A beautiful city with a fascinating past (Budapest (Hungary))

Member Name: GizmoPig

Product:	Budapest (Hungary)
Date:	16/06/09 (10 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of history, cheap baths and water parks and friendly people!

Disadvantages: Potential language barriers, can be hard to work your way around at first

We went to Budapest in August 2008 for our honeymoon. We chose it because neither of us like beach holidays and wanted something that was a little bit different (and even though it was our honeymoon - cheap - as we couldn't afford an expensive break). Rather than reviewing places we went, I wanted to review the overall experience of the place. Any major sites can be found on any travel guide or book and we did a lot of them.

**Getting There**

We flew from Heathrow - I arranged the whole trip in pieces through Expedia - I don't like package holidays as I like to have a bit more flexibility so booked the flight and the hotel seperately. Flights I found we pretty expensive considering it was Eastern Europe - we paid about £250 for both of us for a return leaving on the Sunday at about 6am and coming back on the following Monday at 11am. I booked a room at the Hotel Aquarius which claims to be a half hour bus ride out of the centre. They lied. It's more like an hour! More on that later. As far as transfers went at the Budapest end, I made sure that I booked a taxi to take us to the hotel which I would recommend anyone to do as the prices if you wait until you get there are vastly inflated. We paid about £30 booking on Expedia to have a taxi take us to and from the airport at the beginning and end of the trip. However, the taxi on the way back didn't show up so I had to book another one and then try to claim my money back from Expedia.

**The Hotel**

The hotel we stayed in was 4 star. In Eastern Europe however, this can mean a different thing to the UK so don't go thinking that the 2 stars will be basic - they may not have a roof if you're very unlucky! (joke) Our hotel had a basic room which was reasonably furnished, with a double bed, wardrobe and dressing table. We also had an ensuite shower room. I would compare it to a Holiday Inn but not as modern on the furnishings and fittings. The breakfasts were really nice - a continential and cooked was on offer. The hotel also had an indoor pool (that no one seemed to use) and nice grounds. The only downside was the hours bus journey, but we did get to see a lot of the surrounding area which was interesting.

**The Culture**

Firstly, don't expect to understand anyone! Hungarian is an Indo-Finnish language which is in no way related to the Germainic languages like English, German and French. The closest relation is Finnish and I couldn't understand any of that either when I visited Helsinki a couple of years before. Best thing to do is to have a guide book with a few basic phrases. We bought a Lonely Planet and a Rough Guide in competition with eachother to see which was best. I'd advise taking both. In general though, the Hungarians are lovely, very warm and friendly, and a lot speak English. Look out for men with violins however - they come and stand next to you in restaurants and play and then expect tips. It can get expensive and slightly embarrassing if they pay you a lot of attention! One thing we loved about Budapest is that everyone is treated like an adult. Heath and Safety hasn't gone mad over there. Things like roadworks and other potential hazards are clearly signposted and if you choose to ignore them then it's your own stupid fault if you get hurt. As a consequence, the whole place feels more grown up and laid back. It was such a breath of fresh air from the culture of the UK.


**What to do**

We started a routine of going to one of the baths or spas in the afternoon, following a trip in the morning. The spas and water parks are amazing. There are over 100 in the city and they cost around £4 - £15 entrance fee! In comparison, Bath Spa in the UK costs £25 for two hours and they tag you in and out! The Budapest ones are a combination of water parks with slides, pools in the middle of parks with fountains and water features, and incredibly old and posh undercover ones. Also, in a lot of them, if you don't stay for a long time, you get a pro rata refund at the exit! How civilised is that!

I wasn't going to mention specific places but one I need to mention is the Terror House. We felt that we had to see this as it is a large house on a boulvard that was firstly home to the nazis and then the communist party. The whole building has been turned into a museum to the part that nazi occupation and communisium played in the country's past. There are some amazing exhibitions with light, sound and video - as good as the big museums in London like the Science Museum. It was very disturbing but incredibly interesting. It did however make me really angry that Hungary repeatedly asked the West for help over the years and were apparently ignored. Some really horrible things happened there as recently as the 1950s and I had no idea. We really should be taught this stuff in history at school - it's closer to home than learning about the American MidWest!! Along these lines - another must see is the sculpture park. It is just outside the city. When communisim was overthrown, the people took down all the communist statues and displayed them in a park outside the city, as they felt that the evil that was committed in their country shouldn't be forgotten. It is an amazing piece of history. I could have stood and looked at the statues and sculptures for hours.

Other things that we did were: the Buda Labyrinths, the Hospital in the Rock (a hidden hospital that was kept secret during occupation), the Palace, walked all around the hillsides and went to the various markets and craft fairs on during the summer. We also did a guided boat tour and had a hungarian cookery lesson that I booked again through Expedia.

I would love to go back here. There is so much history so I would recommend it for people who like to visit a place and learn about it. There was lots to learn but it was balanced out beautifully by all the baths and spas so we were able to relax a lot as well.

I would give two mains tips - get a hotel in the city centre and read about the place before you visit. If you turn up without knowing anything it could take a day or so just to get your bearings. In terms of cost, we were on a backpacking budget but got by on £50 a day between us. This was with a couple of meals out over the week, buying some supermarket food (always fun when abroad - and they actually have Tescos!!), entry to a spa/water park and an attraction every day.

I really would recommend Budapest to anyone and I really want to go back as I was so happy there all week.

Summary: I want to go back as soon as I can!