To say that I had the Buda-best time in Budapest is quite the understatement…
…aaaaand I’ll see myself out of here, thank you and good night.
No, but really, I had an incredible three days exploring the Hungarian capital with my best friend, Cassandra. There is no shortage of awe-inspiring sights, vibrant neighborhoods, AND THE FOOD. The freaking food. If anything, we couldn’t fit half the things we wanted to check out in our final itinerary. I’ll be serving up a comprehensive guide to our Budapest highlights very, very soon – until then, find our best attempt at seeing, eating, and discovering all that Budapest has to offer in 3 days below!
Saturday
7pm: after flying on the second level of a plane for the first time, accepting red wine every single time the flight attendant walked by, and sprinting through the Frankfurt airport only to miss our connection to Budapest by one minute, we finally settle into our Airbnb a few hours behind schedule.
Fighting exhaustion, we force ourselves to leave the apartment and head down to the Danube River via the lively Andrassy Utca. To reward ourselves for the effort, we go into the first ice cream shop we see. The sky is dusty pink, and we’re absolutely giddy with excitement.
9pm: the scene by the river blows our minds. The two of us sit quietly along the bank, our feet dangling off the sidewalk. We wait until the pink sky turns an inky blue, and then proceed over to the street food stands nearby. Our first taste of Budapest street food is kürtőskalács – crispy, sugary, fresh-off-the-spit chimney cakes that we share on the steps of a random building. Nothing says vacation like a second dessert!
On our way home, we indulge in a meat-fest at Belvarosi Disznotoros, go off-course to walk through a boisterous Gozsdu Court, and swing by Horizont Taproom by Léhűtő for a nightcap.
Sunday
7:30am: Cassandra’s shaking me awake. “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!” She urges. We’re out and about in no time and have two immediate realizations. 1) It’s FREEZING (this is late April, mind you), and 2) the streets are empty, save for a few folks walking their dogs. It turns out Budapest doesn’t get going for another couple of hours. We duck into the only open cafe we see – Bite Bakery – and split an open-faced sandwich, two cappuccinos, and some central heating.
9am: our walk across the Chain Bridge is WINDY but stunning. We sing Kikiiiii, do you love meeee no fewer than fifty times.
10am: our original plan was to take the funicular up to Castle Hill on our way to Fishermans Bastion, but upon seeing that it’s 1200 forint ($4) we decide to make the trek using our own legs. I’m not sure why – we’re regularly spending that amount on less worthy things.
Although we’re huffing and puffing from the strenuous hike up (*wasn’t that strenuous, we’re just forever out of shape) – it was worth it. The views are spectacular, the photo ops are plentiful.
A little after that: while waiting for Ruszwurm Cafe (the oldest cafe in Budapest) to open, we wander around the Castle District. Matthias Church, pastel buildings, scenic overlooks, Buda Castle – we explored to our hearts’ content. Once Ruszwurm opens, we share a couple of cakes and cappuccinos, and look up Roman thermal baths to visit because at this point, we’re too cold to function and are desperately in need of something to warm us up.
Right before noon: Gellert Baths is the chosen one! It takes us 30 minutes to walk over – there are a lot of hills, I’d like to mention. The baths are quite overwhelming at first. We’re not sure how the lockers and changing rooms work; then, we submerge ourselves into the first bath we see. It’s nice, but we don’t see the appeal yet – it seems mostly like a ton of people crowded around the edge of a too-tiny pool.
Twenty minutes later, we overhear a pair of Americans mention they’re off to “find the other baths.” We follow them (and ahem, all the signs labeled “More Baths This Way” that we hadn’t noticed before).
Jackpot. Now we very much see the appeal. There are baths at varying temperatures (the 37 degree Celsius was our favorite), and the walls and ceilings are breathtaking. For a solid hour and a half, we soak in silence, staring dumbly into the distance wondering how we’re only discovering such a magical pastime now. It’s confirmed: we’re Bath People now.
2pm: the Hanger strikes. In search of something delicious, we first stop by the Central Market Hall (it’s closed), then walk down Vati Utca (too touristy), then we make a wrong turn and have to walk down Vati Utca again. At last, we stumble upon an Easter festival by the river with a lot of food stands. We try langos (fried dough, sour cream, cheese, is there anything more perfect), which completely revives us.
7pm: after accidentally taking too long of a nap, we head over to dinner at Regos Vendeglo which is right around the corner. It’s hearty and wonderful and everything we could ask for on such a chilly night. Two glasses of wine and a shot of grappa later, we’re off to Kadarka a few blocks down. The staff’s recommendations for us are excellent, and before we know it – we’re two more glasses in. At this point, I decide I need to hit up a ruin bar – Anker’t, to be specific. Alas, Anker’t is closed but Tuk Tuk Bar right next to it is not. Both of our cocktails are lovely, but I stubbornly insist on a ruin bar next. The winner is Ellato Kert which was grungy and eclectic and exactly what I wanted.
