnificent experience, I made scores
of new friends and got so much out of it. I have been too many places in Europe
Throughout my short 16 year lifetimes. But I have to say Hungary blew them all out of the
Water in my eyes, even though Europe in general is one of the most extraordinarily
Amazing and beautiful continents on earth, no matter where you are. I have many
Hungarian friends here in Los Angeles, one of them I am very close with. After many years
Of desperately wanting to travel to Hungary, my dream finally came true. On July 30th I
Took off from LAX bound for Frankfurt on Lufthansa, now since the travel details I'll skip
ahead to when I landed at Ferihegy Airport in Budapest and my two friends, Juli and Juli
(and Juli's father) were waiting to take me to there flat in the 2nd district on the Buda
side of the river not so far from the breathtaking Varhegy (castle hill) and the trendy
Rozsadomb (rose hill.) My first impression of Budapest exiting the airport was not so great,
driving towards the city one passes drab apartment blocks and abandoned railroad tracks, I
far cry from the heart of the city. We arrived at their small but very leafy neighborhood and
right after getting settled we headed straight for the tram to go to the Darshan Cafe (I
highly recommend it) in the other end of the city in Pest. I took the 56 tram to the imposing
and hideous Moszkva Ter, a transit center of sorts (alot of tram/metro lines begin/end
here.) From there we took the #6 to Pest. My first true glimpse of the city was
experienced whilst crossing Margit Hid. Budapest is a powerful city, on the Pest side
there is the Neo-Gothic Parliament with its dramatic steeples surrounding its huge dome, on
the Buda side there is the imposing Royal Palace and Varhegy with Mattias templum.
Just riding through the streets of Budapest by tram is a true pleasure although the city is a
bit run down. Every summer starting august 4th there is a 7 day long concert called "the
sziget" it's 24 hrs a day every day it runs. It is held on an island and features many
different types of music, the showing of various movies and food and what not. The "big
stage" usually features big-name bands, in the past green day, bad religion, David Bowie
and others have played at this festival. I went for 4 of the days and had a great time,
there is such a great selection of music, and its only 2,000 forints a night, for what you
get thats a great deal. If you're in Budapest at the time I think you should try to go, its in
Obuda on and island, its highly publicized in Hungary, so its not hard to get info about it,
it can be reached by taxi (I recommend Volan Taxi, its the cheapest cab company and
they dont swindle you.) I also went to many cafes, bars and nightclubs, if you are
Interested in that sort of things. I would personally recommend "Picasso" located in Pest a
couple block away from the Opera, its top floor is a quite trendy cafe serving wine, tea,
coffee, dinner etc, however its basement is a more lively bar with a dance floor. There is
also the "Darshan" cafe a smoke filled bar and cafe blasting loud music and boasts a small
health food market, its really fun but the smoke may bother you Anyway, my friend and I
took the HEV to a small formerly Serb village called "Szentendre" 15 mi or so outside of
Buda. Its an artists colony with several charming onion doomed churches and windy
cobblestone street leading down passageways and into ancient allyways. Street artists
and vender selling think ranging from crepes to communist nick-nacks. Also you should go
to the Roman ruins, its right in the middle of the unattractive Obuda, but its an amazing
place to see, very well preserved. I took a walk along the rampart in front of the Parliment
all the way to Lanchid. From that I got an amazing perspective of the city, below varhegy
quaint onion doomed churches can be seen as well as painfully slow barges chugging their
way along the Danude, its very wide and dramatic when it flows through Budapest. At the
foot of Lanchid, the chain bridge, there are two tongueless lions, its arches are
remeniscent of the arc de triumph. Right in the middle one gets a breathtaking view of the
city right from the center of the river. Once we had crossed the bridge we took the siklo
up to varhegy. When I reached varhegy i felt as if i was sailing accross the city, you can
see everywhere. The royal palace is not so interesting, but the national gallery is worth
seeing, its highlight is the painter Munkacsy, but most painting depict a non-existent
glorious Hungarian past. Mathias Cathedral is a true example of how heavily the turks
influenced Budapest, its roof is made up of shimmering tiles, and its interior is painted
extravagently with colors not usually seen in other european churches. Varhegy is made
up of twisitng narrow streets lined pink, yellow and orange buildings dating back to the
middle ages, all with their own unique history. My friends took me on a train trip to the
south of Hungary, to a town called Szarvas, were there camp is located. The town is on
the Tisza river, the town itself is not really worth going to, but the countryside is
wonderful. We ended up sleeping at a gas station, and took a bus back to Budapest, a truly
grueling journey. I could say more but I dont want to spoil anything.
GENERAL TIPS- ALWAYS TRY TO SPEAK HUNGARIAN, DONT BE An "UGLY AMERICAN"
Safety: Be vigilant, keep your belongings close to you and in your hands, especially on public
transport. Pickpocketors are very skilled. Avoid deserted streets at night, stay close to
lighted areas, and be sure you know how to get back to where you are staying. The streets
of Budapest can get dangerous at night. The city turns its lights off at around 11:00. Dont
go into the provinces unless you are with a Hungarian, the further away you are from
Budapest the less likely it is people will speak your language. Plus, on the trains the
Conductors are bound to give you hell if you're a tourist.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
fundy
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Reviews written: 3
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