kmroadtrek: Buda or Pest?

Budapest was our next stop after Zagreb. We were lured there by it's old European charm, ongoing growth after decades behind the Iron Curtain, and the promise of a kick-ass apartment going for cheap.

We headed out of Zagreb in a torrential downpour (shocking!), but were eventually relieved to see the rain taper as we drove west. We reached the border of Hungary quickly and then headed out on the spanking new M7 towards Budapest. Along the way we passed many trucks loaded down with Christmas trees no doubt to supply the Christmas markets. We learned that one has to purchase a vignette to travel on these highways (they don't have toll booths), but only after reading about it at a rest stop. Unfortunately, this was after we passed a vignette control vehicle, snapping photos of passing vehicles. Hopefully the ticket will get lost in the mail.

We arrived without further ado in Budapest, and were met at our apartment by Giovanni, a young, entrepreneurial Italian ex-pat living in the city. The apartment was as advertised, a stunning renovation in a downtown building that took inspiration from, and would not have looked out of place in, any home design magazine. We were very impressed, but also distraught that it was only available for four nights. At 50E, it could not be beat. It also came with a Nespresso machine, so our much-missed morning lattes returned to our morning routine, at least for a little while.

Budapest is actually made up of two cities - Buda and Pest. And so the question for every local and tourist is which city do you like best - Buda or Pest? Buda is on the hill that overlooks Pest and it is the quiet part of town with museums and official looking buildings. Pest is where the life is - shopping, restaurants and the pedestrian zones. It's hard not to prefer Pest.

The weather was lovely, despite being a little cold, and we were able to spend some time seeing the sights. Our first was the Budapest Christmas market, which was extremely busy on the Sunday we went. This added to the festive atmosphere, a feeling that was further enhanced by liberal doses of glühwein and a hearty lunch of potato pancake, cabbage roll and sausage. After seeing Christmas markets in several cities, we think that this was one of the best. Kristine saw some pottery she would have loved to purchase.... but it's heavy and breakable. Maybe next time (or e-bay).

Other notable sights included the Parliament buildings (reportedly the largest in continental Europe), the Chain Bridge (built in 1849 and a symbol of Hungarian liberty during 1989 demonstrations), numerous structures and buildings reminiscent of Austrian-Hungarian times, Castle Hill, the funicular (does every European city have one?) and the Monument Park, to name a few.

We enjoyed an excellent meal at a local, traditional Hungarian restaurant called Kispipa. This featured veal paprikash, goulash soup (when in Hungary, do you need to specify Hungarian goulash?), cucumber salad, and a Hungarian speciality dessert called somloi.

On reflection much of what we did was walk and eat. Budapest is a definite repeat destination, especially in the summer. We were reluctant to leave our Budapest apartment, but we had Vienna to look forward to, so we left taking a one day trip to Szentendre - a small arts and craft town about 20 minutes north of Budapest, before heading to Gyor - our next stopover.