We observe the dwindling crowd from a sticky table in a corner, and it seems like just the coolest place ever. It’s a school night too, we remind each other in delight. Around midnight, we finally make it back to our apartment – our legs tired, but our hearts so, so full.
Monday
11am: a much later start this morning thanks to our festivities the previous night. The priority is clear: coffee, ASAP. We make it to Espresso Embassy, and are pleased to find that the coffee is excellent. The barista also recommends that we try flódni, which is a layered breakfast cake with plum jam, walnut, apple and poppy seed fillings. New to us, and delicious!
12pm: again, it’s too cold out. The temperatures are lingering in the high 50’s with temperamental winds, and the two thin jackets we brought between the two of us are just not cutting it. We hightail it across the street to a wine bar, which warms us right up.
1pm: needing some more substance, we grab a late lunch at Budapest Bisztro. Everything we order is scrumptious. The goulash, in particular, is a big beautiful bowl of zesty goodness and I gulp it down in record time.
2:30pm: By now, we’re feeling guilty for having not done anything all day other than eat and drink (and drink some more). After a pep talk that a little cold ain’t nothing, we went to go see Parliament and the Shoes on the Danube. Parliament is commanding and grand and an architectural beast. Shoes on the Danube is heartbreaking and harrowing and a simple, but remarkable memorial.
3:30pm: the chill becomes too much. Here, we make a Pull & Bear pitstop for an extra jacket.
9:30pm: after wandering the long way home and having some downtime in the apartment, it’s time to hit the town again. Kadarka wine bar, which has quickly become our favorite hidden gem, is our first stop as we wait for our dinner table to open up.
10pm: we see the popular Kazincsky street in action – groups of merrymakers entering any one of the many ruin bars on the street. Our destination is Mazel Tov – a ruin bar by definition, but really more a Middle Eastern restaurant set in a fairy garden. The food is top notch here – the Jerusalem cheesecake is divine! I contemplate ordering another one.
Tuesday
~12pm: it’s shameful, but we REALLY slept in and only make it out the door around noon. Our end goal is the Central Market, but we get distracted along the way. First is the famous New York Cafe. It truly is beautiful (those ceilings!), but it’s absolutely packed with tourists so we slip out after a quick picture.
12:30pm: Magveto, a cute bookstore cafe, catches our eye. Caffeine and journaling are calling out to us, so we answer.
1:30pm: finally, the elusive Central Market! We beeline for the second floor where all the food stalls are, in search of a light lunch. After a couple of laps, we settle on a restaurant tucked away in a corner. I accidentally order too much: stuffed cabbage rolls, sauerkraut, potatoes, spaetzle. A light lunch, indeed.
3pm: re-tracing our steps, we circle back to fully explore the Jewish Quarter. There are a couple of design shops I want to check out too. There’s a sweet leather artisan in the Paloma Collective courtyard who was so thoughtful with the purchases we made – making sure to switch out earring backs for sturdier ones and to check that the wallet I had picked out was without a scratch. Printa is another fantastic concept shop featuring the works of local designers – I wanted everything.
4pm: beer o’clock at Beer Brothers!
5pm: wine o’clock at Kadarka. I’m telling you, Kadarka is our Eden.
6:30pm: Bors Gasztro Bar is a little hole-in-the-wall soup and sandwich shop on the bustling Kazincsky street, on the same block as Szimpla Kert. It’s the perfect pre- or post-game dinner: it’s tasty and substantial and coats the stomach, and quick and easy to eat on-the-go or in an alleyway nook if you’re like us.
7pm: we wander into the famous ruin bar Szimpla Kert, which is really unlike anywhere else I’d ever been. There are rooms on rooms on rooms – each one with a slightly different vibe or theme. There are also open-air areas with untamed greenery and eclectic knick-knacks. We wanted so badly to go bar/room-hopping within Szimpla, but ran out of cash (most rooms are cash-only) and didn’t think it wise to withdraw more when we were leaving town the next morning. Next time!
Wednesday
8am: at the crack of dawn, we’re awake and throwing all of our things back into our suitcases. We stop at the one place we know will always be open early – STARBUCKS, of course. Not too long after, we’re on a bus to Zagreb and bidding a fond “see you next time” to the intoxicating city that is Budapest.
Liked this post? Share it on Pinterest!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.