Ruins to Remembrance: Two Sides of Budapest

I took a bunch of tours while in Budapest. I’m going to list them all, one for one, because there were four of them. FOUR. I can’t even make this up. 

Who does four tours in two days?

Me.

*just this one time though... it's not usually my 'norm.'

And... never again...

So ya... I had two full days in Budapest, and I signed myself up for four different tours. When I casually throw the word “different” out there, what I mean is that I hoped (and prayed) that they were all different… but most of them ended up being more similar than I’d anticipated. But… regardless… they are all completely worth mentioning… if only for the eye rolls and the comic relief.

Ok…

Let’s chat “tours!”

The first two, anyway... the second two will follow this blog.

The first tour I did was a Free Walking Tour of Budapest.

This tour focused on the Jewish Quarter and the Holocaust. It ended up being one of the most fascinating and sobering introductions to the city I could have asked for.

I quickly learned that Hungarian history is marked by revolutions, failed alliances, shifting borders, and political disasters. Hungary seemed to have an uncanny knack for ending up on the losing side of wars… twice… and paying dearly for it in territory, power, and human lives. Near the end of the Second World War, they even attempted to switch sides and join the Allies, but by then it was far too late. The entire history feels complicated, tragic, and strangely incessant.

Our guide was brilliant. She was a history major who clearly knew her subject inside and out. There was no doubt about it. I couldn’t believe it, but there were about thirty-five people on the tour. To me, that’s a nightmare to handle on one’s own… but then again, she didn’t have to coordinate food, drinks, or reservations. And because it was free, people could come and go whenever they pleased.

One particular couple stood out immediately. They both looked so incredibly bored and irritated from the moment we started. At nearly every memorial stop, they would smoke and sit watching YouTube videos at full volume... while the guide was speaking. So rude! Eventually, they disappeared. It was inevitable. I actually can't believe they signed up for the tour in the first place.

I shouldn’t be so judgmental.

I had not one, not two... but THREE sneezing fits while being on the tour… horrendously embarrassing.

At one point, this random man turned, shot me a glance of such disgust, as if I were carrying something highly contagious, and quickly crossed the street to get away from me! Without even an ounce of processing this properly, I yelled out “I’m sorry,” even though I wasn’t quite sure what I was apologizing for. Sorry, I sneezed... a million times. I wanted to add, “I DON’T HAVE COVID.”

It's so surreal how COVID is still so ingrained in us. The plague!

I can't help it... when I start sneezing, it doesn't stop. Sometimes I can sneeze up to 30 times. Believe me, it's as irritating to me as it is to everyone else. More so.

The guide also introduced us to the work of Mihály Kolodko, the Ukrainian-Hungarian sculptor often nicknamed the “Banksy of Budapest.” His tiny bronze statues are scattered throughout the city, tucked onto railings, perched beside staircases, or hidden in corners you’d never notice unless someone pointed them out. The best part is that many of them were installed without official permission, giving the city a kind of playful, secret-art-gallery feel. Just like Banksy. Kolodko’s sculptures are usually only hand-sized, but they usually carry a surprisingly big meaning. Some are nostalgic, while others represent political satire.

One of the pieces we saw was a tiny statue of Mr. Bean’s teddy bear on the wall outside the former British Embassy. At first, it just looked slightly absurd... but the symbolism behind it was quite clever. The bear represented Britain’s breakup with Europe after Brexit... a quiet little joke suggesting that Hungary was also breaking up with Britain.

The tour itself was very powerful. Obviously, tackling issues like the Jews during the Holocaust. The sadness swallowed me whole and left me emotionally shattered. We passed synagogues, remnants of old ghetto walls, buildings where Jewish families once hid, and streets where people endured brutal winters without food, fresh water or heating. One of the most moving details was the stumbling stones (Stolpersteine)... the small memorial stones placed in front of homes. There are hundreds scattered throughout Budapest... tributes to the people who once lived there before they were deported, executed, or simply disappeared during the Holocaust. Those markers make history feel immediate... rather than distant.

Our guide also taught us about some of the extraordinary heroes of Budapest during the Holocaust... people who risked everything to save complete strangers in the face of this unimaginable cruelty. Two of the most well-known were Raoul Wallenberg and Ángel Sanz Briz. Both men became famous for issuing protective letters, passports, and safe-conduct documents in Budapest during World War II, helping to hide children and save thousands of Jewish families from deportation and execution.

We also stopped at one of Budapest’s most moving memorial sculptures, dedicated to Carl Lutz. The monument depicts him as a golden angel descending to rescue a fallen man, symbolizing all the lives he helped save. Lutz, a Swiss diplomat, helped protect tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews during the war by issuing protective documents and establishing safe houses throughout Budapest.

The memorial has the powerful inscription: “Whoever saves a life is considered to have saved an entire world.”

