Hungary for breadrolls

We decided there was no better way to kick off a food-related travel blog than with a trip to Hungary. We spent three days over a long weekend in February in the capital city, Budapest. In typical fashion, we spent our time in any museum with history on the Soviet Union, eating pastries in the sunshine and having cocktails at a rooftop bar. When not out and about, we were engineering at a really nice Airbnb in Buda and eating homemade banana bread (which I would really recommend bringing on trips).

This is also the first location where we had our tiny Charmera cameras, so enjoy the low-quality imagery.

Our highlights

• Fisherman's bastion: It looks like a Disney set, but it's actually historical. It's 100% worth paying for the ticket to go up onto the turrets. The views of the Parliament building across the river are the best in the city.
• Matthias church: Right next to the Bastion. It's got a crazy tiled roof, and the interior is actually impressive. The LED light is very pretty inside, too.
• Hospital in the Rock: This was a massive highlight. It's a hospital/nuclear bunker carved into the caves under the castle. If you're into WWII or Cold War history, it's eerie and fascinating. It's the only place I've seen where you can buy a gas mask and a Kit Kat in one transaction. Jaclair bought a Soviet Union passport.
• House of Terror: Located on the Pest side, but worth mentioning alongside the bunker. It covers the Nazi and Soviet occupations. It's grim, but a very well-done museum.
• The thermal baths: We hit the thermal baths, which are a Budapest staple. They are also worth a visit; they are very warm, so it was lovely in March. There's also a Volcano Sauna, which is indeed as warm as one would expect. There's also "ice" baths, which are actually just 18°C (64°F), so it's like going swimming in winter in Australia, but quite nice after a few dire minutes in the volcano sauna.
• Located right next to thermal baths is the City Park (Városliget). This is a great place to stop for chimney cakes (kürtőskalács). We had plum jam and a chocolate-cinnamon-filled cake. Would recommend.

Our lowlights

• The only lowlight of our weekend in Budapest was when we accidentally spent £150 on cocktails at a rooftop bar. The views were lowkey worth it though.

The food (and drinks)

• Would highly recommend visiting the famous Ruin Bars. Szimpla Kert is the most famous one - it looks like a junkyard exploded in an abandoned building, but it's a great spot for a drink. That being said, we went early, 7pm, for a quick drink and got a table, as it turned into a club and then headed to a Hungarian restaurant.

• The lángos: we only tried one, but it was the Budapest special with sour cream, cheese, onion and tomato (without the bacon). This was delicious; however, it attracted pigeons¹ and was quite chaotic energy trying to share among three people.

• The brunches: While there is lots of great Hungarian food, the brunch scene also pops off. You can easily find a matcha latte, avo toast and a nice shakshuka. One of our favourites was Twentysix for good food and atmosphere.

Verdict

Overall, we give Budapest a 5/5 breadrolls. There's actually lots to see in this city, the transport is great and the food is delicious. "Accurate" – Jaclair.

Favourite quotes from the trip

*pause* ... "breaded chicken

If we created an album for every holiday, it would be too many for Google Photos

This is a DACI and you're in the informed column

Footnotes

1. More accurately, the pigeons were lured by the crumbs Jacqui was throwing under Ellie's seat. ↩