Budapest is beautiful

Budapest is beautiful.

Budapest (pronounced BudapeSH, apparently) is beautiful. Everywhere you look, you couldn't help but tell yourself that. Budapest is beautiful.

Andrew, my other Irish roommate (Colin and I "think" his name is Andrew, but we've both felt it was well past the point of clarification with him in person..), wouldn't stop raving about the city every time he come back from his many walks.

And I do agree. The core of Budapest is very well preserved (most of which probably due to the fact that it was completely wiped out in the past and had to undergo massive rebuilds in the not too distant past). As a Unesco world heritage site, the city has limits on new buildings and definitely no sky scraper. What you have is a uniformly historic looking city center, with beautifully aged architectures in every corner, most of which isn't even an important landmark but rather just your run of the mill office building. The city is actually the combination of two cities, Buda, a hilly and affluent neighbourhood on the west bank of the Danube, and Pest (or "Pesh"), a completely flat political and cultural hub of the city. The view is greatest when you climb the hills at the Citadel or palace complex over at Buda. But if you want to roam the streets and neighbour the many outdoor plazas and cafes and Hungarian bistros and pubs, you stick to Pest, especially in the central Jewish Quarters. By day, Budapest has numerous historically important destinations for the causal tourists and historically inclined alike. By night, Budapest has no doubt solidified its reputation as one of Eastern Europe hippest party town. Pubs are plenty, clubs buzz later into the night, and sophisticated wine bars line the region like Starbucks in a Canadian City. It's low key, it's laid back. It's messy but hip, causal yet sophisticated, historic but modern enough.

I've had a blast roaming this beautiful place for the past two days with some new friends through the city's many "free" walking tours (price is by donation, basically), and pub crawls. Colin has been a fun companion both in the hostel and out in the nights. Much like the ever popular Vienna and Prague in this part of the world, Budapest is, most definitely, a wonderful world class destination, a must see if you ever venture into this part of the globe.