Weekend break in Budapest

Vintage Hungarian Posters











Lenka enjoying a good value for money espresso

I have just got back from a weekend break Budapest. Although I have been here before, I thought that it would make a nice change of scene from Bratislava and would give me a chance to show my friends the beauty of the city.

On a previous post, I complained about the service in restaurants in Slovakia. However, in comparison to Hungarian service, they seem quite polite. Since I my arrival, I have many rude people who think they only owe themselves and don't seem to appreciate tourists in their city. To add to things, I've also had to deal with a hysterical Slovak companion who cannot be named for legal reasons.
She hates everything about Hungary and Hungarian people. She believes that they are rude, drably dressed and arrogant. What's more she feels that they are still hungover from the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

While I have complained about the service in Slovak restaurants, I have found that the service in many Budapest restaurants ten times as worse. We walked into one place and the woman threw the menu at us. She went mad when my friend politely asked what the price was for a small beer. The stroppy waitress just simply opened the menu and agressively pointed at the drinks. She went even more bizzerk when one of my friends politely asked after 30 minutes where our food was. She simply shouted 'Why???'

Our funniest moment has to be in an empty Chinese bistro. As we patiently waited to get served, the waiter continued to talk on his mobile phone for 15 minutes. After that time, we were in stitches, as it seemed that he was totally oblivious to the fact that we were there and wanted some food.

However, it was doom and gloom. Budapest is probably one of the most outstanding cities in Europe. The architecture is incredibly beautiful and there is so much to do here. Like elsewhere, there are good and bad people. Despite the extremely appalling service in some places, some Hungarians were actually hospitable and helpful. Members of the public are often willing to help out tourists who are lost and will sometimes translate.

I was so relieved to get back to Bratislava on Monday. The first thing I did was order a pizza from my local pizzeria. The waitress greeted me with a 'Dobry Vecor' (good eveveing) and a 'nech sapachi.' (for you.) She was so hospitable, welcoming and polite. It's good to be back.