Escape to Budapest

After all of the recent rock concerts, drinking and eating, I thought it would be a good idea to escape for a few days to a health spa in Budapest, so we went on a cheap Jet2.com deal to the Ramada Plaza hotel in Budapest, where there is a nice spa and wellness centre.

And what did we wander into on the second day whilst investigating the old town of Buda? A massive drink and sausage festival with accompanying rock bands! Palinka and Sausage Festival 2012, to be exact, at the National Gallery.

Palinka is the local firewater, and with one sip of it you know for certain that you will bypass any form of enjoyment and go straight through to the hangover. Even sniffing it is enough to give you a headache, and it’s the sort of collapso that even Fat Mac would reflect on (briefly) before consuming. Having said that, Lindsey did seem to enjoy the honey palinka.

Outside the venue was a large sign explaining how the event worked. It was in Hunglish, and after reading it three times we were none the wiser. Amongst other things it involved an entrance fee, a ticket, possibly a VIP ticket, possibly a festival ticket, a card which you were supposed to verify via mobile phone, and a glass.

Inside the lovely large courtyard, by 10pm, were about two thousand locals getting blootered and dancing to the music.

A palinka stall

In case I went blind and wanted to sue someone, I took a photo of the booth where we bought our palinka.

Fortunately, the purchasing system involving the card you were given was so complex, and the shots (measures) so small, that we both escaped with most of our sanity.

We were given a glass.

The first band

The first band, who performed before the place got crowded, were actually quite good. The second band, who played rapid, erm, Hungo-gypsy-techno-pop, were worse than anything you might see on Eurovision. The third band were very good.

The third band

Lindsey at the drink & sausage festival

The sausage food

For reasons I could not gather, each year the festival links with a random different country. This gave the 2012 organisers the opportunity to have a Mexican stall selling tequila near the entrance, where a Hungarian wearing a sombrero sat and a speaker played Red Hot Chili Peppers songs.