One week in Budapest

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I have to admit that we have spent a gorgeous week in Budapest. With the exception of family visit, everything was picture perfect......I am showing certain rates for you, just as an example of rising prices in Hungary for tourists, not to mention for the Hungarians.

All together we have spent 7 nights in Budapest and there was some spitting on certain days but no real rain and the temperature was around 20 Celsius, so I am not complaining about the weather at all.

For some reason I have decided to arrange a musical week for us in Budapest. Big mistake...... Take my word for it; don't go for musicals, just for concerts and theatre........

We have arrived Saturday afternoon. The flight from Toronto to Frankfurt was on time and event less. From Frankfurt to Budapest we had to spend an hour and half (this was supposed to be the actual flight time) sitting in the plane in Frankfurt because someone did find white powder coming out one of the suite-case. No comments......

Anyway, we have made it to Budapest. It was nice to walk around and stretch our legs. Arriving Saturday afternoon, our first thing to do; to check into our hotel, take a shower and buy a weekly pass on public transportation system. We have stayed at the Hilton Budapest hotel, in the Castle district, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I have booked and paid for the hotel room in January, so I have managed to get a decent price including buffet breakfast for 109 Euro. The place was clean, with easy transportation (Bus 16 to downtown and bus 10 to Moszkva ter). I like to walk around in the castle area (no homeless people yet). This was pre-season, so I can imagine it being much noisier summer time. Perfect for retired people and honeymooners. Places we visited in the nearby area: Matthias Church (Mátyás templom) Admission: for visitors aged 62-70: 300 HUF.

In case you don't know, its name comes from the fact that the popular King Matthias held both of his weddings here. The main eastern gate and the long apse are 13th century, the central part was built around 1400. Every king and era added something to the church. In 1541 the Turks captured Buda and transformed it into a mosque. They celebrated their victory here. After the Habsburgs recaptured Buda in 1686, Matthias Church came under Jesuit patronage. Frigyes Schulek rebuilt Matthias Church in neo-Gothic style at the turn of the last century. He incorporated the 13th century remains in the new design. You can view a King Matthias' small collection of religious treasures in the church museum. The interior is very striking. Despite the vaulting and the stained glass windows, it's nothing like a Gothic cathedral, it has a sort of mystic, Eastern athmosphere. The wall paintings are scenes from the Bible and events from Hungary's history. The church has excellent acoustics, so it often houses concerts, we have just missed one by a day.

As part of the renovations the Fishermen’s Bastion was added in 1905. There are two explanations about the origin of the Bastion’s name: some say a fish market was nearby in the Middle Ages, according to others the Guild of Fishermen defended this part of the wall. Despite its name it's a look-out terrace. It has seven turrets one for each of the Hungarian tribes. The design was inspired by the Far East. "Kitsch but beautiful" according the writer Szerb Antal. From its top you get one of Budapest's best panoramic views.

I have to admit that the city is nicer than it was two years ago - the parks are planted with flowers and you can see people picking the garbage off the streets.


Let's go back to our first day..... There is a Belgian brewery at the foothill of the Castle area and it has offered some tasty food with decent beer, so we have tried it out. When you are traveling overseas and hungry, you just take what is available closeby. You are cranky with the jetleg anyway.


Next day (Sunday) we have spent with Pali's sister and her two kids. We have met her (Eva) at the Margit Bridge station and took the HEV to almost Szentende. One of her sons (the younger one), Andras has bought a semi detached house on the hill, brand new, it was ready last year, and he has got married last fall. The house is finished, but the marriage didn't survived. She has moved in with her boss. C'est la vie......

The house is very posh, granite counter top, Bosh and LG appliances, etc....Of course it is too big for one bachelor, but this is not my problem.......

Apparently this is the new trend to move out of the city and live in the outskirt or suburbs. I guess if you are young this is trend fine, but after certain age, I would definitely take advantage of public transportation and live in the city. But this is just me and I don't even live there anymore......

The prices in general getting worst for the tourists year by year (not to mention for the Hungarians, who live there).

The location of Budapest is goergoeous. Prague is nice but much smaller city. Vienna is boring. Budapest is truly the Paris of East Europe. But...........


The homeless are still in Budapest (so are they in every countries) - and are moving their bed in and out the subway level of the undergrounds at evening hours and mornings. This is unique to Budapest. They don't seem to be able to deal with the problem. The subway in Vienna is well kept, clean, safe. In Vienna you don't need 5 people gathering at every subway entrance to check your tickets. There are machines for that and responsible people who pay for their tickets and validate them........

In Budapest people are still rude and taking advantage of tourists, but this is not completely a Hungarian custom. What I mean is the rudeness. People are rude in Germany to the tourists too, but not taking advantage of them.

In Eastern European countries you just have to check your restaurant bill and watch for the waiter to make sure that he will give you the correct cash watch out for cab drivers, etc.... this is part of traveling in certain countries. Don't take it personally....... If you don't like it, don't go there.....

So what are the tourists are saying about their experience? They are taken by bus load to the Puszta. The country side is messy, the buildings are covered with graffiti. (Mind you this is the same in Germany.) But the country side in any other West European countries is nice, tidy, and well kept. Same can be said for the buildings in Budapest, compared to other European countries. Budapest in general looks soo untidy (with the exception of the tiny downtown core) compared to Vienna, Prague, etc......

People living in Hungary and other East European countries have to realize that tourists are watching them with critical eyes and comparing their experiences to a certain standard of services, they did get used to in West European countries.

Tourists are coming...... But are they ever want to come back?

