In the past years I have occasionally complained to whoever was willing to listen (or not, it was not really their choice) that I miss visiting the El Grecos in the Museum of Fine Arts. The El Grecos, mind you, have not made any grand escape, it’s simply that the museum is closed for restoration,…
Category: discover Budapest
Best of 2017 Budapest
The third year must surely signal a tradition, so here are some new additions to the ever growing list of particularly nice Budapest things. (For the previous editions see here: Best of 2015 and Best of 2016.) -I am prone to moaning that it never snows in the city, although in all honesty I dislike both snow and…
Dada Would’t Buy Me a Bauhaus- In Search of Hidden Modernism in Újlipótváros
I’ve already mentioned my ancient collection of English puns, and how it provided unexpected guidance for my adolescent discoveries: another one I recall very vividly is the one giving this piece its title: ‘Dada wouldn’t buy me a Bauhaus’. Due to its Romanian connections, I was by then familiar with the concept of dada, but…
Switch House Blues: A Visit to the Kelenföld Power Plant
Visiting the disused switch house of the Kelenföld power station is a pet project for any self-respecting architecture and/or urbanism aficionado in Budapest- the building is normally off limits to the public and has recently been serving as the backdrop of several dystopian films instead. The Contemporary Architecture Centre (KÉK) has however taken the pain…
Rust, Gold and an Angry Poet: Autumn on Gellért Hill
Let’s say you woke up one day and suddenly had no idea what season it was, perhaps a strange sort of weather amnesia, but figured you’re in Budapest, and in such cases your go to solution should definitely be Gellért hill: firstly, it’s rather easy to spot from many central areas, particularly the Danube promenade, and secondly,…
Summer’s End in Városliget
The other day it dawned on me that the Budapest exploration project faded a little into the background with the advent of summer. It’s the season I enjoy the most, but also the one I find borderline tiring in its relentless excitement: the travels, the long days when you feel compelled to stay out with…
Your Ruins to the Right of Me- Discovering Népsziget
Since it transpired that we’ve summited almost all of Buda’s many hills we decided it was time to turn our attention to other places of interest such as, let’s say, islands. Though, as previously specified, of those there are only three in Budapest and we’ve been to all of them, although Csepel has sadly gone…
Pocket Diary Budapest 