Alan’s take on Budapest…
We began our stay in Budapest amidst a series of construction caused calamities. Finding the Metro at the train station was tricky as the usual passage ways were closed. When we finally made it to our stop, we encountered the same issue trying to get out of the Metro and to our hotel… the whole ordeal was about as fun as trying to work through a jigsaw puzzle with a missing piece. We eventually made it and checked-in only to find ourselves in the usual post-train ride situation: STARVING!
After our ritualistic procedure of sifting through several sources to find the best restaurant to suit out mood, we settled on the classic Hungarian establishment, Karpatia. What we expected to be a pub-style restaurant turned out to be an old grand dining room with beautifully painted vaulted ceilings along with a formal, attentive yet friendly staff. The meal was classic Hungarian: Goulash soup, stuffed peppers and stuffed cabbage. Although nothing was particularly original, all the dishes were very well prepared and filled our aching stomachs nicely.
The real highlight of the meal (and this leg of the trip) for me was the wine. Prior to the Soviet occupation Hungary was a world power-house when it came to wine quality. This went down the tubes with the Communist takeover (which helped accelerate the wine industries of both California and Australia). But the bad “Reds” are gone and the good reds are back (HA)!!
This is seriously good stuff and the real gold is in the Tokaji Aszú. This version of dessert wine, which in my opinion really gives Sauterne a run for its money, is ranked based on the number of puttonyos - 3 to 6 – which indicate its level of sweetness. It’s the stuff I fell in love with when I worked behind the bar at Aqua in SF, and have had great difficultly finding in any of the stores. Well now I’ve got two bottles bitches!!! Let me tell you people, I am a real cheapie when it comes to buying stuff to bring home, but I had no issues pulling out the gold card for Tokaji.
As for Budapest, it’s a beautiful big city which is surprisingly much more cosmopolitan than Prague. And because Hungary was once occupied by Turkey during the height of the Ottoman Empire, Budapest is also famous for its array of old Turkish bath houses. Amy and I checked out Rudas late last Friday night – this place has been around for centuries and while renovated and clean, still keeps its cool old stone interior which includes 5 pools of different temps, fountain-like spouts, and domed ceiling. While it stays open and kicking till 4am, we called it quits by midnight to avoid further pruning. The Magyars that bathe all night must have a tougher skin.
Thanks Alan for contributing this post.
