Hungary: Budapest & Wine Country
Besides op-shopping, which we’ve already spoken about at length, there were many other reasons we were keen to get stuck in to the magical land of Hungary. After reading through our bible (Lonely Planet’s Europe On Shoestring) we discovered that Hungary’s capital of Budapest is one of the best places on earth for a good time. But most importantly, we also found that just outside of Budapest is a wonderful town called Eger which is Hungary’s winemaking region.
Budapest
Budapest was actually two cities (Buda and Pest) up until the late 1800’s. They say that the Buda side is full of residential houses, leafy streets and mansions; while the Pest side has become the buzzing culinary and nightlife spot.
WHERE TO STAY
Staying near all the cool bars and restaurants in Pest is much more expensive, so we budget-conscious travellers opted to stay in a delightful Airbnb on the Buda side. It’s a short and picturesque walk to Pest, crossing the Danube River via one of Budapest’s many stunning bridges.
WHAT TO DO
Due to us either being extremely lucky, or global warming definitely being a real thing, we had some unseasonally hot, sunny weather during our time in Budapest. We went for runs in Margaret Island, a little island sitting in the middle of the Danube River. Along the perimeter of the island the government has installed a proper running track, that is about a 5km loop. It’s great to see cities encouraging people to be active, and what a spot to do it – so picturesque.
Speaking of pretty things, the Hungarian Parliament Building is one of the most impressive buildings we’ve seen so far. Perched on the banks of the Danube, it’s definitely worth seeing. Heroes Square is another impressive monument. It’s a plaza with statues of the seven original clan members of Hungary, and is situated next to the lovely Park Varosliget.
Gellert Hill, which sits on the Buda side, is a hill offering lovely views of the river and Pest. At the bottom of the hill sits Gellert Spa, a collection of thermal baths right. The idea is that when it’s cold in Budapest, you go to the spa to warm up. We definitely weren’t cold due to the aforementioned glorious weather, but we went anyway.
The Central Markets in Budapest are good for a walk around, whether you’re looking for souvenirs or buying fresh produce.
WHAT TO EAT & DRINK
Budapest’s famous ruin bars are scattered all over the city’s old District VII neighborhood (the old Jewish quarter.) This neighborhood was left to decay after World War II, leaving ruins of abandoned buildings, stores and parking lots. Then about 20 years ago, some blokes were like ‘why don’t we start a pop-up bar in one these old buildings so we have somewhere to drink cheap beer?’ That bar was Szimpla Kert, and it started the trend has left Budapest crawling with awesome ruin bars. Anker’t is another great ruin bar, and both that and Szimpla Kert transform into food markets on Sunday mornings, serving organic food, healthy treats and yummy brunch snacks.
Sitting next to Szimpla Kert is Karavan Food Market, a collection of food trucks serving everything from traditional Hungarian dishes to spicy Thai soups. It’s cheap, tasty and great when you feel like a break from Hungarian cuisine.
It’s not often we can afford to go to fancy restaurants. So when we’re in cities where one of leading restaurants serves mains for about $20, we make an effort to treat ourselves. Fricska Gastropub was recently named the best restaurant in Budapest and it’s delicious. Their sommelier is a delightful man who really knows his stuff about Hungarian wine, too.
Eger and the Valley of Beautiful Women
Eger is a town about an hour and a half from Budapest. While the town itself it quite nice, the main reason people visit is because it’s the launching pad to Hungary’s wine tasting hub – Szevpasszonyvolgy, or Valley of Beautiful Women.
The Valley of Beautiful Women is 10 minutes from Eger and is a circular stretch of road. In the middle of the circle is a park, and along the outside of the road are approximately 50 cellar doors, each carved down into the rock forming little wine tasting ‘caves’. You can walk around on foot tasting wine at every single cellar door with no reservations required. No driving or advanced bookings – heaven.
THE WINE
The wine varietal you absolutely have to try in the Valley is Bull’s Blood – a strong, full-bodied red. The urban myth is that when Eger Castle was under attack by the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman soldiers on approach saw the Hungarian soldiers with their mouths stained with dark red liquid, and assumed they had been drinking the blood of their bulls (however it was in fact just red wine.) Scared of these barbaric blood-drinking creatures, the Ottoman soldiers retreated and Eger Castle was saved.
WHAT’S WITH THE NAME?
So if it’s a wine tasting hub, why is it called The Valley of Beautiful Women? Back in the day, drinking wine was an activity reserved only for men, so only males were permitted entry into these tasting cellars. The only females who were allowed in were the prettiest prostitutes the men would pay to accompany them into the wine cellars. Hence, it earned its name of the Valley of Beautiful Women.
WHICH WINERIES TO VISIT
Luckily for Kirsty, the rules have changed since then and now non-prostitute females are permitted entry. We went to a few different cellar doors but our favourites were Toth Ferenc (cellar number 46) and St Andrea (cellar number 38.) You can get food at some of the wineries, but given it was a bit expensive and we’re on a budget, we BYO’d snacks. One of wineries that didn’t serve food had no problem with us ordering their wine and eating our own lunch, so we made ourselves a delicious wine-accompaniment feast outside their lovely cellar door.
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