I entered Budapest after seeing the Bavarian Alps and glimpses of Vienna on the way. It was twilight when the bus driver announced our arrival in the Hungarian capital. I followed Martina’s instructions (my peer from college), and after a long subway ride, I found myself on a cobblestone central street where an old tram was passing. There were a few people walking around, carrying bags of groceries, saying nothing. At some corner, an old man was downing the last bit of the beer from a 1L plastic bottle. Once facing the realization that there was no more beer left, he gave in to his frustration and tossed away the bottle, murmuring some cranky remarks in Hungarian. He looked absolutely miserable, as if beer was the only thing that kept him going.
The final stop of that first Hungarian evening was this imposing, belle-epoque-style apartment building where Martina’s boyfriend was living. It must’ve been at least 100 years old. It was a bit unkept though. It definitely needed a paint job, and bits of the façade were missing. That building had definitely had some better days. However, it’s glorious past could still be felt.
I rang the doorbell, and I got welcomed by the one who had convinced Martina to become the less conventional Budapest resident that she currently was (she was in Germany visiting some family at the time). The guy had long dreadlocks, a preacher’s beard, necklaces, and baggy, colorful clothes. He looked like a techno hippy monk, going by the name of Bart.
Bart welcomed me inside and showed me the couch in his living room, where I would sleep for the next 2 nights. Thereafter I joined this table where his 2 housemates were hanging out, playing some card game where they bet using real money. They invited me to play with them and explained the rules. Of course, I lost every single round, and I owned them money. I told the guys I’d pay them back in beers the following day, and they were fine with that.
The next day everyone in the house, including Bart, was busy with work or personal stuff. So I took a casual stroll through Budapest. I had been in Budapest before, but that didn’t stop me from admiring its imperial architecture once more, along with the blue Danube from its classy bridges. And that whole sightseeing feels about 100 times better when you have a lángos[1] or kürtős[2] in your hand.
In the evening, Bart took me to some artsy tavern place that he guaranteed I’d like. After a 20-minute walk, we ended up in front of this abandoned-looking building, which gave me the creeps. The whole area looked dodgy, as if only scum and villains were populating it. I became skeptical, yet Bart was certain that it was the right place. The man then pulled a key out of his pocket, which enabled us to go inside.
Behind that door, a dusty stairway led to a vast chamber where a whole little artistic community was gathering on a regular basis. There was also a bar inside, where I got myself a Long Island cocktail. I would’ve never guessed that in such a nasty location I would come across such an expressive haven. It made me wonder how many of these establishments lay hidden in my own city, on streets where I’d never be inclined to leave a trace. However, those were the spots where one would get the essence of that eccentric and contrasting layer of society, which got the interest of some folk, myself included.
That whole underground joint was anything but boring. At one table some girls were jamming a tune with guitars and ukuleles while in some corner a guy was painting something on a canvas. There were also a few other humans just going about and immersing themselves in the art. Bart was greeted by every single one of those characters, and then he introduced me as his guest.
We were smoking, drinking, singing, joking, rambling, and debating various topics. And it was inevitable that one of the topics brought into discussion would be the Corona virus pandemic. At that point, the thing was getting the attention of more and more people from every social, cultural, and material level. If one wasn’t completely isolated from reality, living in some remote part of the world, one would know about the new disease.
“What do you guys think about this whole virus situation?” Bart asked.
“I don’t know what to say anymore. Some people say it was made in a lab. Others say it came out of nowhere in some village. I’m not even paying attention anymore.” One of the girls mentioned.
“How did this Corona crap even start?” I joined in.
“Well, many people believe that someone in China ate some bat soup and then got the virus from the actual bat. Before, that virus was spread only among bats and maybe other animals, but not among humans. Yet again, we can’t be sure. That’s just what a lot of people say.” The painter told us.
“Did you say bat soup?” I asked, perplexed. Never before in my life had I heard about people actually consuming bat. It was beyond my imagination spectrum that someone would have the inclination to eat bat. And the idea of walking into a cave to pick bats and cook them was also beyond me.
