Got back yesterday after a holiday in Hungary… just under a week in Budapest and then a couple of days in Esztergom, a town on the “Danube Bend”. To summarise in one sentence, I really, REALLY recommend visiting Hungary.
Like plenty of other central European cities (Prague, Vienna, Berlin) Budapest is always going to be worth visiting purely for its historical significance, and several parts of it resemble both Prague and Vienna (although I only know the latter from photos) in appearance. Magnificent coffee-houses that make a laughing stock of the high prices and poor products of the Starbucks-alikes in our profit-crazed corporate world… solid yet graceful bridges calmly spanning vast, sweeping rivers… opera houses and royal palaces peering aristocratically from their hilltop vantage points… tree-lined boulevards with trams, food stalls and cosmopolitan bustle. It’s that grand mid-1800s central European look.
To me, all of that makes for a Damn Good Holiday. I’m not interested in beaches, anything requiring the word “resort” or even the general concept of “getting away from it all”. Walking/outdoors holidays are great, but I like to have easy access to some sort of village/town life as well, so areas such as our Lake District are ideal for satisfying that requirement. For trips abroad, I’m happiest exploring towns and cities.
Esztergom gave us a chance to see a little bit more of the country, beyond the obvious capital-centric tourist stuff. It’s still a popular place, both as a long-standing religious focal point for the country and in general as a beautifully preserved old town, but the pace of life is noticeably slower than in the capital… driven more by the demands of local life than by tourism and commerce. To get there, we took the five-hour boat trip up the Danube, rather than the ninety-minute train route… it’s a leisurely way to watch the landscape changing, from Budapest’s flat surroundings to the more mountainous areas around the Slovakian border.
Overall, though, what really impressed me was the general “feel” of Hungary. It’s all very easy-going and relaxed, from the bars and restaurants to the churches and museums. There’s no presriptive attitude to tourist enjoyment… just do whatever you want, when you want. The cheap prices are great (most things cost about 50% of the London equivalent) but what’s even better is the extra level of care, service and attention to detail. So many people were prepared to go that little bit further, rather than doing the bare minimum in an attempt to maximise profit, as you see so often here in the UK.