Ruin bars in Budapest: crossroad of culture, lights and wonderful people

I broke my promise. After living in Europe for almost two years, this was the first time that I broke my promise. I promised myself that I would never visit the same city twice. As there is so much to see, why go back to a place you have already seen? I couldn’t keep it. As soon as I put a foot in Budapest I fell in love with the city. When I get back home I found myself searching desperately for a summer internship in the “Paris of the East”.

One of the places that astonished me were the ruin bars. These old and historical buildings were going to be demolished, but some entrepreneurs bought them instead. Without removing the essence of the structure they transformed into ‘Bars in Ruins’. The first time my Hungarian friends took me to one I thought I was victim of a prank. There I was, standing outside of what looked like a dump to me - “smile and hide your fear”, I said to myself. When I passed the door it was like I was passing through another dimension.

The decoration was far from conventional. Recycled, urban, retro, old elements were everywhere. You could see dolls stacked in the walls, Christmas lights in the plant trees (even though we were in summer), and old computer screens hanging from the top of the ceiling. In the middle of the room there was a taxi cut in half, which my friends used as a seat! Other ruin bars have their furniture stuck to the ceiling, giving the illusion of being upside down. This makes you feel dizzy before even starting to drink!

The fascinating thing about this place (besides the crazy decorations) is the people. Travelers, locals, hipsters, business men, artists, football players, fashionistas, all “cohabited” in one place. The environment is charged with laughs, music, multilingual conversations and good Hungarian drinks. In one moment you see people from different religions, races and nationalities under one ceiling having the best time of their lives. You really have the feeling that all the assumptions, judgements and labels have been left outside.

I got a chance to dance to a type of Indian music. This was from a Ukrainian artist that grew up in Israel but was living in Canada! So many different versions of the world, so many lenses in one night. For a couple of hours I really felt as a true citizen of the world, because for those few moments there were no boundaries, no masks, and there was only language; friendship.