Bridge over Untroubled Waters

Complaining about the Hungarian railway company is a hobby I like to indulge in every now and then, well, basically almost each time I happen to board one of their trains, which is pretty often. The list of their vile endeavours, from trains going suspiciously missing in the countryside to double selling tickets and half sparking international diplomatic conflicts is diverse and entertaining, particularly when none of them happen to you or when you reminisce about them over a pint of chilled beer to the boundless amusement of the audience.

The lengthy introduction above is there to basically set the base line- if there are reasons to complain, I very well will. Nevertheless, opposed to many of Budapest’s inhabitants, I am quite fond of the local transportation company, BKK. It is of course not perfect, nothing human made ever is, and some buses are old -and will occasionally catch fire, some drivers are rude, winter always takes them by surprise and sometimes the bus just doesn’t come at all.

But even this last incident is very rare compared to other places I’ve been to- I remember clearly how positively shocked I was when, in my first weeks in Budapest I discovered that when trams break down, there are replacement buses, and you’re not simply kept waiting for an elusive vehicle which might never come. The network of overground lines is comprehensive and well connected, and it is pretty easy to efficiently navigate the city, be it day, or night.

In retrospect, I was nothing but a spoiled brat when, about two weeks ago, I spent five minutes waiting for replacement bus 48 and cataloging how the refurbishment work done on the tram line is making my life a living hell. It isn’t- once you get used to the frequency of the buses you don’t have to wait more than a couple of minutes and as a splendid bonus, Freedom bridge is closed to traffic.

As soon as cars and trams were sent into temporary exile, Freedom bridge became a promenade and an urban picnic spot. And as such- it looked pretty garbage infested in the first days. But that changed too- there came the online campaigns, and most people understood that having the bridge as our summer playground does not mean we should use it as a trash can too.  

There’s something exhilarating too about climbing the metal structure- previously mostly forbidden (people sitting on the central bit were a part of the city landscape every summer), now you can explore most of it, to the extent your fear of heights allows it. It’s also reassuring to see that people can be reasonable even if allowed to trespass some regulations- very few venture over their comfort zone, and when someone shrieks out after having done so, there’s someone there to help them back safely. Mostly though, it’s all about having a chat and drinks perched on the lower parts of the bridge- radlers and ciders are apparently the go to flavour for Budapest’s summer. (And yes, there’s selfie action too. Often with radlers and ciders in hand.)

So these days if you stroll to the bridge, particularly in the evening, as Freedom bridge was always best suited for spectacular sunsets, you are going to meet a city enjoying itself  in a carefree way that is very similar to the familiar summer festival feeling- a city which has it’s own island of freedom, now has it’s very real bridge of freedom too.

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.

Liberty Bridge Meets the Sunset

Liberty Bridge is by all means the best positioned in Budapest for ridiculously perfect sunset pictures, with a bit of help from Gellért Hill. The other presentable bridges have the sunset view blocked by the Buda hills, whereas Petőfi and Lágymánosi (yes, I know, this one has a ridiculous new name I will blatantly disregard) bridge are eyesores by themselves and need nothing more to ruin their views.

But Liberty bridge is in the fortunate position of having the hill slope exactly where it lands on the Buda side, thus enabling spectacular sunset action to be directly visible from the bridge itself, and from the Pest side too. The fact that a slightly retro looking tram occasionally rattles through it from the sunset and that it's generally as pretty a bridge as the best bridges can get calls for above mentioned ridiculous shots, of which you never tire, because perfect alignments remain a wonder each time they happen.