Final post from my Ambassador series, well for this evening anyway…
Really, what’s a bachelor with no blood relatives for at least 900 miles have to say about Budapest for families? Not much you might think, except that this particular bachelor is the author of a children’s book, and it is Christmas time, so I’ve been shopping a little for other people’s families, and besides that, I still have an affection not only for children’s books but also toys and so on; the more retro-nostalgic the better.
In my forthcoming series of books, entitled The Wild Cats of Piran I tried to imbue the text with as much that quality as possible, not so much of awe as of awwwwww. (Wild Cats isn’t set in Hungary, as I needed a coastline, but there is a memorable Hungarian character among the feral felines.) Anyway, what I’m leading up to saying, is that it seems to me there’s plenty of good old fashioned fun and imagination for families and kids in this surprisingly complex, multi-faceted city of just two million people.
The Children’s Railway springs readily to mind. Not always to my mind particularly, but for a lot of families it is a must do and my inner kid can also see why. The first part of the journey is up a cog-wheel railway that takes you to the top of Széchenyi Hill. Up there you’ll find a children’s playground and the first station on the Children’s Railway which follows the ridge of the hills to the valley below.
Theatre is hugely popular in Budapest for all ages, a mark of a civilised city if ever there was one. For the children that could well mean a visit to a puppet theatre, such as The Bab Szinhaz at 69 Andrassy Avenue. As well as Hungarian folk tales and classics, their puppeteers – and puppets – perform such well known international tales as Snow White and The Jungle Book.
I think puppets are a wonderful present for kids as they encourage both dexterity and imagination, (and aren’t all about blowing up enemy targets in order to score points in some video game). Not that far away from Bab Szinhaz, in fact just a short stroll to the 7th district, you can visit the darling little shop and studio of Manufaktor The puppet maker is located on the corner of Sip and Dob streets. If you’re into this kind of stuff, take a good browse through their marionette website and you’ll find all sorts of treasures, beautiful puppets and miniature theatres, and old fashioned children’s games. True craftsmanship and quite enchanting.