Why would tourists pay more or even the same amount for a lower service provided?

As the Chinese would say: "You really have to be away from a mountain to get a clear and better picture of the mountain,"


Exchange rate: 150 Hungarian Forint for 1 Canadian dollar. It was 170 last year.

After touring the new house, we had a nice lunch in Szentendre. The weather was nice. I am not mentioning the weather any more, but this was our best stay in Europe weather wise. We had a nice walk and spent the whole day with the family. Eva is planning to move closer to the guys but not outside of the city. She is thinking of the 2nd district (Batthanyi ter).

Apparently the prices are not that high and the availability is great. People are picky now; they are not looking for very large or very small apartments or on the street level. They are looking for a medium size apartment in a relatively good location.

The way I see it, if no immigration allowed to Hungary, the next 20 years Budapest will be a ghost city. But that is just me...... None of the Hungarians see it that way.

When I have mentioned to Eva, that it seems to have much more choices for people looking for shelter (apartment) in Budapest, than ever before, she said that there is 1.5 apartments for 1 person now and they are still building new ones. The population is aging, no large families, no immigration......

The other problem is that those of the people, who work, pay less tax (by cheating on their income tax) and they will get smaller amount of pension. Less tax means less money for public services, etc.......

Sunday evening we had a ticket booked for the Jungle Book. Did I mention, that you can buy all the tickets on the internet easily......This was supposed to be a musical at the Pesti Szinhaz. The theatre is badly needing some renovation, but we didn't go for the theatre only for the musical. It was a Hungarian musical. The first for me.......The text and the music by Hungarian author (unknown to me). Of course suffering from jet-leg we had a little snooze during the show. But to our excuse, the actors didn't have any voice and the music was lousy. Ticket price: 4,000 Hungarian Forint each. In general the 'musical' tickets are more expensive than the theater tickets. But still not at Toronto's level. One down, one more to go.

Monday morning we had run some errands, and after that we managed to find a great and inexpensive restaurant in the Castle area, across our hotel. There is a place called Fortuna Udvar (Fortuna Garden) and they do serve excellent food and it is self-serve from 11.30 to 14.30 and the price is right. Actually you can say it that it is dirt cheep. Not too many good and in-expensive restaurants are in Budapest. This one we keep. The evening was free for me, because Pali had a high school reunion that evening that I have refused to go to. My reasoning: I don't know those old people; I let him have some fun alone, I need a break........

Next morning he has told me that his classmates are chain smokers and he had to wash his hair as soon as he came back from the reunion. He had the feeling after the reunion, that his classmates looked tired, exhausted, complained all the time, to look at the bright side: they are still alive........

Tuesday, early afternoon we have met his dad, stepmother and sister for a coffee and dessert. I have survived the meeting...... Actually it was my idea to include his sister, so the attention will be on some one else but me. I don't have any family member alive anymore, but when meeting families in Hungary, it seems that for some reason someone is always hurt or upset about something or both of them. They are alive in relative good health, his dad is 85, stepmom is 88, they have been complaining since I know them, so let's move on.......

The same evening we went to see an other musical, Mozart. It played in the Operetta Theater. This time the actors had good voice but the music wasn't great again. It sounded like a rock concert. I must tell you, that the theatres are full in Budapest. I have forgotten to mention this before. Ticket price: 5,000 Hungarian Forint each. So there is an affordability out there.

Wednesday morning we have ended up in the Museum of Fine Arts, seeing a small collection from the Uffici museum. A Mediciek fénykora exhibition is on. Painting of Fra Angelico, Andrea del Castagno, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Filippino Lippi, Sandro Botticelli, Andrea Mantegna, Jacopo Pontormo, Agnolo Bronzino és Giorgio Vasari. The approximately two-hundred works displayed at the exhibition entitled The Splendour of the Medici - Art and Life in Renaissance Florence, opening on the 550th anniversary of crowning Matthias Corvinus king, provides visitors with an insight into the Medici patronage and art collection, as well as into the culture and life of the period defined by this family, which left the most visible mark on the golden age of Renaissance Florence. Ticket: 1,600 HUF for visitors aged 62-70. Hello, isn't it great being old.............

After lunch we have been invited to one of my school-mate's place. She has 5 grand children. Isn't that nice.... She looked like and acted like a real grandma. I am green with envy. It was nice meeting her and going down the memory lane together.

People we have met, relatives and friends are all complaining about politics, prices and everything else concerning Hungary. I have tried to explain to them that this time we haven't been back for 2 years, and I did find some improvement. Not as much as I have hoped for, but some.

Thursday we have scheduled a visit with one of my college. She lives alone and quite agile to her age (81). She has insisted on cooking for us that was nice of her, but unnecessary.

I have a feeling that since I have left Toronto, (a week ago) I have managed to gain 200 lbs. already.

The evening we went to an organ concert in the new Concert Hall, beside the new National Theater. That was a very good choice....... The tickets are cheap, 1,600 Hungarian Forint each, the acoustic is great.

Friday was our last day; it was also a BKV (TTC) strike. We have managed to walk down on foot from the castle and surprised to see that the Nuber 6 streetcars were running. What kind of strike are we talking about here……Strike a la Budapest. So we have called Pali's sister that if she wanted to get together for a last coffee, we could meet half way. The city was deserted, people have enjoyed a long weekend thanks to BKV, the weather was great, what else can you ask for...........

That evening we finished our musical week in the Parliament for a great violin concert. The acoustics were great, the place is very interesting, I never been there before. The price: 4,000 Hungarian Forint each.

All together the week was great and relaxing. Next time no musical for us.....

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