Albert’s Budapest

We rang the buzzer at the distinct yellow apartment building at 39 Aradi Utca, listed discreetly among other Hungarian residents names as Kapital Inn. Before we had a chance to collect ourselves from the sudden summer-like weather, the door opened and we smiled broadly and embraced a familiar figure, still wearing his trademark Phillies baseball cap, snug t-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops.

Albert, our “celebrity” proprietor/concierge, grabbed our bulky (2×58 lbs.) bags and bounded up the six flights of stairs leading us to his stylish B&B oasis in the heart of Budapest. I say celebrity, in that he has fashioned a “salon” for savvy international travelers at his four-bedroom duplex on the top floors of a 100 year-old apartment building.

We cannot separate our exhilarating experience of Budapest, from the general guidance, historical perspective, economic outlook, restaurant recommendations and taxi bookings, interest in our daily activities, sight-seeing tips, gossip, comfort, care, and friendship that Albert dispenses to all his guests. We connect to the city and its culture through his stories and insights – having studied in Boston for six years, he understands American sensibilities and tastes, including the generous bar of Dove soap and Head and Shoulders shampoo provisioned for guests (not the usual dime-sized soaps we had become accustomed to, at quaint hotels.)

Our return here fulfills a pledge we made last year to come back and deepen our experience and enjoyment of this intriguing city.

To us, parts of Budapest feel and look like the East Village/Soho neighborhoods of NYC, albeit a few socially uplifting monuments and heroic statues in the mix. Picture lots of youthful liveliness, commercial revival, amazing ornate facades in various states of restoration, surprising sophistication among the dark and storied streets, and the blossoming boulevards filled with bouncy verve (bikes, skates, dancing, ethnic music) – all this occurring at an historic crossroads of Eastern European culture.

Part of the debt we owned this visit was to experience the hot mineral baths that are a mainstream of civic life here. Fifty municipal baths grace the city with life-enhancing waters tapped from healing underground sources.

We spent a couple of half-day retreats at Széchenyi-gyógyfürdő – the grandest medicinal spa in Europe, located in a park at the end of the antique subway line that runs nearby: imagine 1950”s Coney Island beach scene meets Lourdes, housed in a surreal Neo-classical setting!

Lisa declared this one of the highlights of our entire 6-week truancy. Let’s just say “body issues” are not a national obsession in Hungary: Families with little kids, old folks sunning themselves while sipping beer, big women wading in the shallows, old sharks paying chess while submerged in the warm mineral waters, huge muscled and tattooed guys (a few dead-ringers for Mo, Curly, and Henry Kissinger), romantic couples kissing and bobbing in private corners – and in the interest of full personal disclosure– a few lovely “babes.”

We spent hours in the bright sun, luxuriating in the main outdoor hot pool and allowing strong jets of water to massage tired muscles. Next we slithered laughing in a slightly cooler pool with fast swirling tides of water and eruptions of buoyant bubbly joy. We sampled all sorts of esoteric medicinal dips, steams, and saunas.  After hydration with fizzy water and Coke-Light, we felt totally refreshed and completely peaceful on the long stroll back along the lovely tree-lined boulevard, to the Kapital Inn’s rooftop veranda.

Another essential stop in the city is the powerfully designedTerror Haza Muzeum, just a block from our lodging. This arresting grey structure housed the Nazi (Hungarian Cross Arrow) and then Communist era secret police – including the failed revolt against the Soviets of 1956. It was a sobering reminder of the thousands of victims of these brutal regimes who were arrested, and ultimately murdered from here. Our visit here provided the necessary context to understand the oppressive past from which Budapest is struggling to emerge.

There is also a lively restaurant scene of outdoor cafes that thrive long into the post theatre night. Hardy food and local wines are featured amid compulsory cigarette courses. We thrilled to Madame Butterfly at the Hungarian State Opera, and afterwards were lucky to snag a sidewalk table at Menza to savor poppy seed strudel and tea. For lunch, as our post-Spa chow downs, we faithfully returned daily to Baba Gul to happily wolf down chicken gyros.

For three warm and perfect days and evenings in Budapest, we rested from our weeks of high-input travel, enjoyed the airy comforts of Albert’s homey space, socialized and swapped experiences with other guests, and leisurely transitioned for our return to California.

We are so grateful for the life we have fashioned, and the places and people who make it so memorable.

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