<div>Budapest serves up a double whammy alright. In one fell swoop, I get to savour two cities for the price of one — the medieval Buda and the modern Pest! <br /> </div><div>Apparently when Nobel Prize winner Enrico Fermi was asked if he believed in extraterrestrials, he offered a classic riposte: “They are among us, but they call themselves Hungarians!” As an extension perhaps, Hungary’s capital city is endowed with competing imperatives. It is peaceful and bustling, sprawling and convivial, historic and cosmopolitan, all at the same time. <br /> </div><div>Known as the Pearl of the Danube, the glutinous river is the pivot around which the city seems to flow. And the best place to soak it all in — as I discovered during my sojourn — is the promenade on Chain Bridge. From here, you can imbibe the twin faces of the city: the hilly Buda and the flat-as-a-pancake Pest. The latter crisscrossed with elegant boulevards and monuments like the neoclassical Museum of Fine Arts on Heroes’ Square, St. Stephen’s Basilica and the Parliament, a neo-Gothic masterpiece on the Danube modelled after Westminster. <br /> </div><div>Not for nothing is the city nicknamed the Paris of the East. Indeed comparisons to the French capital can be trite, but are inevitable. The tree-lined Andrássy Avenue, for one, will transport you straight to the Champs-Élysées. <br /> </div><div>Shopping anyone? Emporio Armani, Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, all the big daddies of the branded world seem to have a presence on Budapest’s thriving commercial landscape like Paris. <br /> </div><div>Heroes’ Square is undeniably Budapest’s most impressive slice of real estate, evident from the camera-toting crowds milling here. Smack dab in the middle of the square stands the magnificent Millenium Monument with Archangel Gabriel on top holding the double cross of Christianity and the Holy Hungarian Crown. No less gobsmacking is the Hungarian State Opera building with its gold-patinated ceilings and baroque features. <br /> </div><div>I saunter into Old Town and get sucked into the vortex of its gravelly, medieval charm. Its cobble-stoned streets offer kaleidoscopic images of a bygone era that have dominated the country’s social matrix for centuries. There’s a whiff of Hungarian history here, the imperiousness of the Ottoman Empire and the majesty of the Hapsburg presence.<br /> </div><div>The Turks’ 150-year occupation has left behind a tangible legacy — mosques, hamams and an enduring coffee culture as showcased by the city’s cafes. Beer lovers can quaff the local flavourful Dreher beer here while caffeine addicts (like me) can enjoy a froth-topped cappuccino. With warm liquid flowing through my veins, I do as the locals do — walk. The jazz bars peppering the city play live peppy numbers as days meld into luminescent evenings. Street performers enchant onlookers at every other street corner… <br /> </div><table width="400" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5"><tbody><tr><td><img src="/image/image_gallery?uuid=1630525f-9cd7-44dd-adfc-e210c69429b4&groupId=222922&t=1356167543687" width="500" height="166" vspace="5" hspace="5" alt="" /></td></tr><tr><td><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><strong>LAYERS OF JOY: The Parliament (right top), and assorted Hungarian delicacies</strong></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div>Its cultural heft notwithstanding, Budapest sends out a fun and energising vibe with its sun-splattered streets offering tones of atmosphere. Trams are everywhere. The quirky wooden carriages radiate the charm of a museum piece as they rattle and shake their way along metallic tramlines cutting through the cobbles. <br /> </div><div>The city is also justifiably proud of its culinary tradition. I eat at the acclaimed Fakanál Restaurant at the bustling Great Market Hall. Here, amidst the happy chatter of weekend brunch-ies, I partake of local goodies: lángos (a deep-fried savoury pastry napped in garlic, cheese and sour cream), flavour-charged blinis, Hungarian stew (with a hint of local rosé) while volleying between multiple dessert counters, fighting the urge to not wolf down everything in sight! <br /> </div><div>The Hungarian approach to food, I notice, is reflective of its peoples’ pride in their culinary traditions coupled with an embrace of external influences. The result is a delightful eclecticism that revolves around meat (pork, beef, veal, poultry), a liberal use of spices (paprika, thyme, rosemary) and toothsome desserts (pastries/cakes called ‘torta’). However, the star in Budapest’s culinary constellation is goulash — the fiery Hungarian soup — which turned out to be a treat for my Asian palate with its piquant rogan josh-like overtones. </div><table width="100" border="0" align="right" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5"><tbody><tr><td><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><strong>All the big daddies of the branded world have a presence on budapest’s commercial landscape</strong></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br />One iridescent evening, we nip up to the stunning Buda Castle, where at Halászbástya Restaurant we experience magic. Musicians serenade us with violins while we sip pink champagne and soak in the gorgeous cityscape from this vertiginous structure. <br /> </div><div>What better way to conclude one’s trip in this uber city than to go for a high-octane whirl on the Danube? I hold tight on to dear life as the Dunarama Cruise ship rips through the river water at breakneck speed. I capture some of the splendid architectural masterpieces that crowd this riverside Legoland on my Nikon. <br /> </div><div>An unexpected downpour aborts my photographic ambitions. But heck, it’s been one hell of a ride. I disembark — wind-whipped and wet — but basking nonetheless in the afterglow of an adrenaline-rich adventure. <br /> </div><div><em>Neeta Lal is a Delhi-based senior journalist <br /></em> <br /><span dir="ltr" id=":1b3" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">(This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 31-12-2012)</span> <br /><br /> </div>
