From Ruin to Redemption

So how does one get from Ruin to Redemption in a few days?....

The ruin bars of Budapest are establishments  not to be missed. Dotted around the city centre , in the run down buildings of the old Jewish quarter, they are a testament to the ingenuity and creativity of residents of this fair city.

Whilst most traces of the once thriving Jewish quarter have all but gone, in an area for so long neglected it is nice to see such alternative places for the weary and the thirsty, welcoming travellers from all over the world. 

Hashed together in derelict buildings, you will find makeshift rooms, adorned with graffiti, posters, chandeliers made from bike wheels and Christmas lights, old PC monitors play old school 90s screen savers on a constant loop as the DJs entertain the revelling crowd. 

During the day time they are a nice chilled place to relax in. Each ruined section offers up all manner of drinks, chill out areas, food grill and the aptly placed hollow of a car from a bygone era, taking centre stage as an elaborate table to in the smoking garden. Old bicycles, colourfully painted hang from the walls,

Tables and chairs salvaged from old workplaces, schools, who knows. One can t help but be taken in by the uniqueness of these places. 

The ruin bars have a slightly Jekyll and Hyde tinge to them, and by no fault of their own. Their relaxed daytime hipster bar vibe gives way to that of a mass throng of revelry, where a eclectic but strange mix hipsters, students, stag parties and weekend tourists enjoy the DJ sets. 

The sheer amount of English people is sadly mind boggling. Dom t get me wrong I love my country folk, but when travelling abroad I like to get away from that lovely British accent.

Alas in the ruin bars of Budapest the English accent creeps through the doors like a deadly virus as the day turns to night and takes over as the language/accent of choice for most. 

Your in danger of forgetting your in the beautiful city on the banks of the Danube when you hear British drunken shouts in the street: 

"Nothing like a tasty kebab on the way home" 

Although I must admit the kebabs in Budapest are infinitely nicer than ours in the UK.  If your ever in Budapest get a Gyros down you! 

Brits aside the bars of Budapest are not to be missed. 

But after a couple of days acquainting myself with the ruinous side of Budapest , I was itching for some kind of cultural activity to counterbalance the beer themed culture of the previous few days. 

Redemption called...

As the stars shone down, not a cloud in sight and after a tasty shot of absinthe for the road me and my trusty companion Ben set off over the Danube for a night time stroll, to redeem our health more than anything with a good stomp up the Citadel. 

The bronze lady, lit up, holds aloft a olive leaf, imposing her watchful eye on the city below. The citadel is a rocky outcrop on the banks of the Danube, it has for centuries been used as a fortress and vantage point. Having suffered severe damage during the war it was reopened as a park and viewpoint in the 1970s. 

At night time it has, not a sinister but a faint eerie feel to it.  As you wander up the dimly lit walkways, the shadows of tree branches and statues appears out of the gloom, the swings and slides of a kids playground groan and creak in the wind adding the the chorus of rustling tree branches. And save for the trickle of tourists making the trek up the mountain you would be forgiven for getting a little jumpy at the slightest sound. 

Before you even teach the top the pathway hugs the cliff face and the panoramic view up and down the Danube opens before you, bridges, buildings and cars light up against the night sky, relentlessly pulsing like the veins driving the heart of the city. 

It is easy to get lost in the dark due to the myriad of staircases and paths that lead up through the wooded hillside, but then very easy to find your way again.  The citadel at the summit is always visible through the trees and also the sheer cliff face on one side prevents you walking any further. 

The view from the summit is quite breathtaking. Two lesser statues flank the bronze lady, I say lesser, they re bloody huge, just that the bronze lady is suffering from a bout of gigantism so her male minions to her left and right dwarf into insignificance, save for the ridiculous poses both men have. 

One man stands bearing a torch which looks more like a matchstick when held next to the lady, and to her right the statue has a dragon in a death grip between his legs and is proceeding to beat the living daylights out of his face with his menacing fist.  All the while the dragon is looking up with an expression that says: "is that the best you got mate, I can just breath fire and end this!" 

The view below may have been spectacular but the statutes do kind of make you look at them, maybe in my case a little too much. 

We rounded the citadel and as we made it to the rear of the statutes the castle, palace and parliament light up the skyline either side of the river upstream. 

There are are benches, walls and grassy areas to sit and enjoy the panorama.  But as the cold breeze whipped up the hill, we found shelter against the ancient walls of the citadel.  A nice cool cider and a smoke seemed to have the effect of forgetting the cold, the view alone was enough to do that. 

The palace and castle rise up on a rocky outcrop much like the citadel about a kilometre or so upstream, and on the opposite side of the river, the parliament competes in a face off, as if locked in a giant game of 'who is the most audacious, ornate, majestic building of the Danube'. 

Cities at night time always look more comforting. The dirt and grime of the daytime disappear and all that is left to see are the shining lights of the impressive landmarks. The dark and silent Danube glistening and reflecting the lights of its riverbank dwellers. 

After complementing ourselves at what a great idea it was to enjoy a tasty nighttime beverage atop the citadel with the glistening panorama below we had to leave as the welcoming comfort of collapsing in bed called me. 

Daytime citadel summiting, river cruises with a voice over lady with a suicidal twist,

and national museums await my next instalment...