We arrived after midnight, amidst a vicious blizzard. Looking out the window of our taxi as it took us from the airport to our hotel room in the city, Budapest looked grey rather than white. Had we just touched down in Communist Moscow? It was hard to tell.
Fortunately, a good night’s sleep can do wonders. The city we woke up to the next morning was a far more positive affair; a city of delicious cheap eats, mulled wine, hot apple cider, good hearty meals. It was crisp and cool with nary a cloud in the sky on our first day, and snowy on our second. It was a true winter wonderland, walking through the markets, sipping a mulled wine in the snow.
The whole point of the trip was to visit Budapest’s Christmas markets, and they did not disappoint. The markets were charmingly old-school, with a huge variety of good – and weird – things to eat and drink, including rooster testicle stew (which we did not try, no matter how appetising it sounded).
Although people often compare Budapest and Prague – they’re both cold, gothic Eastern European cities – Budapest is much nicer, in my humble opinion. It was much more festive for one thing; although it was Christmas, to be fair.
Interestingly, the same river that runs through Paris, the Danube, also runs through Budapest. We went for a walk up a big hill on the western bank, where we enjoyed a brilliant view of the city. And we even managed to catch the All Blacks game at a sports bar in the city.
The highlight of the trip, however, was definitely the Roman baths. Like Hanmer Springs, there's just something so nice about sitting in a warm thermal pool outdoors, in the middle of winter. Unlike Hanmer though, it was very European: think old men playing chess and a very regal, traditional setting. It even snowed while we were in the baths – it just doesn't get much better than that.
No comments:
Post a Comment