palace – Wander With Stella

As I was going to be in England and a friend mentioned Budapest for the Christmas Markets, I could hardly say no. I had never been to Hungary and it had long been on my list of places to visit. Just over a two hour flight from Heathrow we arrived late in the day and went by taxi to our air BnB in District V, the central area of Budapest.

As an introduction to the city we used the Hop on Hop off Bus which offered a perfect opportunity to have an overall view of the city, giving us ideas of what we wanted to make a point of getting back to for a longer look.

Written up as the most Beautiful Restaurant in the World but too long a line up!

Our BnB location was within walk distance of the St Stephen’s Basilica Christmas Market which in the end was our favourite of the markets. Seemed a little less crowded than some others, the food was wonderful and there was a light show set to the Nutcracker Suite beamed onto the front of the Basilica. Named after Stephen, the first King of Hungary, it is the largest church in Hungary and home to one of King Stephen’s mummified hands.

Love the sellers at the a Christmas Markets

The stalls were full of Hungarian Christmas goodies and crafts and sitting outdoors at picnic style benches and tables was not the least unpleasant in spite of the chill in the air.

Everything from candy to honey, home decor and the famous melt in your mouth chimney cakes made fresh at every market

The Danube River divides the Pest and Buda sides of Budapest and several bridges span the river, dotted with cruise boats and especially pretty at night. On the Pest side which is where we stayed are some of the sights we visited including the impressive Parliament Buildings, the Grand Market Hall, the Jewish Quarter surrounding the Dohány Street Synagogue and the museum dedicated to the memory of Holocaust victims.

One of many squares lit up for Christmas

The Jewish museum is well worth the visit, although it is gut wrenching to hear some of the stories and view the photos from Budapest during WW11, it is a necessary reminder, especially timely today. Visitors from all over and from all religions appear to be drawn to the Synagoue and Museum and certainly the interior of the synagogue is very impressive. The streets around the synagogue are great to wander after a visit and give you an idea of the density of Jewish population in that area at one time.

The National Museum of Hungary is housed in a stately palace. It is a vivid account to the lengthy and turbulent history of Hungary from the earliest of times to the present day and while there we took in a special exhibit called Brides of Hungary, a tribute to women in different time periods and the dresses that reflected the style of various decades. With feminist leanings it went beyond fashion and provided glimpse into the lives of women over time.

Bride’s Exhibit

The Grand Market is just that, huge, multi-layered and full of Hungarian art, craft, food, clothing, accessories and of course at this time of year Christmas gifts. Well worth a wander and not to be missed, the neighbourhood around the market is great for a wander as well.

On the Buda side of the Danube we visited Buda castle by taking the beautiful wooden funicular up the side of the hill to the castle itself. At the top we had a great view of the city on both sides of the river and were able to wander back to our hotel across the Chain Bridge, so names for the chains it hangs from.

Also on the Buda side of the river we visited the Gellert Thermal bath, one of many that make Budapest a draw for their healing properties. Built in the Art Nouveau style between 1912 and 1918, it has several hot baths each labeled with their particular temperature, a massive numbers of lockers, and spa services including massage. A bit of a maze and challenging to navigate it was a very relaxing way to spend a few hours.

The food in Budapest deserves special recognition and we were able to sample several notably Hungarian dishes and drinks including. As you can imagine Goulash or Gulyas was on most restaurant menus and served at the Christmas markets as well. A popular dish it is a hearty and warm stew filled with beef, paprika, onions and potatoes and sometimes served with spetzel like noodles. Delicious and warming especially outside at night.

Chicken paprikas (Csirke Paprikas) is astonishingly red because of the amount of sweet paprika mixed with tomatoes, garlic and sweet peppers in. Sour cream is added and delicious chewy dumplings make the dish very filling. A must try in Budapest in.

Of course the signature dish of Hungary is Goulash and nothing beats a warm bowl at an outdoor market.

We also indulged in Chimney Cakes which we saw cooked over barbecue coals at one market and in a special rotisserie like oven at another market. A doughnut like batter is wrapped around a wooden form and rotated over heat until done, sprinkled with sugar while it cooks gives a cartelized effect and when removed from the wooden form this confection stand erect like a chimney. Quite delicious and definitely shareable.

Meat Pancakes (Hortobagyi Palacsinta) are thin pancakes filled with savoury chicken or beef minced into small pieces. Once filled the pancakes are rolled into burrito like shapes and baked and then covered with a paprika sauce and of course a dollop of sour cream. Mmmmm

Stuffed Cabbage Leaves (Toltott Kaposzta) the Hungarian cabbage roll is made from cooked, pickled cabbage and filled with minced pork, paprika (of course) and rice. When I ordered this dish at a Christmas market it came with sausage and grilled vegetables and went down well with mulled wine.

