A cold New Years Eve in Budapest

Budapest in December doesn’t mess around with the winter cold, it punches me in the teeth with it. The Danube carves through the city like a frozen artery, and the wind slices through my jacket like it’s tissue paper. Locals shuffle faster, collars up, faces down, suddenly wondering what happened to their toes.

Having hot apple cider at Vörösmarty tér.

I arrived armed with good intentions and bad gloves. Budapest was already deep in hibernation mode, but if there’s one thing Eastern Europe does better than melancholy architecture and bone-chilling winds, it’s defiant celebration. The New Year preparations are ongoing at Vörösmarty tér, the big square near the banks of the Danube. And if I know the Hungarians well enough, my guess is that the evening will feature crowds, fire and horrible live music.

One cannot survive the cold without the local antifreeze. Out here it goes under the name of Unicum. It smells like varnish and tastes even worse, so I suggest a cup of hot apple cider instead.

I guess many of the locals are currently hiding inside anyone of the thermal baths, submerged in waters with boiling temperature. But for me, a bucket of hot goulash will do just fine.

Surviving the cold with hot mulled wine at Castle Hill.

Hungary is surrounded by seven countries; Austria, Slovenia, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia and Croatia. This naturally has a big influence on cultural habits. One such tradition not to clink glasses when drinking beer, coming from a legend of Hungarians wowing not to because Austrians are said to have clinked their beer glasses when celebrating the execution of martyrs in 1849.

Clinking or not, today it’s New Years Eve and I look forward to celebrating it in the streets of Budapest. To all my friends across the world, have a Happy New Year wherever you are!