Weekend in Budapest

A weekend, sudden plan, bags packed and off I go to catch a glimpse of the stunning Eastern Europe in Budapest. Buda+Pest combined in 1873 to form this city that stands today as Hungary’s largest city. The elegant and powerful Danube, the largest river in the EU flows through this city. Magnificent old buildings and castles standing on its edge shimmering with golden light reflections and numerous bridges connecting the different parts of the city, this place is one of the most serene ones one can ever visit. So the day 1 begins with a kind of sunset watching staring at the ‘Chain Bridge’, where the running scene in ‘Hum dil de chuke sanam (Hindi)’ movie was shot with Salman Khan runs towards ‘Sanjana’. Well this bridge is definitely worth the attention, it was the second largest bridge throughout the world during its construction and definitely it was lucky to survive the WWII air raids. We spent the whole evening just staring at this bridge from all possible angles, be it front, beside, across, whatever, we just could never have enough of this glittering bridge standing so elegantly. A summer evening, best of friends, The Hungarian king of wine-Tokaji in hand, sitting on the grass, glamorous golden reflections all along the river, a heart-full laugh and that was just the definition of a Perfect time, perfect place! The city is divided to numerous districts numbered in Roman numbers and commute is quite very comfortable with the trams. It was fun to know I was in one of Europe’s oldest or rather initial tram routes, some of the trams still have quite a look of antiquity. The main railway station too is quite fancy. Day 2 was a walk along the river once again, yeah told you one can never have enough of this river! This day included a climb to the Buda hill (declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site), well it’s equally beautiful in the day light offering a view of the neogothic Hungarian parliament. This is the largest building in Hungary with a 268m length. That’s…big, yes! Umm... Hungary and no food mentioned is quite unfair. I being a vegetarian was a bit of a disadvantage, never the less, the langos (traditional Hungarian bread) is definitely a must have, they come in all possible combinations. The Great market Hall was fascinating a place looking like a railway station from outside and once you step in, its all red all over with peppers (chillies) hanging, meat shops, food stalls, musicians playing violins and guitars, it definitely was like a Mela in there. One interesting thing is the way the hawkers sell their things as ‘typical or traditional Hungarian, yes yes’. Yeah, the magic of going to a touristic place! Ok, so loads of eating completely recommended and a visit to the Fisherman’s Bastion (beautiful view once again), a big open Hero’s square, a local walking tour too is quite worth it in this city. To end it perfectly, going for a river cruise with nice Hungarian vintage wine is a perfect bring home memory. Another beautiful trip to a brilliantly beautiful city.