Walk the LIne

About two weeks ago, we set out for a casual walk into a springish Saturday morning. Which reminds me, isn’t it great how weekend days don’t wash into each other anymore, as you damn well know which one is the Saturday, because the stores are open? Well no, it isn’t, actually,  the jolliness lasts up until the second you realize you’re out of butter on a Sunday morning, and start on a journey far more impressive than the one I’ll be writing about here.

For so it happened that our casual walk, which was intended as a yearly pilgrimage to the strategically placed early blooming tree that makes for ridiculously scenic shots with Freedom bridge, became an outright odyssey that took us full circle across the hills of Buda, through Tabán and all the way to Margit island.

One of the first things we learned on the way, and pretty much of capital importance, is that the waffle place near Ferenciek square opens at 11. So, should you set out on a jolly and ridiculously early morning walk and suddenly feel a devastating urge to eat waffles (trust me, the struggle is real) , you must settle for the considerably more expensive ones on Váci street. The only way I can explain the steep difference in price is that they are Belgian- a trick which works splendidly with chocolate and beer as well, just add Belgian and sell it at triple the price and no one bats an eye.

The waffle detour did however take us through the Astoria underground passage, where some people were, quite naturally, playing Bach. Later on during the day, after having successfully summited and then descended from Gellért hill, we ventured into one of those restaurants I keep ogling at through the window, say they’re nice, then move on. Turns out it was a real shame we’d never been to Lánchíd Söröző before: their beer is Czech, the food is tasty and affordable, and also totally naturally, they have Bono’s autograph in a frame.

The final stretch took us to Margit Island, which was still in a rather incipient state of bloom at the time-much progress has been made since in that direction. And to end the entry with factual and possibly useful information, we counted the length of our journey, and came to the conclusion it was a whopping 15 kilometres, on the Oktogon- Deák square- Ferenciek square- Freedom bridge- Gellért hill- Batthyány square- Margit Island- Nyugati square- Oktogon route.

Transition Random- from Summer to Autumn

One day I will probably make peace with the fact that I always run out of schedule with the monthly randoms, but until then I can pretend that at least this time I actually meant the stuff to run over two months, and therefore cover the transition from summer to autumn and such. No, of course I didn’t mean to, but so it happened.

The temperature is one thing, but what strikes most in this period is the change in the quality of the light. I somehow always take spring light, how it increases in intensity and how the days grow ever longer, for granted.  But in autumn I always rebel against the dying of the light, and notice each day how it grows fainter, how the dawn arrives later. Horrifically late, I would say, as I grope around in the dark at 6 AM, fixing the horizon for that spot where the light will break- given that I’m surrounded by inner city buildings, the spot is usually somewhere behind a rooftop, but ultimately some sort of crimson spot will show at the bottom of the sky.

Or it won’t show, because we’ve been rudely transported to some Belgian weather bubble, with low grey skies and fine drizzle. And as pointed out by a fellow coffee drinker one morning, drizzle is the worst because it frizzles the hair and umbrellas just won’t solve that. Rain does however have a certain charm when observed from indoors, perhaps from a train hurtling through foggy meadows, so here comes the time for low lit still lives inspired by the Dutch masters.

The up side of autumn light when it does show itself is its balmy quality, which makes for spectacular sunsets and sunrises- and the later arrival of dawn allows for sunrise hunting without having to wake up insultingly early. Not that I succeeded in doing that so far, but I might as well try- until then I must make do with sunsets on Gellért hill, though they are not half as fun, as the sun unceremoniously ducks behind the hills in the process. 

First Day of Spring

On which it is settled that there is a quiet daffodil crisis unfolding in Budapest (there are much less than in other years, and logically, they're more expensive), but the trees on Gellért hill are blooming slightly ahead of schedule.

The Várkert Bazár is pretty in theory, but still flawed in practice. There are just too many undefined ideas lurking around for their own good and some of the work is plain shoddy. It does have free wi-fi though.

It is very worth crossing into Buda for a coffee-yes, I am a horrible Pest-dependent creature but it suddenly struck me that Kelet kávézó is actually only three tram stops away from my usual hood. Well, provided trams are running, for there is a frenzy of "rebuild everything!now" all around the city which is generally expressed by moving or altogether annihilating tram stops where you least expect it.