Hungary like the wolf

It's always a temptation when you are travelling to think that the last place you visited was the best – so much so, that I even seem to remember being fairly complimentary about Brussels a few weeks back. In the case of Budapest, though, I think the temptation is justified. It's a city that gets under your skin from the moment you arrive, surprising you constantly and defying any attempt to try and pigeon-hole it.

After checking in to the “love shack” double room in the comfy, but slightly tired, Back Pack Guest house in Buda, we caught a tram into Pest for a balmy evening stroll. The streets were bristling with an energy I've not felt in any city before, edgy but safe and welcoming at the same time. I've lost count of the number of times I've heard Hungary's capital described as “the new Prague”, but the brothels, sticky-fingered thieves and packs of pissed British sex tourists that scarred Prague were gladly missing. Instead, we found great food (at an embarrassingly good price), a warm welcome and, in Tuzrakter, the best former school turned open air bar, restaurant, street art extravaganza and performance space I've ever been to. Okay, the only one.

Some pretty fantastic planning on our part (namely, utter chance) meant that our second day in Budapest was also St Stephen's Day, a national holiday across Hungary and an excuse for a massive street celebration across the whole of the capital. A lunch of traditional Hungarian fare set us up perfectly for a hike up to the Citadel atop Castle Hill, and the delightfully random church, turned mosque, turned church again that is Matyas Church.

That evening we did what any self-respecting traveller should and jumped in with the thousands of locals lining the Danube, gulping Hungarian red by the tankard and waiting for... well, we didn't really know what. Bang on 9pm, we got our answer, in the form of a truly majestic firework display, played out in symmetry from underneath both Budapest's main bridges. The shonky video here does it no justice, but does show how excited I was!

Our last day came too soon, and were it not for our booked train, we would doubtless have stayed longer. After getting a hefty fine for some inexpert and almost accidental fare-dodging on the tram, we bundled our backpacks into left luggage (note to visitors – the lockers fill up early) and spent a day in the Szechenyi thermal baths in one of the many beautiful parks that dot the city. A handy remnant of Ottoman times, the baths are as much fun inside as they are architecturally impressive outside. Sharing eighteen pools of different temperatures with locals of all ages, along with a fair few bemused travellers, was a real joy. The heated outdoor pool was a particular highlight.

After a trip back to the station , where we finally managed to get our bags into a locker, we had time for another stroll around St Stephen's square, and an ice cream cone sculpted into in the shape of a rose (an impressive, if not particularly transferable, skill), before jumping on an overnight sleeper to Belgrade. We'd no idea what Belgrade would be like, but were agreed on one thing – it would have to be bloody good to beat Budaest.

Stay warm,

Luke and Louise

xxx

(Posted by Luke)