Back in Budapest !

Here I am again with open arms embracing the Queen of the Danube for a few days. I guess you might find it strange that I am trading one snowy European capital for another,  as if Paris is not not cold enough!

Actually I  was there about the same time last year, and despite the freezing cold and snow, there is much to appreciate in Baroque Budapest, even in the winter.

It is not that I prefer Budapest when it is frostbite cold, but I do for the thermal spas that I will write about later this week.   The beautiful buildings sugar dusted with white snow give an ethereal and fluffy feel to this ancient city by the Danube.

Between Vienna and Budapest, both once a part of the Austrian Hungarian empire, Budapest alone has retained to the fullest her senuous baroque ambience, not only with her preserved aging architecture, but also the feeling of a decadent yesterday oozing  la Boehme that just seems to permeates everywhere here.

She has the second largest Parliament building of any European nation which is a stunning monument of filigree spikes that  becomes a golden shrine at night  sparkling along the Danube. Budapest also has the second oldest subway, after London.

What Budapest has that no other major European capital is over 80 thermal spas.  Not surprising the Romans who settled here after the Celts name the city Aquinicum.!

I first discovered Budapest in 1985, with my two children in tow.  At this time Budapest was still under the Communist regime. As we approached the Hungarian border on a train from Vienna, I will never forget the border patrol  policeman, upon seeing our American passports start to tear apart the train compartment, turning up the seats and checking every nook and cranny.

Who would have ever thought that an American mother with her two children could have been suspected of being American spies, but the cold war was still smack at the fore front. Then there the rather stern faces that rarely cracked a smile, except from a few elderly folks who still retained their unbridled friendliness that Hungarians have been noted for in the past.

Thank God all has changed since the fall of communism, and once again  Hungarians has come alive with the famous Hungarian joie de vivre that was hidden out of fear for so long.

In the old days, There seemed to be a Gypsy streak in the souls of Hungarians, yet who loved to flaunt an allure of chic bohemia and defiance.  They are a physically handsome people, rugged on the outside but emotionally poetic and romantic with a melting heart.

Their language, whose origin remains mostly unknown ,certainly sets them apart.  Hungarian, mysteriously has no known proven roots in any language nor does it have any language that is resemblant.  Perhaps in part to that, they have not attracted   many immigrants that have flooded other European nations.

I love spiced hungarian food drenched in sour cream with hot paprika.  The goose cracklings are to crack for and practically impossible to find outside Hungary.  Goose use to be a common dish here, but seemingly less  than before.

Hungarian pastries were at one time more glorious than those in Vienna until the communist regime did away with butter and the such than rendered them as second class citizens.   The younger bakers though are trying to make a comeback  to reestablish Hungarian pastry back on its rightful throne.

Hungarian strudel is the national sweet and rightfully so , coming in multiple of flavors, the most popular being  poppy-seed, cherry and a  luscious cream cheese.

Lángos is their favorite street food, which is a disk of potato dough, fried golden brown and then smothered in sour cream, onions and just about anything else according to your taste.  In the winter, there is nothing like it to warm your hand and tummy at the same time.

Last but not least, are the wonderful Hungarian wines that have always been good, but recently have really taken off in popularity.  So here’s it to your health  Egészségedre! Easier to write than pronounce!