After two trips to Praha, one of the three seats of the Hapsburg Empire, it was only logical to follow up with one of the other two seats of the Hapsburg Empire, either Budapest Castle or Vienna Castle. I chose to go to Budapest before Vienna after researching both cities simply because I thought Budapest would be more exotic and I was not disappointed. A future trip to Vienna Castle will complete the set.

A good rule of traveling in countries where the native language is not your own is to learn the very basics of polite courtesy. Making an effort to show respect for the place and people you are visiting will take you a long way. Hungarian is an unusual language in that there are only two places where it is spoken: Hungary and Finland. This is one of the hints as to the origins of the Hungarians. In order to learn some Hungarian I bought several references, an excellent one to learn survival phrases and how to pronounce Hungarian is Colloquial Hungarian ISBN 0-415-00077-7 (Combined), ISBN 0-415-01857-9 (Cassette), ISBN 0-415-04589-4 (Book) I made the mistake of buying the Berlitz Hungarian Casette Pack with Phrase Book ISBN 2-8315-7743-8 which was basically useless as the text did not match the casette. I also brought a pocket phrasebook, "Hungarian, a rough guide phrasebook", ISBN 1-85828-304-3 which was handy. This is an Online Guide to Hungarian

I used several guidebooks to prepare for the trip. In order to best identify landmarks etc whenever possible I get the Eyewitness Guide, and of course there was one for Budapest: Eyewitness Travel Guide to Budapest ISBN 0-7894-4180-2. For more detailed information on Budapest and Hungary, I got both of the Lonely Planet Guides: Lonely Planet Hungary ISBN 0-86442-685-2 and Lonely Planet Budapest ISBN 1-86450-118-9. I also got the Blue Guide Hungary ISBN 0-7136-4559-8. The most interesting guide I discovered, though, was Budapest, A Critical Guide (The Cult Guide to Budapest) ISBN 1-873429-31-2. It has information on the daily lives and haunts of the residents as well as inset interviews of friends of the author. The author bills it as a guide for eggheads... I also picked up Cheap Eats in Prague, Vienna and Budapest ISBN 0-8118-2144-7. At the end of this page I'll provide you with a series of links I used to research the trip.

Budapest has interesting contrasts to Praha. Praha was saved from the bombings of the various wars, so the architecture there tends to be older (dating as far back as 800 ad) and more Gothic architecture in addition to the Baroque. Budapest (and most of the architecture throughout Hungary) is primarily Baroque and less than 300 years old. Budapest also suffered damage under the various occupations (the Turks, the Hapsburgs, the Germans, the Communists.) However there are still wonderful examples of Baroque architecture to be found. Included in my pictures around Pest are a few pictures of the many beautiful buildings which can be found there. These are my photos of Buda Castle. At the end of the trip I stayed at the famous Gellert Hotel, and here are some photos I took from the suite.

I was sad to find out that one of the last things the Germans did when leaving Budapest was to blow up all of the bridges across the Duna (Danube). The bridges today are still beautiful, though, especially the Chain Bridge at night as seen from the Korso looking towards Buda Castle. (Remember that what is now one city, Budapest, was originally three cities: Buda, Obuda, and Pest (See my photos of Pest.) The O in Obuda means "old" and is where you will find ruins from the Roman settlements of 500 BC.) If you are interested in the history of Hungary, I found a nice volume while I was there: An Illustrated History of Hungary ISBN 963-13-4887-3

The Magyar (Hungarian) are a proud people with a long and rich heritage. The origins of the Magyar are still in debate with several theories. One thing that is known is that there is only two places in the world where their language is spoken: Finland and Hungary. One of the oldest theories is that they descended from the Huns and to this day you will find Atilla to be a very common name for men. During my visit to northern Hungary and the Danube bend I stopped in Esztergom, the castle town of Visegrad and the artist town of Szentendre and picked up a book (Between East and West, Everyday Life in the Hungarian Conquest Period ISBN 963-04-6677-5) outlining this theory. In the castle town of Visegrad each year they have a festival where this is acted out with residents in native medieval garb and games. I also took a trip to the famous wine district and town of Eger, and here are my photos from that trip.

