How do you celebrate the end of the worst year anyone can remember? We’ll look back on 2009 as the time when the world economy seemed in danger of total collapse. There can’t be many people on the planet who have escaped the effects of this financial devastation. Beyond the economics, the worst thing about 2009 was just the sheer psychological weirdness of not knowing what was going to happen next. Although we both kept our jobs and went to so many beautiful places in the world, I never want to see another year like this one.

Lounge blues

Just in case we were in any doubt, our plans for toasting the end of 2009 were almost wrecked when British Airways cabin crew decided they were going on strike. We took the calculated decision that there was very little chance of the action being called off, so we rebooked immediately on Malev, the Hungarian national airline, which cost us several hundred pounds more. The irony is that we ended up in the BA lounge at Gatwick (above), as they codeshare with Malev. This picture flatters what is a fairly miserable place, with decor that looks about twenty years out of date.

Malev

Things didn’t improve much when we boarded the Business Class cabin on Malev. When is someone going to wake up to the idea that a decent BC service is possible on European flights? What we get instead are endless little cuts in the standards of service that leave you wondering what you are paying for, beyond the ability to get off as quickly as possible. The Malev flight was only enlivened by the presence of two air stewards who looked like extras from a Hammer Dracula movie from 1971.

Corinthia

I cheered up when we got to the Corinthia, a grand old hotel in the middle of Budapest that’s been recently restored as part of a small chain of European luxury hotels. We headed straight for the bar to sample Hungary’s finest export: Tokai, the sweet, sweet wine that’s the closest you’ll ever get to alcoholic honey.

The suite (below) was vast, with one of my very favourite hotel features: two bathrooms. It was only spoiled by the presence of a TV set which looked like it had been produced before the fall of the Iron Curtain. And no iPod speakers!

Crappy TVs aside, we enjoyed the Corinthia. The Royal Spa, which dates from 1886, is probably its best feature. Try to avoid peak times. It can get a little crowded in there, and some people can get ugly when they are competing for the last space in the jacuzzi!

Gundel

The point of coming to Budapest was to have Christmas lunch somewhere unusual and special. So we chose the Gundel restaurant, another venerable institution on the edge of the city park. We were not disappointed. Gundel recreates the atmosphere of dining in Budapest in its late Victorian golden era, with modern turns on Magyar classics. Make sure you try the ‘incomparable’ Hungarian goose liver. I was extremely greedy and had the famous ‘four livers’ dish:

“Quartette of Goose Livers: Goose Liver Pâté stuffed with Golden Raisins, Goose Liver in its fat, smoked Goose Liver and grilled Goose Liver with Fig Mille Feuille.”

Anyone for seconds?

But that wasn’t the highlight of the Gundel. Along with the goose liver, and this delicious chocolate souffle with vanilla ice cream (above), we had a bottle of one of their finest Tokai’s - Essencia. This description from the Royal Tokai website says it all:

Essencia is the richest and rarest of all Hungarian Tokaji wines. It is the truest expression of terroir known to man. Typically, this free run juice takes 6 to 8 years to complete its fermentation to less than 3% alcohol. Essencia can reach 85% residual sugar. Essencia wine is legendary.

We were a long way from that BA lounge at Gatwick.

Flaneur

Budapest is a great city for walking around, even though it was perishingly cold when we were there. You can spend days as a ‘flaneur’ strolling through along the wide avenues of Pest, heading for the bridge (above) which leads to the old city of Buda and the imperial castle at the top of the hill (below).

City dining

It doesn’t need an afternoon at the Gundel to eat well in Budapest. We had good experiences in a handful of city eateries, such as Menza (above), round the corner from Corinthia, which is packed most nights with Budapest’s young and trendy crowd.

The Verdict

So we entered the last few days of 2009 feeling much better than we did at the start. Budapest is a city which has a lot going for it, perfect for exploring over a two or three-day visit.

How we got there

We travelled on Malev Airlines from London Gatwick to Budapest

Our ratings for Budapest

1-5 stars

Corinthia

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Malev

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Budapest

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Click here for more hi-res pictures from Budapest