One of the reasons why I love going to the baths at ungodly hours of the morning is that it’s the time of The Locals. The Locals are generally late middle aged to ancient, mostly men (a typical group would be four male friends or a group of three men and one woman), with a…
Category: Budapest
Why Go To The End Of The World, When You Can Go To Kőbánya
Kőbánya has always been mysterious to me, exotic and perhaps also slightly scary, exiled at the fringes of my Budapest existence, a land of imaginary brigands and flesh and bone people frozen into exasperated waiting on the platforms of minor stations my train hurtles through on its way home. Kőbánya-Alsó, Kőbánya-Felső, Kőbánya-Kispest. I know this…
Geometries in the Rain- In Search of Bauhaus with Budapest 100
Once upon a time on an almost unbelievably rainy May weekend I set out in search of Bauhaus in Budapest- why it has taken me two months to write about it, I cannot really tell, let’s just say that procrastination is one of the few things in life I know inside-out, if not the only…
Budapest corner with Istanbul: Gül Baba’s Rosegarden
Humans are seldom happy with what they have. Say you’re offered a bank holiday right in the middle of the week, and in a more positively disposed moment you do admit that this arrangement could perhaps function in the long run, making people more focused on the tasks they have on the four working days…
A Story of Chalk and Crystal: Day Trip to Fox Mountain
Just when we thought we had finally run out of Budapest hills (or mountains, as per the local parlance) to summit, we were made aware of the existence of the poetically named Róka-hegy (Fox Mountain), situated very close to the city’s administrative border with Üröm. This seemingly extreme location is actually fairly easily reachable by…
The Budapest Saint Patrick’s Day Parade 2019
Last year I did the unthinkable and skipped the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade- my excuse would be that since it always takes place very close to the March 15th long weekend, one feels tempted to use the extra bank holiday for some sort of city break and I could not resist temptation. This year, though,…
The Commie IKEA of Rákóczi Boulevard
Rákóczi boulevard must definitely be the first glimpse I ever took of Budapest, as it opened up in front of Keleti railway station, rushed towards the mysterious Blaha Lujza square (I tend to get lost in its underpass to this very day), passed Astoria, the hub of my life while studying in the nearby ELTE…
Sailing Through 117 years of Budapest History: The Adria Palace
The Adria Palace (of which I of course did not yet know the name) had been the backdrop to many a mundane undertaking of my Budapest life: I would give it a passing glance on my way to Iguana’s Cinco de Mayo celebration, peer at it aimlessly while queuing at the mobile bathroom during the…
Un(re)touched Christmas
Last time I felt truly ready for Christmas was probably when I was about six, mainly because at that time I did not prepare for it, it just came, and it was lovely. Santa always brought the presents I had asked for, as if he knew me exactly as well as, let’s say, my parents,…
Best of 2018- Budapest
End (and beginning) of year lists are a great way to measure just how much you failed at whatever you set out to do, so let’s commence by saying a silent prayer over the demise of my plan to check out more exhibitions this year. Their grand total being a fat, rotund zero. In all…
Pocket Diary Budapest 