Iron Curtain & Ironman: Budapest (Day 8)

Hola todos,

 

This was my last morning in Budapest, so I want to make the most of it. And I’m really enjoying these quiet morning walks while a city wakes up! It’s a work morning, though, so there is still commuter traffic to work and school.

It’s cloudy and the weather has significantly cooled down. It’s perfect for walking all over and not getting overheated or sunburnt--which is good, because my shoulders have been getting a lot of sun exposure. I was able to wear an extra layer for the past two days comfortably and avoid further burning.

A quiet residential street

I ended up taking the metro to my first stop of the day. It was a decent distance from my hostel, so it was worth a quick metro ride to save my legs and feet a bit. It was also my first time popping over to the Buda side of the city!

I started at the Cave Chapel, a church built into the side of a mountain (okay, hill-- it's also called the Gellért Hill Cave). It’s incredibly unique and the interior chapel and living spaces for the monks are all in the hillside. (It is still actively used!) During the communist era, the entrance to the chapel was built over and sealed shut.

You can also get some great views of the Pest side from the elevation on the Buda side.

Then I walked across a bridge back to the Pest side and to my next stop. On the walk, I hit some side streets that were less touristy to get a feel for the real city. 

Left: A picture of the Elizabeth Bridge (a famous Budapest bridge) with the Buda side of the city on the left and the Pest side of the city on the right.

Right: Me with Pest in the background. (Another bonus of early morning wandering is that you have fewer people staring at you during your self-timer photo shenanigans!)

Taking a less busy street through a new neighborhood is a great way to find some hidden gems and get the "real" feel of a city.

This next stop wasn’t originally on my list, but our tour guide yesterday recommended it, so I figured I’d give it a try. As you may have noticed, I hadn’t had my espresso and morning pastry yet this morning. I was saving it for this next stop. And while I strongly prefer to eat at an open air cafe or outdoor patio while in Europe, I think this cafe was totally worth an exception.

This is the New York Café, rated for years as the most beautiful cafe in the world. Its interior design is magical and they match the ambiance by having live piano and string music serenading you during your meal.

 

The interior was elaborately decorated with painted walls and ceilings and gold overlay on everything.

  

It was about 10:15 by the time I got there, and it was already pretty full. One of the benefits of being a solo traveler is that I was able to get a small table without waiting. But our tour guide did recommend that you get reservations if you wanted to eat at one of the busier times. (And, despite being called a "cafe," they do serve dinner.)

I had an espresso and their cottage cheese-stuffed pancake, which was really more like a crepe. And before you get on me about eating pancakes in a country that isn't known for pancakes or crepes in a place that isn't France, I will point out that this thicker crepe is very popular in this part of central Europe! Lots of street vendors and restaurants have offered it on their menus as a "pancake."

One word of warning: the New York Café is very expensive. But I think it’s definitely worth the high price for the experience, and definitely worth cutting corners elsewhere in your budget to make the cafe work. (Choosing a hostel instead of a hotel room for just one night would balance this out!) #BabeOnABudget

Now it was time to walk off the rich pancake by heading to the Metropolitan Ervin Szabó Library. This is a functioning public library that used to be a palace. The fourth floor still holds its interior design and decor from its palace era, and you can actually get a chair or table and study or read in the palace portion. It looked like there were lots of students who came and were doing work in the library.

When I initially planned this day, I figured I’d be hungry after touring the library and so I would head out for some lunch at the Central Market Hall. However, I was still full from my late breakfast! I went to the Central Market Hall and looked around anyways. On the first floor are a bunch of local produce and butcher stands. On the second floor are lots of souvenir shops and restaurants (both sit-down and pop-up). While the food smelled amazing, it was all incredibly overpriced. (It's probably good I didn't go there hungry!) If you have limited time and don’t want to hunt for good Hungarian food, this is a place to guarantee that you’ll get an assortment of Hungarian options (and knock out your souvenir shopping while you're at it). But I was able to get great local food at other places around the city, so I'd recommend you actually try to find a local place!

After walking around the Hall, I took the metro to Liberty Square (which is at the top of Andrassy Street, the "Champs Elysées" equivalent). It took me on the "millennium" train, which is the newest train line. And though it is the newest line, it goes through the oldest parts of their underground subway tunnels that were built back when horses pulled the trains! 

Liberty Square is a big plaza with a freedom monument, a modern castle, and several museums.

My stop at Liberty Square was the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts. I walked around for about two hours to see their highlights (with the audio tour! so helpful). They have statues, earthenware, and paintings from a variety of different cultures. I got to see an El Greco, another Velasquez, and more Dutch masters. The layout of the museum is a bit confusing, but their collection is amazing!

They also have beautiful rooms inside the museum that are centered around certain architectural styles. They're enormous and beautifully designed.

Well, my goal for today was to have a slightly lower step count since my legs are so tired, but I decided to walk back down Andrassy Street from Liberty Square to my hostel. I just can’t justify avoiding what the city has to offer in beautiful weather and amazing sights while I’m here! I’m going to be sitting on a train for roughly 6 hours tomorrow, so I’ll be able to sleep and rest then.

Beautiful architecture down Andrassy Street

I stopped by a langos (pronounced “langosh”) stand for a (very) late lunch/early dinner. Langos is a savory fried dough that is traditionally topped with cheese and sour cream. (I added red onions to mine.) I went to a park to eat it since the weather was amazing! It was ginormous and super rich, so I ate only about half of it.

As I sat in the park eating my langos, it started to rain! The park was across the street from my hostel, so I ran back indoors just in time to avoid the huge downpour that ensued. (Thankfully, that didn't happen during my walking tour!)

It poured pretty heavily for about 30 minutes and then totally dried up, so I went for a final walk around town on my last night. (To include a local ice cream snackie and some plaza steps, of course!)

Overall on Budapest

This city was amazing. Just... wow. I felt incredibly safe as a solo female traveler and even though some of the tourist things are a bit spread out, the metro and tram system is cheap, easy to use, and fast.

Will I come back? I have to! I barely scratched the surface in my two days here. If you're thinking of going, you should try to spend at least 3 days to see as many things as possible. (I didn't even get to really explore all that the Buda side has to offer!)

If I had stayed longer, I would have also: gone to some Turkish baths (there are an assortment throughout the city; Budapest has a ton of natural hot springs!), checked out the Buda side more (including the Buda "Castle" district), and probably gone inside a few more museums. They also have a Budapest "card" that gives you free or discounted access to a lot of city sights--if I had been in the city longer, it might have made financial sense to get the pass. They also have discounted metro fare if you buy a pass-- I didn't use the metro enough to make that worth it, but if you are staying longer or using the metro more, it could be.

Overall, though, I will warn you that tourism can be a bit pricey in Budapest. As one of my hostel roommates put it, Budapest is a cheap place to live and go out but an expensive place for tourism. Food, drinks, restaurants, groceries, and hostels were cheap; entry tickets to amusements, museums, etc. were pretty overpriced.

I need a reasonable night's sleep since I have an early (early!) morning train. Tomorrow is a new country, and I'll meet up with my folks!

Besos,

Tina the ExploraDora