Travel plans

[motetus]

Hooray, wife and I have finally booked our holiday this year - a week split between Budapest and Vienna, leaving next week. Not my favourite time of year to travel but we didn't have much choice, having discovered that once you are financially stable and can afford to travel without having to stay in the dirtiest dodgiest backpacker hostels you can find, you just can't get the time off work. Anyone who knows of things to do in either of those places, please advise me for I have no clue. I just picked Budapest after googling Hungarian food and getting peckish.

But yes, holiday! I AM GOING TO GO HAVE FUN AND NOT THINK ABOUT HOW SHITTY MY MASTERS IS TURNING OUT.

However, I need to rewatch this to calm myself down after the horror of all the extra charges Jet2 springs on you. £33 for one item of checked baggage and then another £30 to check it in! EACH WAY. Thieving fucktards, you're not getting that from me. I will only take carry-on and will wash my knickers in my hotel sink just to spite you.

And, and, and, the weekend after we get back from that I am going down to Oxford to meet up with ainsoph15 for Old Roman Shit and Boozing, then two weeks after that it's up to Scotland to be fed Nutella crepes by goblin_dae and gush over her new little terror kitten!

My, it's almost like I have a social life.

Comments

[planejane.livejournal.com]

I just saw this feature on the beeb website while I was reading the news:

http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20110809-exploring-the-ruin-pubs-of-budapests-seventh-district

I haven't been to Budapest for *coughs* 20 years, and I know it must have changed immensely in that time. I loved it, though. Can't wait to hear about your trip.

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Site not available in the UK? WHAT IS THIS? I WANT PUB. *rages*

Oh, well, I am sure we will find pubs eventually. Man, this holiday is so last minute - other than book flights and B&Bs I have done nothing, not even look up things to do there. I even keep forgetting that we're going on Sunday! But I'm sure I'll have a lovely time, they both look like amazing cities.

[planejane.livejournal.com]

I copied the article!

Budapest’s seventh district, once home to a flourishing Jewish community before World War II, has emerged as one of the best bar-hopping neighbourhoods on the busy Pest side of the Danube.

This renaissance has been led by a string of recently opened "ruin pubs" (romkocsma in Hungarian) – a fitting name given the still-derelict state of much of the area. Most can be found along the streets behind the Great Synagogue.

Each ruin pub is unique, but they all share certain similarities. The main ingredient is usually an abandoned building, preferably with a vacant lot nearby to hold picnic tables and a few beer taps. Add to that a bit of thrift-shop decor and a healthy dose of hipster vibe, and the result is what you might get if you crossed a chill Berlin squat with a smallish Munich beer hall.

The best ruin pubs offer live music or DJs on the weekends, as well as film nights and art exhibitions. Some even have light food and hostel accommodations. They are the perfect spot to unwind on a warm summer night after a busy day of sightseeing.

Ruin pubs to the rescue
The arrival of the ruin pubs could not have come sooner for beleaguered Budapest VII (as the city's districts are designated; when in Budapest, do as the Romans do). Though the area is a stone's throw from Andrássy út, Pest's swankiest boulevard, it suffered from a mix of neglect, bad karma and poverty that started during World War II with the deportation of tens of thousands of Jewish residents, and continued into the 1960s, '70s, and '80s as a large Romani population was forced to relocate to Budapest and occupy the abandoned houses.

Now, main streets like Király utca and Dob utca sport trendy coffeehouses and wine bars alongside remnants of Jewish life - small family-owned restaurants and bakeries - that managed to survive.

Choices for a 'ruinous' night
Three of the best ruin pubs are all a short walk from one another and can be taken in fairly easily during a night of methodical drinking. Each has its own personality, so choose whichever one suits the night and your mood.

Nearly every discussion of ruin pubs begins with the granddaddy of them all. Szimpla kert was the first to open and is still arguably the best and bawdiest of the bunch. Several rooms, including a large open-air garden, can accommodate hundreds of people, making it a good choice if you are travelling in a group. In addition to beer, there is wine, cocktails and light food.

Mumus (aka the "Bogeyman"), just down the road, is smaller and hipper. The music here runs from jazz to funk (in contrast to the more hard-core Szimpla) and the overall vibe is more laid-back too. There is a similar mix of drinks. The smaller garden lends itself better to quieter conversation.

Fogas ház is a relative newcomer, having opened its doors fully in 2010 after a few years of opening briefly and then closing down. More than a ruin pub, Fogas aims to be a community cultural centre for the rapidly gentrifying area around nearby Klauzál tér, which was once the heart of the former Jewish quarter. The clientele here tends to be more local than either Mumus or Szimpla. That said, it is not nearly as homey as the former, nor as lively as the others.

There are lots of places to grab a bite on a pub-crawl through this part of town, but one standout is Kőleves Vendéglő (the "Stone Soup" restaurant). The menu is eclectic, mixing traditional (and delicious) Hungarian specialties like catfish stew served with noodles, with Jewish items like matzo ball soup and roast goose, and international fare like pasta and couscous. There are also lots of good vegetarian choices. Reservations are a must, especially on weekend nights.

[motetus.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you! I think we are staying right in that area - and our B&B is only a block away from Szimpla. Eee, I am looking forward to this trip even more now!