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Digging Up Budapest’s Past with Nobel Prize Winner Imre Kertész

Posted by Nellie Huang in Local Characters - (0 Comments)

Budapest

Lauded as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, Budapest, Hungary is a mishmash of Gothic and Baroque-style buildings, riverfront boulevards and atmospheric squares. As Hungary’s capital, it is a global city that straddles between the past and the present. Cobblestoned paths wind through its compact historical quarters while modern glass buildings stand tall by the river banks of the Danube. Amidst Budapest’s poetic beauty, it’s hard to imagine that this was the backdrop to two of the most tragic events in history – World Wars I and II.

When Austria-Hungary lost WWI, most parts of Budapest were severely destroyed. By the end of WWII, Budapest once again faced attacks from the British and American army, and thereafter the Soviet army and German troops. Thousands of Hungarian Jews were deported to the Holocaust concentration camp, including Imre Kertész, who lives to tell his story.

At the tender age of 14, Kertész was deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp. In his popular novel, Fatelessness, he details the experience of György, a teenager in the concentration camps. Although he claims that it is not a biography of his own life, his book truly depicts the fragility of life and the brutality of the past. In 2002, Kertész won a Nobel prize in literature for this powerful work.

Budapest Today

Today, Budapest has moved on from its haunting past. Much of the wartime damage was repaired by the late 1980s, and Budapest underwent dramatic changes with the construction of new infrastructure such as the Budapest Metro and Brzébet Bridge. WWII memorials can be found along the river banks these days. Since democracy, Budapest has experienced peace and tranquility and has now flourished into a popular tourist destination.

The city stretches across the banks of the Danube River, dividing it up into Buda on one end, and Pest on the other.  Budapest is also home to an endless list of World Heritage Sites, including the Buda Castle, Heroes’ Square and the Millennium Underground Railway. If that’s not impressive enough, this is also where you’ll find the world’s biggest thermal water cave system, the third biggest Parliament building and second biggest synagogue.

Photo | Alistair Young

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Soak This: Thermal Baths of Budapest, Hungary

Posted by David Paul Appell in Snapshots - (0 Comments)

What to do in Budapest, Rudas Baths

One of my very favorite things to do in Budapest when I spent some time there a few years ago was to spend a nice, soothing afternoon at a wonderful old fürdő (bath house). In the day and age of the elaborate luxury spa, old-fashioned bath houses seem practically extinct in North America except for a few ethnic examples (usually East European, occasionally Asian) in a handful of big cities.

Ancient Yet Popular Baths of Budapest

But here in the capital of Hungary, the oldies are still goodies – and encouragingly for the future, have even developed a certain following among the young. Some of the baths date back more than 500 years, to a time when Hungary was a part of Europe that was occupied by Ottoman Turks. If you’ve been to Istanbul you might’ve noticed bath houses all over town, some quite breathtakingly beautiful. The handful still in operation in Budapest are pretty special, too. The most famous is one at the very popular Gellert Hotel, built in 1918 in a gracious Art Nouveau style. But my favorites are the ones that evoke that medieval Ottoman period, such as Rudas (pictured), built on at the foot of Gellert Hill on the Buda side of town in 1550 and last renovated in 2006. At its center there’s an octagonal pool under a stone dome, perforated by a number of round holes through which daylight streams down, creating mesmerizing interplays of light and shadow. Side pools offer water naturally heated to temperatures between 60⁰ and a practically parboiling 108⁰ F (16⁰ -42⁰ C), and there are other areas for tub baths, massages, sauna, and so forth. Clad only in a linen loincloth, I’d lounge around these pools with a variety of other dudes ranging from young Japanese tourists to Hungarian grandpas (why dudes? Some days are segregated by sex, while on co-ed days you have to wear a swimsuit.).

Soaking and Socializing

This is a social as much as a bathing experience, and I actually made a couple of good pals at Rudas that summer, a Hungarian guy named Atila (yes, as in the Hun – very common name here), as well as Stasys from Lithuania. So while the newly opened Iberostar Grand Hotel Budapest itself boasts a lovely and superbly equipped wellness center and spa, you’ll definitely want to make time for this uniquely Hungarian cultural and sensory experience, whether it’s at Rudas, Gellert, or other historic bath houses such as Király, Lukacs, and Szechenyi. It’s a memory likely to soak into your very soul.

photo  | Giåm

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Fireworks: Live Your Own Music Video Experience in Budapest

Posted by Susana Alosete in The View - (0 Comments)

Budapest Széchenyi Chain Bridge

The beauty of a classic city like Budapest is undeniable and, for that reason, more than one movie director has chosen it as a film location, due to both its own merits and similarities to equally gorgeous destinations. Cities like the capital of Hungary are also a special gift for creators of music videos, who need to pack a musical story into no more than three or four minutes and make a visual impact from the very first chords. To do so, these directors take advantage of aerial shots of classic buildings and gorgeous nocturnal views in which the street lights and tourist attractions make the beauty of certain sights stand out even more.

As for Budapest, this city was used in one of the latest pop hits, the song Firework by Katy Perry, which showcases two of the most emblematic structures in the city: the Buda Castle and the Chain Bridge, a representation of the classic European city, divided by a river with a stunning palace one side and the classic charm of an old Eastern city everywhere.

Despite its name, the Buda Castle bears no relation to the Oriental deity, but rather to the original name of the city where it was founded, and is at the root of the current name Budapest. The royal palace, which dates back to the 14th century, is today one of the best conserved national treasures of Hungary and has been declared a World Heritage Site. It is precisely the need for union between the two old cities of Buda and Pest that give us the symbol of the city, the Chain Bridge, the first to span the Danube in Hungary (until it was built, the only way to travel from one city to the other was by way of an old ferry). You will find it on many if not most postcards and souvenirs; it will surely fill your memory card with its charm as well.

And if you want to live the Firework experience and be there on a special day, take the opportunity to spend the night of August 20th, when they celebrate the founding of the state, and watch as the obligatory fireworks display lights up the sky.

Photo | Wizzard

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A Grand Opening Indeed: Iberostar’s Grand Hotel Budapest

Posted by Carlos Morales in Mystery Guest - (3 Comments)

The grand (and we do mean grand) opening of our IBEROSTAR Grand Hotel Budapest is quickly approaching, offering as of this month an unparalleled opportunity to enjoy the many charms of this magnificent city in true Iberostar style. Wander the pretty streets of the Hungarian capital, sample Gerbeaud‘s famous pastries on Vörösmarty Square, and of course, do not leave town without trying the most famous of Hungarian specialties: goulash. Our new hotel is right in the historic center of Pest, just a few steps from the ‘beautiful blue’ Danube River (which isn’t quite blue, Strauss waltzes notwithstanding), and faces Liberty Square, an area that is home to embassies and monumental buildings such as the Hungarian Parliament.

This boutique hotel forms part of our Grand Collection, with its 50 modern rooms spread over 5 floors (one Junior Suite, 20 Standard Rooms, nine Executive rooms, 15 Deluxe rooms and three Economy rooms) and all equipped with minibar, tea and coffee makers, a pillow menu, 24-hour room service, an iPod Docking Station, and more. The wellness and spa area will facilitate a truly restful stay with its spa, sauna, jacuzzi, massage rooms and Turkish bath, and you can regale your taste buds in our gourmet restaurant featuring Spanish cuisine and gorgeous decoration, designed as an intimate, exclusive space in the heart of the Hungarian capital for business travelers and urban tourists alike.

Photo | IBEROSTAR Grand Hotel Budapest

 

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