Well the boss said we were going out and we went out - getting home at 4am was an interesting introduction to the Friday night experience in Budapest - in between being introduced to various brands of Hungarian beer, I also seem to have been met most of the Budapest Exiles rugby team, been give the names of several bars that show the rugby and have been signed up with the first training session this evening - not a bad start!Amongst the people that I met there was an eclectic mix - Brits, other expats and Hungarians including a stuntman with a missing thumb (courtesy of a horse that bolted) and awaiting an operation as he broke his back filming Robin Hood - some might suggest that he looked for an other career but I resisted the temptation as he stood up and was about 2m tall and must have weighed about 120kgs so decided that I would buy him a beer instead!
Flats here are enormous but you have to get used to the concept of everything being discussed in m2 rather than by the number of rooms - have viewed 6 and have a shortlist of 3 - 2 with amazing views across various aspects of the city either from the banks of the Danube and looking onto Margaret Island and the Ciatadel, or from a 1930s art deco block on Rosehill with a view including the Parliament and then the whole of Buda - the agony of choice. All that said, some of the decor was quite interesting - one had Winnie the Pooh and Tigger carpet in one of the rooms and then the most incredible black velvet bed base with pink, electric blue and purple swirls - believe me, I was pleased that piece was not in the hotel room when I woke up as it might have made the hangover even more pounding!!
Weather is still amazing and I spent most of the weekend in t-shirt which is a surreal experience for the time of year - I have also been told that there has not been any snow here in the winter for the last 2 winters and as a result they have been mild - no colder than -5 (that's alright then!!)
One thing that is becoming abundantly clear is that Budapest seems to be the type of place that people come to for a year and never leave (a little like Hotel California) - most of the expats I have met start with the lines 'You'll love it hear, I came for 2 nights and have been here 5 years' so it seems like there might be issues trying to escape.
Have even managed to learn a couple of words - only problem seems to be that as soon as I say one thing, there is an assumption that I am able to speak Hungarian and so I get a mouthful of rapid fire magyar which is met with an idiotic grin and an apology for being incapable of being able to say more than please, thank you, beer and a random selection of others including Butterfly - not sure why Butterfly but it seem to come up when I was in the National Theatre the other night at the same time that someone, Attila (yes I have met a Hungarian called Attila)was trying to teach me the Hungarian for what I assume was the equivalent of 'Royal Circle' - obviously that will be essential for shopping!
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