I think she was a middle-distance runner…
the translation wasn’t clear
Could be a budding stately hero
International competition in a year
She was a good enough reason for a party…
(well, you couldn’t keep up on a hard track mile)
While she ran a perfect circle
And she wore a perfect smile
In Budapest…

Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull. Written after a gig in 1986 and released on the 1987 album Crest of a Knave. I was 17. It was the first time I became aware of Budapest. 2026 I am in Budapest for the first time. At least I hope it is not the last.

First impressions set a tone for a place. Good or bad, right or wrong. Once you have your first impression sometimes it can be hard to let go. My first impressions of Budapest are fantastic.

A good coffee and apple strudel in the airport followed by a good slice of public transport from the airport to the centre of Budpast. Hope on to a tram at Deák Ferenc tér, half a dozen stops and there is the Hotel. The utter joy of an integrated public transport system.

If you’re looking for a History Of Budapest Wikipedia will probably be an ok place to go. If you’d like to hear Ian Andersen play the flute, try this link. To read me rambling on as I often do, then stay here. Or come back after the excellent music.

First, food. Excellent. Vegan food is, so far, on every menu I’ve seen. From vegan pancakes and vegan croissants for breakfast, to vegan Schnitzel and spaggetti pomodoro for any other time. Most pizza places will have someting fungi, sans kase. I have even found a few places that had a vegan Langos. With the fresh garlic, vegan frischkase it was an unexpected treat.

The Happy Cow lists a good number of places as Vegan and even more as Vegetarian with Vegan options. This is pretty good. And when comapred with my point of departure, really rather impressive.

The evening, night life in Pest, at least on the Saturday I arrived, is impressive. It was the evening that England played Norway and it was full of English football ‘fans’ and as far as I could see, no Norwegians. English football followers are not subtle. Despite that, the evening was good.

Following the ever reliable Rough Guide, the Szimpla Kert was the final destination, after a stop in the Karavan. For Karavan, cocktails. Someting with gin and cucumber. Cooling, refreshing. Excellent on a very warm evening. At Szimpla it was ‘ungarian Beer. Some even from Pest. Tastly, not gassy. Full of flavour. Good. If you are a fan of urban shabby, of the rough and ready, grunge atmosphere, like some of the more artistic parts of Berlin, which don’t forget was instrumental in the Rise of Ziggy Stardust, or the anarchic Freetown Christiania, then this will be up your strasse….. if you prefer your evening out to more middle class pretentious, well, take your pashmina and head to Újlipótváros.

For a quick precis on the Szimpla Kert, head to wikipedia again. Historically accurate but the pictures are out of date. Some of mine are here…..

Europe, right now, is having a bit of a moment, heat wise. It is quite warm. Budapest, today, was 30 Deg Celcius. To be honest, it felt warmer. That is probably because of the utter lack of any breeze or wind and the pristine, clear blue, cloudless skies. Thirty degrees with no breeze does feel warmer.

Which, in my mind at least, is the perfect segue into Public Transport. Keep up.

Mini Busses, full size, flat floor. Trams, Trolley Busses, Metro or Underground. Urban and Suburban Trains and the new Stadler intercity trains. Integrated, interconnected Public Transport. All available on the one 72 hour Public Transport ticket which cost around 5700 FT [ Hungarian Florits ] which is about €15.00. Around a fiver a day. This is even better value for money than Bern, Switzerland.

And it’s air conditioned. Cool. Relaxing. Vast. Regular. Frequent. For the five days I have been here, from entry to exit I have used my feet or Public Transport. It is ubiquitus. Which is how it should be. Crossings are people first, cars second. Meaning at a crossing that has no lights, no control, no guidance, if a people first crossing. When people cross, traffic must stop. Simple. As. That. The way it should be.

And it works. Getting around Budapest is a joy. Very rarely does one have to worry about traffic. Trams Yes, But traffic; rarely. Dublin, to pick a European capital city entirely at random, could learn a lot from this simialry sized capital city.

While here, there are some phrases that keep popping into my mind. Which is Inconceivable. But it happens. But you ask, so, … as you wish. Here is a clue : My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die..

Yes, yes, The Princess Bride; S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure. Set in Florin. Budapest, in Hungary, has the Forint. I know, tenuous, but it has made me smile all week. My name is Inigo Montoya……

Part of which leads me, finally, to the Széchenyi thermal bath, the images I have whipped from Wiki’. It would be rude to take a camera into to a thermal spa. The architecturtal style is Baroque Revival, or Neo-Baroque if you prefer. Baroque copy. Not like Disney to Neuschwanstein. But more the late 1800’s early 1900s confidence of a city, of a country, confident, relaxed and assured about it’s place in the world. As Hungary was from the mid 1860’s.

It was completed in 1913. Time only rolls forward. It is supplied by 77 Deg Celcius water from 1200 meters down, under the Budapest City Park, an area recorded as Oxmeadow as far back as the mid’ 1200’s.

And today it is Europes largest medicinal bath. Baden Baden ? Everywhere has Europes largest, or the oldest, or the finest, something. The Széchenyi thermal bath are beautiful. Of that there is no doubt. Thermal baths are, were, intended for recupuration. To make the urban middle classes feel better. Having spent a hlaf day in Széchenyi thermal bath it is difficult not to feel better. The water was a steady 34 deg celcius. The sun was shinning, the breeze was minimal. It was elevating.

In simple terms, would I come back to Bratislava ? Yes. Yes I would. In many ways, I feel as I have only really scratched the surface. There is much more to experience; museums not yet visited, achitecture to explore, walks to take and wine to drink. But, for now…..

…. passepartout must continue,