I recently celebrated my birthday in Budapest, and this birthday took more planning than most–there’s a pandemic, after all. COVID-19 is far from over, however, Budapest has taken enough measures to allow the city to open up again just in time for summer. Like many of us with birthdays on the outer-edge of lockdown, I was looking for a way to celebrate with loved ones that fell somewhere between a Zoom birthday party and a tightly packed space. Here’s what I came up with!
Party at Home
One of the most important things about a birthday for me is being able to share good food with good company. Instead of finding a restaurant, I opted to have a few friends over and make some appetizers with love. If you need some quick ideas for an easy birthday spread, think:
- Baked Brie (with a light honey or jam filling)
- Pigs in a Blanket
- Charcuterie Board (I loved using some local Hungarian salami for this one)
- Classic Fröccs (the Hungarian summer spritzer–wine mixed with soda water) or Pálinka (the Hungarian spirit–my favorite is szilva, or, plum.)
Karaoke
If letting loose when your favorite song comes on sounds like a good time to you, then karaoke might be just the thing! There are a couple of karaoke places around the city, but I opted for Vibe Rooms, as they have private rooms (so I figured it was a little bit more of a controlled environment–for both germs and embarrassing solos). They wiped everything down before and after we had our session and were quite hospitable (gotta love those free birthday shots!). Plus they have a promotion for July–1500 HUF/person, regardless of the room. Our hour long booking went way too quickly, and soon enough we were onto the next phase…
Riverside Drinks
Originally the plan was to find an outdoor terrace on Margaret Island, but those bars closed early. Thankfully, Margaret Island is only a quick and picturesque walk away from summertime staple, Pontoon. Nestled at the foot of the famous Chain Bridge (Lánchíd), Pontoon is an open-air bar on from which you can see all of Buda lit up. Of course it’s insanely popular in the summer, so we grabbed our own fröccs supplies and found our own quiet spot down the river.
Celebrating anything while a pandemic is on is bound to take extra planning. Of course I was excited to see friends and celebrate, but still, I wanted to be cautious. And as it turns out, this Budapest birthday was joyful! I hope–however you celebrate–yours will be too!
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