Budapest, alive at night
Budapest is hot and sunny during these long June days. We spend the days wandering various parts of the city. Up and down Kiraly Utca, where our hostel is centrally located, we branch off into the side streets to find restaurants and cafes. Two streets over is Andrassy Utca, the main street in the city that connects all the way to Hero’s Square.
Budapest is actually made of two halves: Buda to the West of the river and Pest to the East. The Buda side is cute, lots of smaller narrower streets with colourful buildings lining the sides. The Buda hills contain the castle, Matthias church and the Fisherman’s Bastion – top tourist attractions. The best part of Buda is the amazing panoramic views of the Pest side. The Parliament building in particular is impressive.
Aside from the main tourist stops though, the city feels quiet and a little dead. Many shops are closed and everything has a hot, sleepy, stagnant feel to it.
But when the sun goes down, Budapest transforms into an energetic being, full of life and mischief. What were quiet streets during the day suddenly burst into life and bars pop out from nowhere. In particular, “ruin bars” – atmospheric bars housed in old courtyards or ruins of buildings.
We check out a few of these and they all seem to have eclectic decor and casual but good vibes. Crowd is full of twenty somethings, drinking, smoking , and socialising. One in particular, Szimpla Kert, is a sight in and of itself. Enter through an average looking driveway entry and into a strange world of fairy lights, lanterns, wires, old recycled computer monitors, picnic benches, random collection of other tables and chairs, graffitied walls, and just a whole bunch of other junk, all thrown together to form an incredibly unique place. Th place is big with rooms tucked away into corners, a big courtyard, and an upstairs area equally large. There’s at least 5 bars spread around inside the venue.
Down the street there are several other similar, though not quite as extreme, bars as well. We even come across a Taqueria that reminds me of El Loco in Sydney, complete with cheap tacos And margaritas!
The dark streets are filled with party goers and everyone is out and about. The cooler nights are perfect for catching up over drinks and food and there’s no shortage of places to do it.
Another square by the centre of the city also plays host to young Budapesti. It’s an outdoor area with food and drink vendors along the side. You can buy drinks or BYO and just hangout. There’s even a wading pool to dip your feet into. On our first night in town, we wander by and sit with our feet in the water to people watch. Ended up in a random conversation with a random Dutch guy Rolf (or Wolf, as his friends like to call him) who is quite amusing with his tales of his office soap opera romances.
For night owls and bar hounds, Budapest is the place to be.