It was one of those moments where the city’s beauty suddenly gives way to the weight of its history.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Fabulous Tour

Top-notch

A1

After the tour finished, my plan was to explore everything the city had to offer. My tired body had other plans in store for me. The jet lag I had somehow bypassed in Athens caught up with me. It not only caught up with him... it completely destroyed me. I crashed. Hard. My eyelids started drooping, and suddenly I was hit with an overwhelming wave of fatigue. It took everything I had just to climb into an Uber and get back to my accommodation. In fact, I fell asleep in the taxi on the way there. Once I got to my room, I slept the entire day away... and woke up at 6:30pm... with a half an hour to spare before my next tour started.

I could NOT believe how exhausted I was.

Next tour... The Ruin Pub Tour.

Big buildup... for... meh.

Honestly, if you want me opinion, it was not really worth it.

Part of that was probably my own fault because the tour mixed the Jewish Quarter with the ruin bars, and since I’d already done a proper Jewish Quarter tour, I was impatient to get to the ruin bars!

Who wouldn't be?

The guide had actually written to me beforehand saying I was the only person booked and asking if I could switch dates. I couldn’t really move things around because I wasn’t in Budapest long enough to participate in the dates that she had suggested. Eventually two other girls joined, so the tour went ahead.

But the reviews for this Lena woman absolutely worshipped her... and honestly, I just didn’t get it. I know this sounds odd... but she barely acknowledged me throughout the entire time. It was like I wasn't there. She mainly directed all her attention and eye contact toward the other two girls. It's 100% true! Maybe it sounds like a ridiculous thing to notice, but when someone constantly skips over you in conversation, you feel it. It changes the entire atmosphere.

It was... unsettling. Uncomfortable.

I’d occasionally get a quick glance in my direction, but never for more than a split second... and felt done out of obligation. And seriously... what am I supposed to write in a review?

“Guide avoided looking directly at my face”?

It sounds insane when you put it like that — like I’m some sort of tour groupie... or attention-seeking fanatical.

So no... for me, the ruin pub tour wasn’t worth the money.

We stopped at a cherry liqueur place called Piana Vyshnia, which translates to “Drunk Cherry.” I was soooooo desperate for sugar... probably a mix of exhaustion and lingering jet lag. Water would have been the sensible choice, but I think I've proven that I don't always make the most logical travel decisions. I went straight for a cherry soda and downed it like nobody's business.

As for ruin bars, they were very cool... and they’re actually a brilliant concept. After the communist era, people started turning abandoned and crumbling buildings in Budapest into bars and gathering spaces instead of renovating them properly. They embraced the decay instead of hiding it. The result is this weird, chaotic mix of graffiti, broken walls, old furniture, random memorabilia, neon lights, hidden courtyards, and rooms that look like someone decorated them during a bad acid trip.

We stopped at one small underground bar and had a Hungarian herbal shot. I expected something closer to Jägermeister, but it tasted much more herbal... more medicinal. Definitely not my thing.

But then we reached the main ruin bar, Szimpla Kert... the biggest and most famous ruin bar in all of Budapest... and that part completely blew me away. Szimpla Kert is the place that started the whole ruin bar movement in the city. It’s set inside an enormous, semi-abandoned building in the Jewish Quarter, where every room seems to lead into another.

The place was humongous... three stories high, hidden rooms, and endless hallways branching off in every direction. Each room had its own personality. Bars were tucked into every corner, while narrow corridors led you deeper into a maze of mismatched furniture, flickering neon lights, and walls covered in graffiti, art, and objects that looked like they had been collected from the trash over the decades. Bizarre decorations hung from the ceilings, and random antiques and bits of junk had been transformed into unexpected art installations. The deeper you walked into it, the stranger... and cooler, it became.

Outside, there was a large open-air courtyard filled with eclectic seating: old bathtubs repurposed as sofas, retro cars turned into booths, and hanging plants weaving their way through crumbling brickwork.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/0dab89_20154015af89421a8c6977750f983c60/720p/mp4/file.mp4

Honestly, I could’ve spent an entire day wandering around inside and still not seen everything.

This place alone made me understand why people rave about Budapest’s ruin bar culture.

And the funniest part?

You don’t need a tour at all to experience it. Nope! There is no ticket booth... and no formal entrance. It's just a ruin bar in the city. You can just wander in off the street and suddenly find yourself inside this labyrinth of bars... and chaotic maze of rooms, lights, and music. And ruins!

I even wrote my name on the wall. Well.. Nibble Tours.

Just go in and get a drink!

Have a few!

Get wrecked...

Get ruined!

At one point I was filming a video inside and Lena (the guide) suddenly asked if I was a content creator. I should’ve said, “Actually yes, I’m an internationally famous influencer reviewing Budapest tours.” I guarantee I would’ve suddenly become far more interesting to her after that.

Oh well.

She took loads of photos of us, all with the promise of sending them the following day. Nothing ever came to us. Not the sign of a good guide. Not at all.

⭐️⭐️ Meh...

Why wouldn't she look at me? Why didn't she like me? What's wrong with me? lol... whyyyyy????

You just wait until I'm a famous content creator!!!

Meh...

I should've kept my jet lagged ass in bed longer and then just gone to that ruin bar myself...

Too late smart...

#ruined