A building built for art

Wednesday, August 21th, 2019 

Vienna, Austria and Budapest, Hungary 

It’s 7am CES and I am miserably tired and a little hungover. I drag myself out of bed and manage to steam out half of the wrinkles out of my jumpsuit before getting dressed for the day. Laura has opted to stay in bed for the morning and I really can’t blame her. By 7:30am Sarah and I are walking to Cafe Sacher for a piece of famous cake. Admittedly it’s early, but we do not want to wait in line and they open at 8am. 

By 8:05 we are seated at a small cafe that is covered in red and gold decor. We notice a few empty tables and we start to think that we may have overestimated the popularity of this cake. Sarah and I each order a piece of the famous cake, which is called a sachertorte. I also order a coffee with cream and Sarah gets a cappuccino. The sachertorte is a famous chocolate cake, which was invented by Franz Sacher, a kitchen apprentice, in 1832 to appease an Austrian prince. It’s chocolate cake with chocolate icing and a thin layer of apricot jam inside. If I’m being honest, I have to admit that the cake is just okay, but I am really enjoying the coffee.

After breakfast, we have a few hours to kill before our train to Budapest. We walk to the Kunsthistorisches Art Museum, which is just across from the old Hofburg Palace. We spend some time in the main square, which faces the palace. The square is a vast concrete space, scattered with statues. The palace clearly dominates the square and the whole area feels very imperialistic. 

Upon entering the Kunsthistorisches, we are immediately pushed into a state of awe. The entryway, by itself, is nothing short of grand. We are immediately met with a large marble statue of Theseus fighting a centaur. The building is round and 3 stories tall, with an open space in the middle of the first floor, which has a view all the way up to the bottom side of the dome, which crowns the building. The galleries feature art from all over the world, honestly, I am not familiar with any of the works, but I can tell that they are old and important. 

I point out that the heating ventilation runs through the center of the galleries and is disguised by plush, round viewing benches. Sarah says that this building was constructed for the specific purpose of showing art and we wonder if that’s why.  

Soon it’s time to return to the hotel, meet up with Laura, grab our bags, and head to the train station. We arrive with plenty of time to spare and end up buying a wiehnerschinitzel from a nondescript food stand. I am surprised when this turns out to be the best wiehnerschinitzel that I have ever had in my life. Damn, Vienna has good food. 

Soon we are on a train to Budapest. It’s a relatively short ride of 2.5 hours and we sit quietly listening to music for most of the time. When we arrive in Budapest, the hotel is nearly a 15-minute walk from the train station. We are tired and dehydrated but have no choice but to lug our bags through town. 

Once we are settled in the hotel room, we spend some time planning out the evening. Sarah finds a river cruise that leaves at 9pm and we pick out a restaurant called Chef’s Table for dinner. When we arrive, it’s clear this is a family restaurant, as the owner introduces us to his son, who will be a waiter for the night. They continuously joke with each other and the table throughout the dinner service. I order the roasted duck leg and it’s the best duck that I’ve ever had. For dessert, the table shares an apple strudel and a soufflé. I am so charmed by this restaurant that I have already elevated Budapest to my favorite city in eastern Europe.  

After dinner, we have some time for a quick walk by the river before we board our nighttime river tour. When we arrive we are surprised by the size of the boat, it looks like a small cruise ship! As we follow through the check-in process, however, we are eventually routed to another, much smaller boat, parked behind it. Marketing, I guess. 

It’s almost impossible to hear the tour guide over the boat’s motor, but nonetheless, the tour is awesome. The boat drives past the Buda Castle and it’s lit up just like a postcard. I take at least 30 pictures and am feeling incredibly happy. 

Once the boat tour is over we discuss the possibility of going to the ruin bars, but ultimately decide that it’s time to call it a night. We are beat but very excited for tomorrow, which will be a full day in Budapest.