Time machine - February

So I wrote some posts a while ago and just never got round to typing them up. So....time machine! We're back in February now ;)

I’m back now from Budapest. I think I’ve found a new favourite city….time to start learning Hungarian and working out how I can wrangle another free year abroad. Just a shame the weather was a little too Irish! We managed to pack a lot into 5 days, although we barely even scratched the surface of what the city has to offer.

The alternative scene in Budapest is just amazing. I’m kind of disappointed that Freiburg doesn’t seem to have the same sort of hidden gems. I hate to admit it but my inner hipster appears to be surfacing. Not that Freiburg is in any way boring, in fact most people would appreciate the lack of gimmicks. As a city it has a natural beauty which speaks for itself, but for a place with so many students it’s definitely missing a spark of creativity. Well, to make a German comparison, it’s definitely no Berlin.

I don’t want to bore you with all the details of my trip so allow me to limit my account to the highlights:
Communist pizza

Marxim is one of Budapest’s best kept secrets. It’s a bit of a trek but definitely worth it. So good in fact that we went there twice. Hidden in a basement down a side street, it would be pretty hard to find if it weren’t for the red star outside. Inside it’s decorated with communist posters and white-washed walls lined with barbed wire. The menu boasts such options as ‘Snow White and the 7 small proletarians’, ‘Gulag pizza (Hawaii), and ‘Pussy-pussy Monica & Bill’. Another interesting feature there is that they give you a little jug of pizza sauce with your pizza. I think this is because some of the pizzas come with sour cream bases, though that’s not to stop you from pouring it all over the standard ones. In fact, I’d recommend it.  Go tomato sauce crazy! There is no such thing as too much red in a communist pizza joint!

Bora Bora tea

Another little treasure trove is a tea-café called Sirius (it also has a sister-café called Altair, which appears to offer a similar experience). The entrance to this café is incredibly easy to miss, unless you know what to look for, as it’s only marked by a small silver plaque on the wall outside. When you walk in on first look it seems just like any other café, not particularly remarkable, but walk around the back, take off your shoes, and you can climb up into one of its many hideouts. Sink into a massive cushion, choose between one of 80 flavours of tea and relax. For those curious enough they even have their own ‘Narnia’ type experience. Crawl through the wardrobe and you will not be disappointed.

                                       

Thrift shopping

And one unforgettably crazy club