Mr. Bloomsbury and I recently got to steal away to Budapest for a long weekend. Our impression of the city was that it's a cross between Prague, with its Eastern European feel, and London, with the Danube splitting the city in half, much like the Thames River, and its banks bordered by an impressive Parliament building. In fact, the Danube River actually divides two cities: Buda on the west side and Pest on the east.
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| Hungarian Parliament on the Danube at dusk |
We stayed a few nights in the Boscolo Budapest Hotel, a grand hotel indeed with its marble courtyard lobby and gilded frescoed cafe. We felt like royalty in our room, which had a giant bathtub and a Murano glass chandelier. The other hotel we stayed at was the Marriott on the Danube with stunning views of the older Buda side of the river with Buda castle and the Citadel.
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| New York Cafe in the Boscolo Hotel, rated the fanciest cafe in the world |
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| Marbled courtyard lobby of the Boscolo |
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| Murano glass chandelier in our room |
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| Buda Castle view from the Marriott at night |
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| Buda Castle view during the day |
Our weekend included a culinary walking tour, perfect weather, many inspiring sites rich with dramatic history, a random discovery of real Mexican tacos, and much needed relaxation.
Having never been to Hungary, I didn't know much about their culture or history. Fortunately, we had a wonderful guide for our culinary walking tour who introduced us to new foods while explaining the rich history of Hungary. Here are some of the interesting things I learned:
1. Hungary was founded by Attila the Hun, and he is a national hero. Many men today are still named Attila.
2. Paprika, which is a common ingredient in Hungarian cooking, actually made its way there from the Americas: first arriving in Spain from the explorers, then going into north Africa to Turkey and finally Hungary, making it a relatively "new" ingredient.
3. Harry Houdini was born in Budapest.
4. The Rubik's cube was invented by a Hungarian man named Ernö Rubik.
5. They say "hello" as a greeting and to say goodbye.
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| The many kinds of paprika sold in the Grand Market Hall |
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| The Hungarians are proud of their accomplishments: the Rubik's Cube |
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| Photographs of famous writers who used to frequent the cafes in Budapest. |
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| A bowl of Hungarian goulash, which is more like a soup. |
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| To finish off our trip, we visited the Szechenyi thermal bath. |
