What to see and what not to do in the Hungarian capital
In other cities, houses stand on the streets. Here, there are open-air sculpture museums. The most striking example is at the corner of Váci pedestrian street, the main tourist thoroughfare, writes Gazeta.Ru. The canopy over the entrance door is supported by a fairly large group of atlantes, which in any other city would have been reduced by at least half. But here, a few small atlantes are also seated on top of the canopy. On the sides of the windows are cupids, a floor above are the Charites, above them a pair of Aonides... And so it goes all the way to the roof, where stone eagles sit.
The reverse is also true: any of the numerous Budapest sculptures is a grandiose architectural work. When Imre Madách is cast, all the heroes of his poems and plays gather below, around his bronze shoes, along with grateful readers. Sándor Petőfi stands surrounded by rebelling Hungarians, who in turn are surrounded by Austrian troops.
We are talking about the left bank of the Danube, that is, Pest. If you plan a walk on the principle of “the farther, the more interesting,” you should start here. It was mainly built up in the second half of the 19th century, during the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The majestic imperial style is felt in every house, whether it be neo-Empire, neo-Baroque, or Art Nouveau. Everything is massive, ornate, and rich. Even Art Nouveau in Budapest lacks the usual lightness - where could it come from, when the patterns on the facade are laid out in stone blocks almost half a meter across.
The pinnacle of this local style is the parliament building, entirely covered in stone carving. It looks like a giant Gothic cathedral, or even several cathedrals joined together. Visitors are only admitted in groups, with a special hour allotted for each language. There, inside, among the marble and ornaments, the prime minister works. He is the main person in the country. There is also a president, but he is old and stripped of all functions except representative ones.
From Váci it is not far to the Jewish quarter, which is quite cozy. What speaks of its Jewishness is not so much the huge synagogue and shops selling Jewish souvenirs, but the numerous kosher restaurants and, even more tellingly, the few ordinary ones that pedantically state: “NOT kosher.”
As many as seven bridges lead to the right side of the wide and comparatively clean Danube, and Hungarians are very proud of them. The bridges are huge, heavy, clearly Habsburg in spirit, even if built later.
You could also take the metro - if only to see how many homeless people there are in Budapest. Nobody drives them away. They sleep in underground passages on mattresses, covered with real blankets. Only bedside tables are missing.
The right bank is high and hilly. Before climbing up to the royal palace, one should remember that hot springs gush from this mountain. There are many of them in Budapest, but these are the closest to the city center. A thermal bath revives a person, which is necessary before visiting Buda.
A long building called the Gellért Baths, where one gains access to hot underground water, stands right on the embankment, at the foot of a wooded hill. It is divided into two parts - a Turkish bath and a pool. Entry to both costs about 4 euros. It is important not to make a mistake. The pool is to the left, with the most ordinary water, no different from ours. So we go right, to the Turkish bath. Its center is occupied by a large basin of that same thermal water. The same water is in the taps. The water is not just hot; it is saturated with calcium, magnesium, and a bunch of other substances that give it extraordinary properties. You can sit in it endlessly, and when you get out, you feel such lightness throughout your body, as if you were, if not reborn, then at least had a great sleep. Now you'll have enough strength for Buda.
A small funicular goes to the top. The pleasure costs a more or less acceptable 450 forints. At the top, the car stops right at the luxurious royal palace. It offers a wonderful view of all of Budapest, and inside is the Museum of National Art. A brief visit does not involve going to museums, but here it is still worth looking at the basement part of the exhibition - icons from the 15th-16th centuries and stone carvings collected from all over Hungary.
Old Buda begins almost at the palace. In fact, it consists of just four streets running parallel along the top of the hill. Around are fortress walls rising above the pavement as a small stone fence, but extending far down. Hungarians did not develop Buda according to the full tourist program, and that is the best thing they could have done. It is quiet, cozy, almost no people, and the houses are occupied by the most ordinary Hungarian families. There is activity only in the very center, where the Fisherman's Bastion and Matthias Church are. There are cafes, shops, tourists. By the way, if they do not let you into the cathedral, which happens often, you should approach the guards and politely ask: “Is this a Catholic church?” The question will reveal you as a person who needs to enter the church not out of idle curiosity, and they will let you in.
Along the quiet cobblestone streets of Buda stand two- or three-story houses from the 16th-19th centuries, which were lucky: they have always been treated very carefully. Even when they renovate, adding glass facades, a piece is always left in its original form, as a subtle hint of what was here before. Beyond the hill lies New Buda, where it is better not to descend after the old one, so as not to spoil the impression.
Prices in Budapest pleasantly surprise. Everything is a little cheaper than in our capital - even though the minimum salary in Hungary is $200, and the minimum pension is $100. In a restaurant, for about 10 dollars you can eat quite decently. Hungarians feed you very well. For the first course - goulash soup or onion soup, which they make better than the French. For the main course - any meat, you can't go wrong. To satisfy curiosity, it is better to have an assortment on a wooden platter - pieces of different meats prepared in different ways. Salads are never tasteless.
Buying gifts in Hungary is a problem. It is hard to find something truly local, characteristic only of this country. Except perhaps food. Hungary is known for its sausages and goat cheeses. And also palinka, fruit vodka. You just need not to confuse it with a very similar fruit liqueur, which is an acquired taste. They differ in degrees; vodka is stronger. Usually they also recommend Tokay - saying, it's not at all like ours. But I noticed no difference. You should buy, of course, in large stores, not in tourist shops on Váci, where prices are sometimes three times higher.
There are enough exchange offices in Budapest. True, occasionally you come across simply robbery-like ones. Check whether there are any additional conditions (a fee for each transaction, a service percentage, a special rate for small amounts), and know that the difference between buying and selling rates should be really very small; 10 forints is already a lot. For a euro they give 250-255 forints, for a dollar - 210-220.
A few warnings. Crime is quite well developed in Hungary. Locals explain that it is not they who are to blame, but criminalized Romanians who come from their poor country and cause all sorts of disturbances. Also to blame, according to Hungarians, are Turks and Poles. Cars are stolen, just like in our country. It is strange to see in Budapest, a prosperous and calm European city, cars with heavy locks on the steering wheel and pedals. A whole metal circle with a tail pressed against the windshield - even we don't have such things.
I also found here shell-game swindlers who have been forgotten among us. To the credit of the Hungarians, it must be said that the shell-game swindlers turned out to be foreigners. They claimed to be Poles, but for some reason spoke Italian among themselves. Probably disguising themselves. Their stakes were whopping - from 50 euros.
Another undesirable element - street girls (not to be confused with prostitutes). As soon as a man leaves the hotel alone, a couple of girls immediately approaches him, strikes up a supposedly casual conversation and offers to go have a drink. Victims say that the total price of a glass of beer for the man and two fizzy drinks of some sort for the ladies turns out to be about $200. Prostitution is forbidden, so the girls are secretive. To my frank question "Are you girls prostitutes or not?" they replied that they were not prostitutes but fencers. But their eyes said otherwise... However, all this is trifles.
The most unpleasant thing is that we cannot understand a single word of their language. Hungarians speak rather quickly, evenly, and almost do not stress within words. This uniform stream of utterly meaningless sound combinations is terribly depressing. Many know English, but still there aren't so many of them that visitors would not have problems in a store or restaurant. French is almost as widespread as English. Russian is remembered by those over 40, but only individual words, not enough to converse.