Kávé, Méz és Virágok

Budapest, Diva of the Danube, is as mysterious as she is beautiful. Decades of concealment behind the Iron Curtain has not diminished her loveliness in spite of the scars of peeling plaster, bullet-holed facades and falling masonry. For behind the smoke screen of blackened stucco lies a City of hidden delights, awaiting discovery by twenty-first century aesthetes in search of timeless elegance.

Over the years I have assembled a directory of my favourite secret haunts, my little black book of special places to be shared with only the most discriminating of visitors.

When T, my Hungarian cook/housekeeper, has a day off, breakfast, lunch or dinner can be taken at the Gérloczy coffee house, restaurant and, most recently, boutique hotel. Smuggled away in a leafy square behind Vaci utca, the principal shopping street, and in the heart of the inner city, it is always buzzing with life. Sharp suited business types, Grandes Dames of Old Europe, backpacking tourists, moustache wearing, chain smoking Magyars and romantically involved couples form the eclectic clientele to be found there. In scenes reminiscnt of old French films, one may sample the delicacies of freshly baked bread, Hungarian cuisine with a light, modern touch, and puddings and pastries that would grace the finest of French patisseries. Behind the scenes the pretty nineteenth century Gérloczy building houses a splendid spiral staircase connecting the fifteen guest rooms, three of which are afforded delightful iron-railed balconies. Black tied, black aproned, white shirted waiting staff complete the picture, all of which was captured on celluloid in 2005 in Steven Spielberg's political thriller, 'Munich'.

Eclectism is the dominant Hungarian architectural style so it is normal to see onion-topped roofs, modernist minimalism, brutal Soviet era blocks and Jugendstil co-habiting the same square or street. Nowhere is there a better example of this than in Szabadság tér [Freedom Square], the green heart of downtown Pest. But behind the gloriously massive edifices surrounding the square, in an unremarkable side street, lies a jewel in the crown of Hungarian Art Nouveau, the former Post Office Savings Bank - Postatakaretpénzta. Its architect, Odon Lechner, the master of Secession style, won a competition to design it and the rest, as they say, is history.

The four storey, triple fronted building is a masterpiece of fusion of Hungarian folk elements with Art Nouveau style. Brilliantly coloured majolica tiles, manufactured in the famous Zsolnay porcelain factory in Pécs, clothe the walls and roof. Ceramic bees crawl up to reach their hives in a grand metaphor for the prudence of saving money. Binoculars, however, are needed to study the winged dragons and serpents acting as ridge tiles and, only by helicopter, can the full glory of the tiled roof be seen.

Central Budapest's best-kept secret is a garden. Károlyi kert, named after the Count whose eighteenth century palace of the same name shelters this most charming park, is a verdant sanctuary providing an escape from the noise and traffic of the centre of town. Splendid wrought iron gates open to reveal wide sweeps of lawn , a central fountain surrounded by seasonal colour, burgeoning flower borders and a children's play area complete with slide, sandbox, swings and seesaws. Screened and insulated, there is no lovelier or more tranquil spot than Károlyi kert, and not a tourist in sight!

P.S. The three images in today's posting are, from top to bottom, the exterior of the Gérloczy Kávéház,

the Old Post Office Savings Bank, and the entrance gates to Károlyi kert.