Budapest Hungary - Budapest, a city with a soul

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Budapest - A travel report by Harry

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Budapest, Hungary - Budapest	7718 readers		lonewolf's travel reports
Budapest, a city with a soul	22 votes		Page: 1 2

Budapest is a city that gives you a mixed impression. You can see and feel the history, the sadness of years of communism, but also the onetime grandeur. You understand why Budapest is also known as the Paris of Eastern Europe.

From the Budavari Palota, the castle on the Gelert hill, you see the partly restored Parliament Building. There you see the beauty that is hidden under layers of dirt. An impression I had in many parts of Budapest. No need of a complete restauration, just a bit of cleaning up, at least from the outside. Budapest is a city that gets to you. Walking through it little by little you start from looking, to liking to loving. And there is so much to see. The fact itself that Buda and Pest are two cities devided by the Danube gives the city soemthing special. It is said that the Hungarians are a melancholical people. And something of that melancholical atmosphere is in the air. From the other hand it is quite a sensation to walk through the place were the first revolution against the Russian oppressors started in 1956. James Michener’s The Bridge At Andau describes the unbelievable heroism of the Hungarians during this revolution.

Favourite spots:

A must is the Castle Hill in Buda. Here you’ll find the Old Town, The Royal Castle and the famous Fisherman’s Bastion from where you have a fantastic view over Pest. The Uri utca (Gentlemen’s Lane) is the oldest and longest street on the Cstle Hill. At the entrance of house number 9 you can enter the vast labyrinth sytem running 16 meters deep underground. The Varósliget, the City Park in Pest and it’s heroes Square, a certainly worth a visit. It’s a bit away from the city centre, but if you don’t want to walk, take the metro. By the way Budapest’s metro was the first in Europe already running in 1896. Two years before that one of Europe’s most famous cafés was opened in Budapest, the Cafe New York, an absolute must to see. Quite different but impressive is the Central Synogoge, the second biggest in the world. In the garden of the synagoge is the Tree of Life, a holocaust monument.

What's really great:

The view from the Citadella on the Gelert hill. The post office savings bank. Strolling through the City Park. Castle Hill in Buda

Accommodations:

Like any big city Budapest has a great variety of hotels, hostels and pensions.

Hangouts:

For jazz go to the Billiard Fél in Maria utca 48.
For disco Blue Box in Kinizsi utca 28.
A romantic a bit old fashened place for the not so young anymore is the Casanova, said to be visited by the great skirt chaser himself, at Bátthyany tér 4.

Restaurants:

As to be expected in a city like Budapest there is a variety of restaurants.
The Barock, Mozsar utca, 12, serves spicy dishes according to recipes from the 17th and 18th century.
Fekete Holló, Országház utca 10, small, cosy and cheap, serving simple but good quality dishes.
Hársfa, Hüvösvölgyi út 132, popular restaurant in Buda, specialised in game, fair prices and sometimes live music from a gypsy playing his violin.

Other recommendations:

There are a lot of kave haz (coffee house) in Budapest, but a must is the New York Cafe at Erzsébet körut 9-11.
Also a beauty is the kave haz in the Hotel Astoria Kossuth Lajos utca 19 and Gerbeaud at Vörôsmarty tér 7.
And don’t forget the oldest kave haz in Budapest, the Ruszwurm, Szentháromság utca, 7 in the Castle Hill district, that opened in 1824.

Published on Wednesday February 2th, 2005