Jocelyn Cooper

After sleeping in (the late nights are catching up with us) we packed for a day on the Buda side. Before we walked down to the Danube, we made a side trip to a Rubik’s cube store that has original Rubik’s cubes signed by Erno Rubrik. It was heaven for Gideon and he worked on the giant cube. Joce and the boys stopped at a quirky public toilet called the Art Toilet, which had art installations inside. Afterwards, we made our way to the Danube on the Pest side and found another mini statute by Kolodko - we learned about him on our walking tour. A Hungarian sculptor, he made 50 mini sculptures and scattered them all over Hungary with 25 in Budapest alone. All have a meaning and relationship to Hungarian history and/or the people of Hungary. Our tour guide showed us Kermit the Frog by the studio buildings yesterday (the Muppets and Sesame Street were the only American kids shows our guide had growing up). The second one we stumbled across was a balloon dog resembling the artwork of the sculpture artist Jeff Koons whose wife is Hungarian. We walked across the Chain bridge (only pedestrians, busses and cabs allowed) and made it to the base of Buda Castle hill. Our guide told us about some hidden elevators so we avoided the 200+ steps to the top. The castle complex is now museums and libraries with some still being renovated from the 2020 earthquake. The highlight was definitely the Mathias Church. The tiles were striking and really stood out from many places in the city. We paid to go inside and enjoy a short break before making our way over to the Fisherman’s Bastion and a beautiful view over the Danube to the Pest side. Since we had a late breakfast, we ended up with lunch at 1530 at a nearby bistro. The goulash and staple paprika hot sauce (Erős Pista) were very good and burgers for the kids were okay. After lunch, we walked down the hill to find two more Kolodko statues by the Danube (a tank with a limp cannon representing Russian oppression and an, of course, a Rubik’s cube). We grabbed a tram (our only one of the trip as it was very easy to walk in the city) and went back to the Pest side for chimney cakes at Molnars (essentially dough that is spiralled around spit and baked and then filled with ice cream). Cinnamon was certainly the star. We cancelled our dinner reservations (given that they were only an hour later) and instead went to our first ruin bar - Szimpla Kert. Szimpla claims to be the first ruin bar in the early 2000s. Located mostly in the Jewish quarter (which is where we stayed), abandoned buildings were bought and converted into bars, making sure to retain their rustic feel. Szimpla is the most popular (and apparently the most expensive though much cheaper than any UK bar we’ve ever been to) and very eclectic. It was a very fun atmosphere and a huge place with two floors and all sorts of different rooms with 6-8 different bars to choose from. We just had one beer before grabbing 2 small frozen pizzas and heading home at 2000 for showers. We rinsed off and then had a lite dinner before packing and bed.

We were all up for breakfast but since our host allowed us to check out late, we decided to treat the kids (and ourselves) to an escape room as Hungary apparently invented them. We found one nearby that was called Sky Heist. The room was pretty incredible with multiple different doors and spaces and even a second spiral staircase to a second floor. We escaped with 6 minutes to go (though we did need a hint which we always try to avoid) and it was a good time. Had enough time left over to get food at food trucks in Karavan by Szimpla before getting our luggage and taking a car to the airport.

We will miss Budapest and will certainly come back. We couldn’t do the famous thermal baths because the kids are too young but it is a beautiful city. Our time always go by too fast but we had a wonderful trip!Lue lisää