Rosie and The Operator are out in the late afternoon on a mission for a drink, not just any drink, we are heading to have a brew at Szimpla Kert, one of Budapests many Ruin Bars. Rosie thought this warranted a post all on its own just because she went bananas with her photo taking in this wacky, crazy place.
The Ruin Bars are numerous in Budapest and mainly built in District V11 (The Jewish Quarter) of Budapest in the ruins of abandoned buildings, stores and lots. This neighborhood was left to decay after WW2 when 200,000 murdered Jews did not return after the war. That in itself is so sobering, Rosie has never stopped to think that all of those people came from somewhere, and never returned…whole neighborhoods were left empty after the war and…crumbled.
Fast forward 60 years of abandonment and decay, roll into a new millennium and this was the perfect place to develop an underground bar scene…..although it is not so underground anymore.
It’s a little bit of a hike from the Old Town but it is all in aide of accentuating a good thirst. Finally here we are, at the bar Szimpla Kert, the mecca of the Ruin Bars.
From the outside this bar looks like a normal building in a quirky, hip and rustic area. There were no big signs, there was no loud music coming from the building. The only giveaway that we were there and had arrived was our google street maps and the two burly dudes sitting on stools either side of the open portico.
A sophisticated Health and Safety system of how many people were inside was recorded on a manual ‘clicker counter’ when we walked in and wow, here we were.
There are many ruin bars in this area and each has its own personality or theme, a few basic principles though apparently prevail.
1 / Find an abandoned place, set up a bar.
2/ Fill it with second hand and flea market furniture and the odd antique.
3 / Have a few artists come in and fill it with weirdness.
4 / Serve capacious amounts of alcohol….and watch the people flock in.
Since all of the Ruin Bars are in abandoned buildings, they open, close and move frequently depending on whether their neighbors complain to the authorities too much, or, an investor comes and buys the property they are ‘squatting’ in to renovate and develop it.
Szimpla Kert certainly felt like we were drinking at our local second hand shop. Everything was funky, old and eclectic. It first opened in 2002 and is housed in an abandoned factory that has an open courtyard and is set over two floors. It is huge! With multiple bars and rooms to sit and chill in, each decorated slightly different than the next. Over the last couple of decades the concept has evolved and turned into a community based project that hosts weekly Farmers Markets and community groups allowing non profit charity groups to host fundraising events and still be true its alternative roots and nightly bar scene.
Rosie was in her element walking around with her drink, snapping pics and listening to the band which comprised of some young kids with their pants hanging down around their knees and baseball caps skewiff techno rapping to electronic pre recorded music whilst holding instruments and not actually playing them…Yeah, not really our scene.
Looking closely, The Operator pointed out it wasn’t as ‘ruinous as the bar made out to be….CCTV was everywhere, the young pimply bar and waiting staff wore earpieces and it was all quite slick…
But, at the end of the day it was a crazy looking place….with a cool concept and a groovy vibe emanating from a great urban legend…. and totally made Rosie and The Operator feel anciently old.
Dont forget to check out the mainstream Must Visit Spots in Budapest we have visited, they are truly amazing! Tomorrow, Rosie and The Operator are off to explore Romania for twelve days! See you there!
