Hungarian Holiday
Discovering Central Europe:
(Part 1)
Intense excitement to see Hungary again engulfed me when I took Turkish Airlines from Manila to Istanbul.
With impeccable service, Wi-Fi availability, great food, and a chef-on-demand to boot, Turkish Airlines impressed me. Even if the flight lasted a bit longer, I did not complain. In fact, Turkish Airlines, because of my recent experience, would easily make it to my list of favorite airlines.
After our short connecting flight from Istanbul to Budapest, déjà vu kicked in at the Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport as I was there around the same time last year. That inexplicable feeling of excitement enveloped me once again because I was back in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
The scenic drive by the Danube to our hotel, the Hilton Budapest, made my heart jump. Upon arrival at the hotel, I was impressed to find out that it was built around the ruins of a 13thcentury Dominican monastery. Its location is dramatic because it sits next to the neo-Gothic Mattias Church.
We met with Richard Bogdan and Enver Ungen, our local guides in Budapest, who accompanied us throughout our fourcountry discovery of Central Europe (though some would say these countries do fall both under Central and Eastern Europe).
We tried authentic local home cooking at Pest Buda Bistro & Hotel, where we had lunch. Richard said the food in this
Michelin-Guide recommended restaurant reminded him of his grandmother’s cooking. Right after lunch, we headed to Hungary’s House of Parliament
(latogatokozpont.parlament.hu/en). It is dubbed as one of the biggest and one of the most beautiful parliament buildings in the world. The building, a central element in the Danube panorama, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011. Our group took a private tour of the building and even entered the session hall! We also visited the beautiful Great Market Hall (Nagycsarnok)
(budapestmarkethall.com/great-market-hall-budapest), one of the many historical markets in Budapest. Built in 1897, this place is a food lover’s dream where one could find all types of paprika, spices, caviar, Mangalica pork (from the hairy Hungarian pig) sausages and foie gras. Hungary, after all, is the second largest exporter of foie gras after France. From this market, I’ve already purchased five kilos of food and ceramics and it was just our first day in Central Europe!
A short walk from the Great Market Hall was the Chain Bridge with a great view of the Budapest’s Castle District, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The place was packed with historic attractions — the Royal Palace, Matthias Church, Fisherman’s Bastion, medieval houses and our hotel. The crooked streets are lined with interesting museums (like The House of Houdini), stores, cafés and restaurants.
A fine-dining dinner at Alabardos (using priceless antique plates) was a perfect end to our group’s first day in Hungary.
*** For our second day, we explored the wonders of the thermal baths of Budapest, which I missed the first time I was there. Our morning destination was the Szechenyi Baths, one of the best and oldest spa baths in Europe. It was nice to get into the hot mineral-rich waters with an outside temperature of -2 degrees Celsius. Lunch at Urban Betyár restaurant (www.urbanbetyar.com/ en/ ) followed. The restaurant, which is near St. Stephen’s Basilica, offers an extraordinary gastronomic and ethnographical experience that is one-of-a-kind in Hungary. Goulash here is excellent. I visited the massive basilica and shopped at the Christmas market around its vicinity after lunch.
*** When you want to cruise the Danube River, the pulse of Budapest, the speedboat tour Dunarama (dunarama.hu) is the way to go. It operates water limousines that can board up to 10 passengers with a closed cabin and an open platform. In the privacy of our own boat, we had the luxury of seeing the landmarks of both the Buda and the Pest sides of the Danube that included the Castle Hill and the Parliament Building.
Our afternoon started at another Christmas market, where we shopped for unique Christmas presents and tried local delicacies like the Sekler cake (similar to the Czech Republic’s Trdelnik). Then we headed to the stunning Hungarian State Opera House for a private tour. Must-see details are its corridors adjacent to the bar and the private royal entrance. At the opera house, we were treated to a performance by a soprano.
We then went to the Franz Liszt Music Academy where we witnessed a one-on-one classical piano class between a maestro and a student. Music students from all over the world try to get a coveted spot in this school. Coffee time followed at New York Café (www.newyorkcafe.hu) in the Boscolo Hotel. New York Café is an opulent Hungarian art nouveau café that is considered as one of the most beautiful in the world.
Our dinner was at Pierrot, a small and cozy restaurant on Castle Hill that has been featured in the Michelin Red Guide since 2005. It is a frequent dining place for Hollywood stars visiting Budapest, whose photos are up on its “wall of fame.” Pierrot has the best poached trout dish I have ever tasted in my life!
The next day, we managed to visit two more landmarks before leaving Budapest — the Liberty Statue, which commemorates those who sacrificed their lives for the independence of Hungary; and Heroes’ Square, which is noted for its iconic statue complex that features the Seven Chieftains of the Magyars and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Our last Hungarian meal was at Gundel restaurant (gundel.hu/en) where we discovered food invented by a Bavarian-born restaurateur, business magnate and philanthropist Károly Gundel, who tamed the Hungarian cuisine. We had Sunday brunch in the premises where
Pope John Paul II and Queen Elizabeth II had dined as well.
(Check out Part 2 of this Central European trip, organized by the Tourism Boards of Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. For more information, visit www.gotohungary.com, www.slovakia.travel,www.poland. travel and www.czechtourism.com. Check out www.turkishairlines.com.) (Follow me on Instagram @pepperteehankee.)