Budapest Diary - Day 16

It was Shopping Day! – And probably a day to finish off all the Forints I had at hand.

“One more doll!” Snag had insisted. We headed for that elusive doll shop on Vaci ut, which was never open. They had an impressive display of folklore items on their glass panes, which attracted every passer-by on Vaci ut. They always closed at six and were never open on Sunday. Today, we caught up with them. But the prices were too high for us to catch! We would be better off at the underground souvenir market. I dragged her into the Mozart chocolate emporium. They were expensive, but they had all kinds of chocolates – not the usual Snickers, Hersheys, merci etc. I found that they also sold “Turkish Delight”. Snag refused it. “It looks like Halwa only! So why buy?” she remarked. I picked up a whole lot of different stuff – mostly Central European – and the bill came up to a whopping 17,500 Forints!

The girl at the doll shop was very excited. “So many people today!” she exclaimed (there were only the three of us in the shop), “and I am the only one here!” We bought a couple of dolls and she beamed with delight. On the way out, I pointed out the glass paintings to Snag. She picked up one of them and approached the girl. “Oh! It’s you again!” she seemed extremely pleased to see us back, “You see, the girl who was working quit her job and disappeared and manager of the shop is on vacation. Now I am the manager. What if something happens to me? What if I have a car accident while coming to work? Nobody will know!”

Gabor had recommended the National Market for folklore items. We walked towards it, along the “other Vaci Ut” – the less glamorous cousin of the shopping street, which runs from the Erszebet Hid to the Szabadszag Hid. Snag was accosted by an old lady selling sweaters. “I like the white one”, exclaimed Snag, and bought it for 5000 Forints. The old lady was not done. She began persuading Snag to buy the blue one also. “It looks good on you,” she remarked. Snag’s denials were to no avail. She ended up buying the blue one also, for 3000 Forints. Soon another lady came running with sweaters. Snag took to her heels.

“Is this the church?” Snag asked, pointing at the structure ahead. “THIS is the National Market!” I replied. At first sight it was no different from its namesake in Bangalore. There was a huge hall, full of only shops! – Three floors of it. The moment we entered, Snag’s hunger for grapes resurfaced from God knows where. Thankfully, there was no need for a meticulous grape hunt. The ground floor was full of fruit shops. I wanted a chessboard, and so we headed up to the souvenir shops. There, Snag spotted the same sweater she bought, selling for 3200 Forints. She almost cried. “I better not come across the old lady while returning back!” she snorted, “I am going to kill her!” For once, I was not the recipient of her death threats.

Lunch was scheduled (or rather, planned) at the riverside, and it was going to be my treat (you give it to one of them during one of your trips, and it becomes a ritual!). I chose the exquisitely decked Duna Corsa – a restaurant settled at the base, and part of the prestigious Ambassador Hotel. Facing the waterfront, with the crowded Vigado Ter on its side, this is a place which is ever crowded at all times of the day. There were only a few tables empty, and Snag insisted that we sit under an umbrella, and facing the river. The Paprika Chicken dish was delicious. It was easily the best food I’ve ever had any time in Budapest. Snag ordered some vegetable dish with dream and roasted (looked more like, “burnt”) cheese. “Like how Aishwarya Rai points out in the menu, in that movie”, she joked. While we ate, she kept repeating the phrase “It is a delicacy!” quite sarcastically. When the check came, I realized why the food was so good!

The plan was to go up Gellert Hill and watch the brightly lit city at night. Snag refused. “I’m tired!” she complained. As I sat down in my room, all the fatigue of the day came back to me. I decided to stay put.

Within an hour and a half, I was walking across Erszebet Hid, headed for the hill. I couldn’t stand the boredom in that lonely hotel room.

Last time around, I had to rest twice during the climb. I expected something equally tough. But the climb was not all that bad – considering that I did not pause for a rest even once during the trek. I wasn’t burdened by my backpack this time. The sun had gone down by the time I reached the top. A crowd had already settled down to watch the spectacle. At 7:15, the lights came on down below. It was truly a spectacle! After innumerable photos, I headed towards the statue, and right behind me was a huge Malayali crowd (why wasn’t I surprised). One of the men was boasting: “Yuver pappa toald me…they wond yallow peeppul more thaan 10 minits in dhe thermal baath. But, I steyed foar twendy minits. In Gerala, we taik baath in dhe rivar. Waat ees goying to happen??”

My big idea was to stay late till it was completely dark, and then take the bus back to the city centre. It all came to nothing, for there were no buses from there. “You have to walk down, dear”, the lady at the souvenir shop (I had bought a cat from her) said sympathetically. For more than half way down, I stumbled along in the dark forest, in the minutest amount of light that came from my camera flash. The lights from halfway down were just about ample for me to find my way. It was without parallel, the scariest walk I have had in all my stay in Budapest.