While the food in Praha is good and the beer unequaled in the world, the food in Hungary is outstanding and diverse and the wine is sublime. It is also less expensive than other places. I could usually find a good bottle of red wine in the stores for about 800 Forint (under $4 US) and in the restaurants for about 1200 Forint (under $5 US.) That doesn't mean you can't find restaurants with five-star european pricing, because you can, you just don't have to in order to have a wonderful meal.

Now if you want to order Hungarian wine and brandies there is a place online you can order it from: http://www.internetwines.com and they carry several types of Palinka (brandy), Tokaji (white wine) from 3 to 6 puttonyos, and Egri Bikaver (Bulls Blood). If you have a Trader Joes nearby you can usually find Egri Bikaver there as well. You might even be able to find some of the Hungarian wines in your local wine specialty store.

There are two stories about the two wines listed above. The most common legend of why Egri Bikaver is called Bulls Blood dates back to the turk attack upon the castle in Eger and the victory of the Hungarians against the Turks in 1552. The story goes that the turks outnumbered the Hungarians four to one or more. In those days the women helped defend the castle by bringing wine and food to the men guarding the castle walls so that the men could fight night and day. Supposedly the turks were amazed at how fiercely and bravely the Hungarians defended their castle even in the face of overwhelming numbers, and they could see that the beards of the Hungarians were stained red (from the wine) and the turks claimed that the Hungarian warriors must be drinking bulls blood to be able to fight so heroically. The second story is historical fact. During the days of France's King Louis 14 he visited the Hungarian royalty who served him Tokaji wine during his stay. He enjoyed the wine so much that he declared Tokaji "vinum regum rex vinorum" - "The Wine of Kings and King of Wines." Strangely enough in America most Americans who have heard of "Tokay" wine associate it with the cheap imitations of Tokaji which were favored by winos due to its high alcohol content (usually 12%.) The cheap imitations are nothing like the real thing, so if you get a chance to try the true Hungarian Tokaji by all means do so - it is wonderul. It is also rather expensive even in Hungary - it typically comes in a 500ml bottle and not 750ml, and in both the US and Hungary can easily cost $15 to $30 a bottle. This wine is definitely not within the budget of most winos except for those of us who are (still) gainfully employed :-)

As you read about Hungarian cooking you will find reference after reference to paprika. In the US, when we read about paprika we tend to think of the fine red powder available in the spice section. This is not what Hungarians use in their cooking. When Hungarians add paprika to salads, soups, etc. it is the fresh pepper itself and not a dried product. Paprika peppers come in a variety of sizes, colors and flavors, from sweet to fiery hot. The apartment I stayed in for the first part of my visit was right down the street from the largest market in the city (I have photos of it here.) This market had three levels and many individual vendors (easily 100 stalls) and many had huge piles of fresh paprika peppers. The peppers are shaped like chili peppers, but are usually about four to eight inches long and yellow, red or green. Growing up in America I have seen many different dishes served as "goulash" but none of them came close to the real thing. Goulash (pronounced goo-yas) is a soup/stew typically with chunks of beef and vegetables and of course fresh paprika pepper slices. It did not have macaroni or ground beef and the liquid was not thick or viscous. It started out as a stew that would be cooked over an open fire outdoors. If someone offers you something else and calls it "goulash" don't judge the real thing by it :-)

The other picture books I purchased while on the trip are as follows:

