BUDAPEST 3

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I think it's important to at least pay lip service to the past when visiting countries that had to endure totalitarian rule and Budapest suffered under the cruel might of communism along with the rest of Russia's soviet satellites. If you don't fancy taking in a museum then you can always marvel at the many bullets holes that ghoulishly pock mark the facia's of the city's older buildings, it will suffice. If you do feel obliged to dig a little however (and I do) then 'The Museum of Terror' could be the place for you. This prewar tenement was first the residence of Budapest's Nazi party and then, once the Russians had pushed the Germans back far enough, it subsequently became the Communist Party's headquarters. All sinister stuff then and the curators have done their utmost to ram home the horror inflicted by these two consecutive regimes. If you come out of it still thinking that the Communists had some sort of moral high ground over the Nazis then there is something wrong with you. Where as the Nazis focussed their relatively short lived reign of terror on weeding out Jews the Communists seemed to have it in for everybody, imprisoning or hanging anyone that dared so much as whisper 'dissatisfaction' be it child, woman or cleric. I highly recommend one visits the basilica of Saint 'Istvan' directly after as a way of cheering oneself back up. At 500 Florins (about £1.30 at the time of writing) it's an absolute bargain offering a 360 degree view of the whole city from a height that must surpass 90% of all surrounding buildings. After which time you'll probably be ready for some refreshment.

We headed back to Liszt Ferenc in search of a cafe recommended in our Time Out guide but on discovering that it no longer seemed to exist we ended up in the 'Karma Cafe' for Goulash soup and coffee just across from Menza. The soup was better than that served at the Soul cafe, (which being a sort of off yellow hadn't even managed to appropriate the right colour) coming as it did in the expected deep red tone of the local paprika and with a generous side order of bread to boot. The only down side was that the waitress was annoyingly keen to point out that this was listed as an appetizer and that we really should consider ordering something more substantial. But no, we held firm and ordered an extra beer instead for that evening we had an appointment at Cafe Kor!
We had attempted to dine at Cafe Kor the previous night but it was too busy and so instead we'd made an appointment for 7:00pm the following evening. So that night, for almost 8 quid, I had myself the best deer goulash with croquettes I reckon you would find in the whole of Budapest. That is a lot of money to pay over here but it's worth every penny in Cafe Kor. It was one of the more expensive meals on the menu too. My companion had the tenderloin with Roquefort sauce, a dish that on sampling the meat had me thinking that maybe I should have gone for the steak too. By the time we left the place was almost full again.
After that we popped into Kopia Kavazo located downstairs (as these bars often are) on nearby Zighy Jeno Utca. We had attempted to lunch there after our trip to the Basilica but it had been shut. It was worth the second attempt though boosting a fantastically random array of retrograde furniture and the impressive works of local photographers adorning the walls. The lights could have done with being a little dimmer mind.
After that we went to the bars we visited on the first night (except for Harry's) to see if they offered anything different at the weekend. They did ( DJ's taking care of the tunes and more punters basically) and then we finished it all off with a trip to Kuplung because if there's one thing a bar lover shouldn't miss when holidaying in Budapest for the first time it's the hedonistic beast that is Kaplung.

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Photos

Basilica of Saint Istevn
View from the Basilica

Budapest - Feszek Club
Back to 'Feszek'