More photos can be seen here ⬇️⬇️⬇️

https://youtu.be/gU_Yd2Wki7c

Tuesday we had a chilled out morning before flying out of Amsterdam into Budapest. After a smooth transfer from the hotel, we sailed through security with no problems. The Dutch were very organised here despite the warnings on the website of long queues. The flight was slightly delayed with KLM, but nothing major and we arrived late afternoon into Hungary’s capital.

https://www.storiesbudapest.com/?reffrom=gmb&utm_source=google_my_business&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=googlemybusiness

Once we had checked in to Stories Boutique Hotel we headed out for a bite to eat, and had to look no further than downstairs at the hotel. Twentysix Restaurant fills a whole internal courtyard with enormous plants that gives you the feeling that you’re in a jungle. It serves Mediterranean food at a good price. We had mezze of falafel, kofta, labneh, plus more. I chose a really nice Hungarian Pinot that complemented the food perfectly.

https://twentysixbudapest.com

After paying the (cheap) bill, we decided to have a bit of a wander through Budapest’s Jewish quarter where our hotel is situated . The area used to be dilapidated with the pain and trauma of WW2, but now has become the home of the hip ruin bars, great restaurants and fantastic street art at every turn.

We walked through Gozsdu Udvar, a cultural courtyard area filled with restaurants, cafes and bars. The ceiling was all lit up with fairy lights and decorated with a hallowe’en theme. Somewhere else for us to return to during our stay.

https://www.gozsduudvar.hu/gozsdu

Of course any visit to Budapest wouldn’t be complete without going to Szimpla Kert, one of the best ruin bars in Budapest. There’s a great atmosphere here, it’s eclectic and chilled out. Walls are covered in art, music artists perform here and you are spoilt for choice with the beer selection. There’s something for everybody, snd you can even have a burger if you feel a bit peckish.

We had the Hungarian Hübris Cherry beer which was 1700 HUF, roughly £3.50. At 4.2% it’s a nice, easy, fruity drink. You get your drink with a decorated souvenir cup which, if returned, you get 400 HUF refunded back. We decided to take the cups home with us.

https://szimpla.eu

After listening to a local singer, we left Szimpla Kert where there was now a queue forming outside. It’s not difficult to see why it’s so popular. We headed to First Craft Beer, on Dob Utca. This place brews its own beer, serving many of its own creations as well as other bottled beers, wines and spirits. They also offer brewery tours and it has its own taproom for tasting. We opted for various sours, including Orange Vanilla Tornado sour, Rex Delux raspberry sour and Purple Current (peach and blackcurrant sour). They were all great.

https://www.firstcraftbeer.com/bbq/?lang=en

After leaving First Craft Beer, we decided to head back towards the hotel for one more stop. We found our last watering hole purely by chance, and this turned out to be another great little find. We found Piana Vyshnia (Drunk Cherry) in a small open fronted building on Kiraly, who sell the most delicious cherry liqueur. I found out that the holding company was founded in 2017 by three businessmen who hail from Lviv in Ukraine. There are many franchises of Piana Vyshnia, mainly in Ukraine but also in Moldova, Romania and Poland. This establishment in Budapest is the only one in Hungary. The liqueur is a traditional Lviv drink which is served in beautiful glasses with some cherries added once it has been poured. It had a lovely atmosphere in the shop and it felt good to support the Ukrainians.

https://www.fest.lviv.ua/en/restaurants/drunkcherry/

I could have stayed longer but, according to the website, the drink “jollifies you quickly”, so thought it best to enjoy just one for the time being. I do think, though, I might be back….