Esztergom 2000 ISBN 963-03-98885

Esztergom: The Cathedral, The Treasury and the Castle Museum ISBN 963-208-785-2

The Wines of Eger ISBN 963-8155-82-5

Eger, Heves County ISBN 963-8210-68-0

Baroque in Eger and County Heves ISBN 963-8155-48-5

Die Ungarischen Kronungs-Insignien ISBN 963-13-2314-5

Spas in Hungary in Ancient Times And Today ISBN 963-8154-21-7

Budapest, A City Set In Time ISBN 963-13-5101-7

Here are some of the links I used in preparing for the trip:

http://www.gotohungary.com/history/spa2.shtml Has pictures of Szegenyi and other spas

http://www.bkv.hu/angol/jegyek/index.html is the Budapest Metro

http://www.legenda.hu/angol.htm has Boat Tours

http://www.gotohungary.com/history/history.shtml has a brief history of Hungary

http://www.ehi.com/travel/ehi/hungary/hot_map2.html has a Budapest City Map and Hotel Locator

http://www.budapeststyle.com/ is Budapest Style Magazine

http://www.budapestweek.com/what.html is Budapest Week Online

http://www.gotohungary.com/history/castles.shtml has info on Budapest and Hungary Castles

http://www.hotdoc.de/europe/hungary/budapest/homeen.html is an Interactive Budapest Map - Excellent

http://www.cityrama.hu/ is Cityrama Budapest Tours

http://www.budapesthotels.com/hotels/club.asp is Club Apartments Budapest

http://www.budapesthotels.com/ has Budapest Hotels - Local Source

http://www.usis.hu/conseng/us_citizen.html#announcements is the US Counsular Section - Budapest - Advisories

http://www.budapesthotels.com/touristguide/dangers.htm has General Security Advice

http://www.gotohungary.com/history/wines.shtml has info on Hungarian Wines and Food

http://www.gotohungary.com/budapest/environs.shtml has info on Medieval History, Castles and Artists Colonies

http://www.gotohungary.com/history/ is History - Hungarys First 1000 Years

http://www.gotohungary.com/history/equestrian.shtml has info on Horses and Folk Traditions

http://www.gotohungary.com/ is the Hungary Tourist Office - Lots of Great Info

http://www.megaport.hu/Hungary/index.htm is a Hungary Guide - Local - Lots of Good Info

http://www.hungarytourism.hu/index.php?sid=0bf72400a2&langid=En is Hungary Tourism - Local - Good Info

http://www.budapesthotels.com/hotels/kabala.asp?nap_in=24&ho_in=2&ev_in=2002&curr=EUR is the Kabala Apartments

http://www.balaton.net/hmpg0e.htm has info on Lake Balaton

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/budapest/ is the online version of the Lonely Planet Guide - Budapest

http://www.budapesthotels.com/touristguide/programs/index.htm has info on Tours in Budapest and Hungary

http://www.budapesthotels.com/touristguide/ThermalBaths.htm has info on Budapest Thermal Spas

http://www.toucantourist.hu/hotels.htm has info on Hotels in Hungary

http://www.tourinform.hu/angol/irodak/alap.htm#budapest is the Official Tourism Offices in Budapest

http://www.budapestinfo.hu/en/index.html has great tourism info about Budapest

http://www.budapesthotels.com/touristguide/mahart.asp tells you how to travel down the Danube from Vienna or Bratislava, Slovakia to Budapest - Great fun

http://www.budapesthotels.com/systempages/info.asp is another travel guide for Budapest and Hungary

http://www.hungarytourism.hu/index.php?sid=1a8d8f7d1b&articleid=65&titleid=108&subid=4877 lists the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Hungary

http://www.vista.hu/en/utazas/ticket-air.php is a local travel office in Hungary

http://www.virtualtourist.com/m/.142584/164/?s=p is a Virtual Tourist Guide to Hungary

http://www.archimedia.hu/dekanytibor/index-e.html is the page for Local books about Wine in Hungary by Tibor Dekany

http://www.rotthalmuenster.thuega.de/pages/3356.htm is Palinka and Paprika - Includes a recipe for Gouyas (Deutch/German)

I hope some of this information proves useful to you in preparing for your trip to Budapest - my trip was one I'll never forget!

A Visontlatasra (Vislat!)