Sticks & Spoons
Updated: Dec 6, 2022
Finally, we get to travel together again! Some Solo Travel earlier this spring (Sticks went to Madrid, Spain, and Hamburg, Germany while Spoons had a nice Constitution Day in Oslo, Norway) but now we have some days off together. We planned for this trip early as we got invited to one of Sticks' friend's wedding in Nice and Spoons got a trip to Budapest as a Birthday Present from Sticks so we thought we could add some more Cities to the trip!
First stop; Budapest!
Jethro Tull "Budapest" from the album "Crest of a Knave" Live in Montreaux 2003
Our flight was delayed so we landed in Budapest at 01.00. An easy ride with a taxi for 7400 fl from the airport and we arrived in district 6 where we had our stay in an Airbnb apartment on Hegedü Street.
The apartment was perfect! A One-room, pantry, and bathroom apartment. Spacious room with rafters and quiet high standards of everything. Best of all; location! From Hegedü utca (Street) you can reach a lot of popular places in Budapest and you have nice bars, restaurants, and shopping just around the corner.
Day one - Budapest
Sticks have been in Budapest for about 8 years ago but for Spoons, this was the first time. We fell in love with the architecture at first sight! The city of Budapest has a lot of History and Culture to offer and just strolling around with no particular aim - getting lost - is a great way to discover new sights.
We also found some great Street Art and Murals right away; something that Budapest is quite famous for. The annual Project "Színes Város" - Colorful City - allows Hungarian but also foreign Mural Painters, and Street Artists to perform their Art and set the color to Budapest Streets! Such a good thing! Art should belong to the People and where do you find a better way to make it visible than on the Streets? We got inspired by and read one of the most comprehensive guides to Budapest Street Art and Mural Scene here from Attila; the founder of Budapest Flow! Thanks, man! Also check out his Instagram: @budapestflow for more beautiful Streetart and Mural Paintings!
We also made a longer Blog Post about Street Art and BIG Murals (on Day three) and wherever we walked, on every corner, we discovered new Art on the Street. More cities like Budapest need projects like this!
Like everywhere else in the World; Craft Beer is on a rise and Budapest is no exception. We found one of the Bars focusing on Craft Beer with a lot of famous European and American brands but most famous for their brew; FIRST Brewery. We took a selection of their craft ones and they were surprisingly on point; APA, Belgian Cherry, Blueberry, and Chocolate Vanilla Stout!
In the Evening on day one, we went to Buddha Bar but unfortunately, we could just get a table in the Cocktail Bar so the experience was not as good as we hoped for. It was a good Ginger Cocktail though...
Day two - Budapest
Of course, we did a longer Mural Hunt on day two! We combined it with checking out some of Budapest's famous sights like The Castle and Old Town. From the top of the hill on the Buda side, you have a beautiful view over Pest and also some astonishing buildings to watch.
We walked a lot on day two both up and down hills, bridges, and streets so after a longer photoshoot at one of the best Mural Spots in Budapest we were back on the Pest side and took the tram to a nice hang out by River Donabu for some cocktails. There are a lot of those bars and restaurants riverside and if visiting in the summer like us you'll find them everywhere.
We ended up this hot but fun day on PRIME Steaks & Wine for a dinner with some great US Tomahawk Steak as the main piece! Food Coma de Luxe...
Day three - Budapest
We started day three with breakfast on Cirkusz on the popular Dob utca. Not only this area - known as a Party District - is popular; but outside the café, people often cue for getting a table so have that in mind. All the breakfast dishes are super tasty and good though so it's worth the wait! We were here on day two as well...
You must try Egg Benedict or why not a Pulled Pork Benedict for that extra savory breakfast? The Kolbasz is fantastic and French Toast as well.
After another long walkabout in the City with even more Murals and Street Art, window shopping, and chilling we went to our Airbnb for a quick power nap.
We found an incredible Museum in the late afternoon! The Flipper Museum is Europe's Largest Interactive Flipper Exhibition and was so much fun - a must-visit! And we must write a separate review of this amazing place in our "Stories & Guides" section! For just HUF 3000 (which is under 10 Euro!) you can play as much as you like on over 130 pinball machines on over 400 sqm - enough said!
We had made a reservation at Onyx Restaurant - the first restaurant in Hungary rewarded with two Michelin Stars - later the last evening in Budapest. It was Sticks' first two-star and Onyx delivered! They were kind enough to let us mix up their two Tasting Menus called "Within our Borders" and "Beyond our Borders" making this evening extra special!
We enjoyed the food and service of Onyx and will be making a longer restaurant review in our "Stories & Guides" later!
Traveling from Gothenburg to Budapest is cheap and this will not be our last visit! A real early rise on day four for catching our plane to Nice, France, and the wedding of Emmanuelle and Julien!
Next stop Nice!
// Sticks & Spoons