A very popular dish with the Hungarians was a deep-fried flat bread (Langos), crispy on the outside while soft on the inside, it is sprinkled with cheese and topped off with sour cream. Looked delicious but one can only eat so much so I didn’t have the room to try it.

I hope to visit Hungary again when I have more time and I’m able to see other parts of the country. It has a quietness about it that you don’t find in other European Capitals. People seem less hurried and definitely friendlier, especially the people who work with tourists like myself. Until I return Budapest, keep your magic alive.

Phnom Penh is a capital but in comparison to other SE Asian capitals it is still relatively easy to get to know and travelling about in Tuk Tuks, armed with google maps, proved an economic and efficient means of getting around through the crowds and traffic.

The city is situated along the Tonle Sap and Mekong Rivers which eventually empties itself into the Mekong delta in VietNam. The Okay Boutique Hotel our home for four nights was off a main artery, up a narrow alley and very close to the places you want to visit in Phnom Penh. The lobby of the hotel, heavy and dark with carved and filigreed highly polished wood and tiled floors glinting with gold coloured floral designs is quite elegant. The giant Buddha, leather furniture and water ponds with floating lotus combine to make you feel like you are snuggly inside an old wooden jewelry box.

We noticed a change in city folk right away, as one would expect. It took a little longer to get friendly service and the warm Cambodian smile, but generally we faired once we learned we had to bargain and make certain that we weren’t overcharged by the Tuk Tuk drivers that hangout in front of hotels. Money in Cambodia is interesting as the US dollar is dispensed in ATM’s, accepted everywhere, given as change and can be mixed at will when paying or getting change. The rate while for us was 4000 Cambodia Riel to 1USD. The mix of currencies was fairly fluid and easy to keep track of in the end.

Our hotel was close to most of the main attractions; the Royal Palace, the Royal Museum and the main Watt, the Silver Pagoda. We spent our mornings out and about but admittedly were driven back to our hotel and the pool by the afternoon heat. Up on the 14th floor the pool afforded a great view of the surrounding city, a patchwork of jumbled together shorter buildings, alleys main thoroughfare and an ever growing number of glassy modern towers. Cambodias main exports are agricultural products and fabrics/clothing. Tourism is growing and there is evidence of economic growth in the hustle and bustle.

The horror of the Khmer Rouge all but sent Cambodia, once one of the jewels of the orient, back to the stone ages. All commerce, religion, ownership, personal freedom or political choice were forbidden by Pol Pot and his regime and 25% of the population died between 1975 and 1979. By the time the Vietnamese Government helped establish a new style of communist government in the 80’s, not so cruel as the Khmer Rouge, all families had suffered loses and many had fled the country. Today you do not see a lot of old people in Cambodia with the largest population group being under 30. At the killing fields we saw large school groups being lead through the history of this dark time with a reminder never to let history repeat itself in the same way again.

We were warned frequently to watch our bags and we had read in our guide books that tourists had been robbed and even shot so we were very cautious at night, carrying only what was necessary and sticking mainly to the busy areas along the Mekong River or surrounding the markets.

The markets are worth visiting if only for the street food. The Night Market was our first and we ate barbecue at several stalls. You pick your food with tongs, place it in a basket and hand it over for cooking. Not as spicey as Thai food, Cambodian spicing is more subtle, lots of lemongrass and capsicum.

We visited the “Russian Market” as it is known, it is a newer market but the passage ways are very narrow and it is really crowded with food sellers in the middle and dry goods people surrounding them. Not easy to negotiate and we found most of the merchandise was low quality. We didn’t stay long were glad we went.

The Central Market is another story. A permanent dome structure covers the market and the passageways are wider and the stalls organized according to merchandise, it’s earlier to find what you’re looking for and seemingly you can buy just about anything but be prepared to barter.

Along the shore of the Tonle Sap River is the Sisowath Quay where Cambodians picnic, exercise and enjoy the cool night air surrounded by a vast array of coloured lights on boats and building. Very pretty and colourful. We ate and people watched in a few restaurants in this area and our last night at a seafood restaurant near the Russian market. It was a longer ride from our hotel, but well worth it. We dined on a wonderful lemongrass and shrimp stir fry with rice followed by a peppered crab stir fry with glass noodles. Very good. We have found that ordering two dishes and sharing family style works really well.

On the whole Cambodia is very inexpensive, a Tuk Tuk in the city is generally 2 or 3USD to get you where you’re going, and a meal with a beer or a G&T around 5USD. We stayed a little upmarket (50CAD) but it was worth it to have a quiet place off the main streets with a pool.

Tag: palace

Budapest for the Christmas Markets

Cambodia Part 2: Phnom Penh

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