“Yeah, dude. Bat soup. It appears that some people actually dig that stuff.”
“Who the hell eats bat soup, man?” Bart began laughing.
“Some Chinese people apparently.” Said another girl. “And that’s how you get a new pandemic! We might all get locked, you know that?”
“Nah. I think they’re just trying to scare us.” Bart said.
“You guys even follow the news?” The painter rejoined the discussion. “In Italy, they already imposed a lockdown. People are not allowed to leave their homes unless they go to work or buy groceries.”
“Oh shit. Is it really happening?” I said.
“It kinda looks that way. The number of cases kept going up in every country. In America, the Corona infections are skyrocketing.” The painter added.
“Who knew that out of all things, a bat soup would start such a catastrophe?” I mentioned.
“This is simply madness, guys!” Said some other guy, a bit irritated. “If the government imposes a lockdown, then I’m leaving this country. This affects our basic freedoms. If I’m forced to sit in my home, I’ll pack my stuff and go to some place where they don’t even know what Corona is. I freaking swear. Ain’t no pandemic gonna lock me anywhere.” He went on. That dude right there stood his ground.
“Well, maybe we’ll be isolated. Maybe we won’t. Nobody knows yet. But for what I know, today we are still free people. Tomorrow we may not be. That being said, shall we switch to another place and get some more drinks in us? We still have the freedom to do so, and that alone is a reason to do exactly that.” Bart stated.
“Boy, that’s exactly what I have in mind. Let’s go for it. I wanna see more Budapest bars.” I approved.
“YES! Danny needs to know more of the epic places we have here.” Bart asserted.
Nobody questioned the man. We knew it was the right thing to do. We knew it instinctively. So, what followed was a pub crawl where I had the pleasure to acknowledge the existence of the real Budapest bars, away from the touristic realm, where all the anti-establishment, free-spirited, and weirdos of that city were seeking refuge. We downed drafts of beer until we could barely remember our way back home and also what happened before getting home. Bart sure did a hell of a job of being a guide that night. It was my last night in Budapest, so he felt compelled to deliver.
~◆◆◆~
I woke up hungover and ordered pizza for breakfast. I shared it with Bart while we watched 2 episodes of Rick and Morty. After that, I packed my bags thereafter and got ready since I had a train ticket for Bucharest, which I’d bought the day before. Since it was still early, I chilled with Bart at his place for one more hour.
We had a few beers while watching some news, and we saw that in Australia a lockdown had just been announced to be put in effect 2 days later. We also saw footage of stampede in some supermarkets where people were buying loads of toilet paper rolls and food products to stuff their freezers. Canned food was also disappearing from the shelves. It was pure insanity.
Every single media network was talking about the virus and what seemed to be an unavoidable global pandemic. Everyone was panicking because of the daily increase of infected people. It was actually happening. We watched everything speechless.
“What are you going to do, man?” I asked Bart. “Maybe Hungary goes into full lockdown next week. What’s your plan?”
“Well, there’s no way I’m staying in Budapest, my dude.” He told me. “I’m going straight to my grandma’s village house in the north of Hungary. It’s a cool hill area, and we have a lot of space there. I’ll probably bring along a few friends, and we’ll just stay there, play music, and drink. There’s no other way, man.”
“Sweet, buddy.”
Once again, I had to go to another city. It was the last one now, the end of the line. I was very thoughtful on my way to the train station. The world was really feeling different. There was an unease in the air, and on many people’s faces there was a subtle sign of distress that could be read. Life on the outside wasn’t what it used to be. People had already gone crazy in some corners of the world and were fighting for a roll of paper or a slice of cheese while panic shopping. That whole new virus thing became a real drag, and the only place left to go was the place I’d known best. I was coming home.
After a goulash soup in the historical Budapest Keleti station restaurant, I hopped on the train and slept until I reached the Romanian border check, when a guard woke me up. The train then just kept on going.
NOTES:
[1] Typical Hungarian food consisting of deep fried flatbread topped usually with sour cream, grated cheese, garlic, bacon, onions and parsley
[2] Hungarian cone shaped spit cake, rolled in granulated sugar