After the prevalence of trash and graffiti in Athens and Lisbon we were shocked at the cleanliness of Budapest. Before arrival we had no idea that Budapest is really 2 separate cities on the Danube. On one side of the river is Buda and on the other is Pest. We were meeting our friend Ted and had no plans other than knowing that we had to be in Venice in 10 days. On our 1st day as we were wandering around and enjoying the architecture we came across a sign reading “Ice Bar”. We thought it was an interesting concept but continued across the river to view the Parliament Building as the sun went down.
Later that evening we found ourselves in the vicinity of the ice bar once again. Of course it was happy hour and the normal entry price of 11 euros was “slashed” to 4 euros with a free drink. A guy out front saw us as a couple of ducks and went to work. “Yes! Yes! Come in. Great music! Big Party! Come to Ice Bar and make Ahhhhh-Mazing photo!” We took the bait and found ourselves putting on ridiculous penguin suits. Why we thought an ice bar was a good idea in 40 degree weather is still beyond me. We walked into the “Big Party” which consisted of……us in a miniscule walk-in freezer with a few large ice blocks scattered about and crappy thumping techno music that shook my chest cavity. The drinks were alcohol free “juice” that amount to little more than a cup of grenadine. We looked at each other and burst out laughing. We took a few mandatory ahhhh-mazing photos before throwing in the towel and agreeing that we would never again be sold by a guy in a felt penguin suit.
