{"id":55,"date":"2014-11-11T13:42:00","date_gmt":"2014-11-11T13:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emlajolie.com\/?p=55"},"modified":"2021-06-11T04:42:07","modified_gmt":"2021-06-11T04:42:07","slug":"travel-budapest-hungary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emlajolie.com\/2014\/11\/travel-budapest-hungary\/","title":{"rendered":"travel: budapest, hungary"},"content":{"rendered":"
November 11, 2014<\/em> \u2013 If the first thing that came to mind when you saw this post is about Budapest is the song by George Ezra, then you\u2019re not alone. We may have even listened to it several times while in the city. Turns out, it\u2019s not really about Budapest, but everything you\u2019re about to read is, so consider us even!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n WARNING: This post is a bit long because anything shorter wouldn’t be doing it justice.<\/p>\n We flew from Dublin to Budapest late on Sunday night – I\u2019m talking 1AM arrival\u2026not fun. Our AirBNB host was amazing and met us in the early hours of the morning at the apartment we rented.<\/p>\n [Hint: Make sure you notify your AirBNB host of your travel timing when you request the place, there\u2019s nothing worse than having a place & then realizing it won\u2019t work because of schedules! It\u2019s also just common courtesy – they are letting you crash at their place, after all]<\/p>\n After sleeping off our late night, we woke up with one thing on our minds: THERMAL BATHS<\/p>\n Traveling has a way of making you tense, even if you\u2019re having the best time, you can\u2019t avoid kinks in your neck from falling asleep on trains\/planes\/buses or the strain on your muscles from dragging your luggage around. Needless to say, a day at the baths sounded absolutely perfect.<\/p>\n We researched a bit and found that the best baths were just outside the city center, called the Szchenyi baths. We tried to call ahead and make sure they would have room for a couple of massages, but were met with the language barrier and decided instead to just wing it.<\/p>\n And oh my, was it perfect!<\/p>\n My roommate, Cassie, and I splurged on massages before hopping into the warm, outdoor pools. It was so refreshing and relaxing. We spent quite a few hours just wading in and out of pools, taking spins around a whirlpool that was surprisingly strong, snapping pictures with our phones (thank you, LifeProof case) and making new friends.<\/p>\n When we had finally water logged ourselves – and our towels – enough, we packed up and went back to the apartment to shower & nap. Hot tubbing is tough work, okay?<\/p>\n By the time we all recovered from our intense state of relaxation, it was time for dinner. Usually our resident foodie, Cass, finds the restaurants we go to, but this time Emily (the other one) found a suggestion for Caf\u00e9 K\u00f6r<\/a>, and thank goodness because this might have been the best part of the trip! Except that we were so wrapped up in the moment that we forgot to take any pictures\u2026<\/p>\n So let me set the scene: We arrive in downtown Budapest, in front of the Basilica, where everything is lit up in that backyard-party kind of way. Around the corner, on a side street, this little restaurant is tucked away, with a small outdoor seating area and an awning boasting its name. When we told the ma\u00eetre\u2019d that we didn\u2019t have a reservation, he looked around frantically at the full tables and then, settling down a bit, told us that if we waited fifteen minutes, he\u2019d seat us. At this point, we\u2019re used to waiting, and have spent quite some time in queues for restaurants. We happily passed the time scouring the menu and commenting on dishes. Then, lo and behold, our ma\u00eetre\u2019d strutted up to us with a tray of four glasses of champagne! He announced that it had been more than fifteen minutes and he wanted to make up for breaking his promise. Totally unexpected, totally pleasant, and totally a reason why this place is the best.<\/p>\n Inside, the restaurant was cute, cozy and very lively. We immediately ordered a few appetizers: a half portion of the goulash (Hungarian comfort food) and a plate of the caf\u00e9\u2019s specialties (salmon carpaccio, foie gras, dumplings, cheeses and vegetables). Then, after much debate, we settle on our main dishes and a nice white wine. So, if you need to ask, I wholeheartedly recommend stopping by this magical establishment if you\u2019re ever in Budapest.<\/p>\n [Fun fact: Budapest is pronounced \u201cbuda-pesht\u201d]<\/p>\n After our feast, we went straight to the ruins bars to check out this grungy locale that we\u2019d been told about numerous times: Szimplakert. It’s basically a giant bar in a partially crumbled stone building re-done by a street artist. Bike wheels, posters, chairs, broken paraphernalia and graffiti adorned the walls, with dim string lights and tall tables dotting the various sections. There was a main, indoor area, several side rooms, an upstairs balcony with couches, and an outside garden terrace. It\u2019s impossible to see all of this place. We found an empty table in the garden area and got an orange-flavored hookah pipe to share. Everyone around us was drinking, laughing, and smoking so we indulged in all three.<\/p>\n
\nThe food absolutely blew us away. It was a delicious mixture between homemade and five-star material, and our empty stomachs happily took it all in! The meal lingered on over another bottle of wine, and then a complimentary tasting of Hungarian sour cherry liquor – definitely a must-try, but maybe not more than once!
\nHow can this get any better? The entire meal cost each of us about 15 euro. This is absolutely unheard of. At the moment, I am sadly looking at a cup of coffee that cost half of that…<\/p>\n