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My friends recommended I should visit some ruinpubs while I am in Budapest, the capital city of Hungary.

I heard they are famous for their unique feel and decorative interior designs, usually placed in an old abandoned building, non-renovated, which gives off a retro 70’s vibe.

Hungarians call this place ‘romkocsma’ which means ‘pub in a ruin’.

They are known for being a cafe and bar in one, so they are open from afternoon ‘till sunrise. This means I still have time to visit some after I arrive at the West End train station at 6pm.

Budapest looks old, like there is still some atmosphere left of the World War. I hop onto the yellow tram and enjoy the view. It is very silent, like I am going back in time, the vehicle is loud and rusty, kind of nostalgic.

I get off at Wesselenyi street and walk past The Great Synagogue, right into Downtown Budapest. After a little park, I turn left on the second street into a small lane called Kazinczy street. Opposite from the fashion pub with the blue horse head is the mother of all ruinpubs, Szimpla Kert.

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Entries were free and my ID’s weren’t asked for, so I walk in nonchalantly and the world inside hits me. It’s dark, the small charming lights vibrate in a warm yellowish-reddish colour. The pipes, vintage toys, second-hand furniture and old electronic devices create an alternative, underground mood.

I make my way to the live music concert in the back, where my hungarian friend Peter is waiting for me. As a musician, he would never miss any of the The Acoustic Loops’ concert. They make an interesting combination of piano, beatbox and a female singer’s voice.

We head to the bar for a smoke and a beer, where he recommends we should revisit the place during afternoon hours.

Apparently, Peter comes here

almost every day and knows most programs. I will definitely come back for the open-air film screenings, art exhibitions and bike fairs.

After getting our drinks we chill on one of the couches in a room where the wall is covered in old wires, radios and flickering monitors. This kind of makes me feel like I’m in a surreal sci-fi story.

Suddenly, I start to feel really hungry, and Peter is ready to show me the cheapest food in the neighbourhood, the 200 Forint Pizza at Kiraly street.

We’re going towards the exit, where the mixed smell of cigarettes, alcohol and sweat turn into fresh air. We slowly walk down on Kazinczy street, then turn right at the playground onto Kiraly street and keep on going until we find Pizzanet on our right.

There is a queue, which I don’t remember seeing in this city so far, and there is not much of a

variety in case of toppings. But I could go with anything right now.

And I do. I enjoy my pizza like I have never had one before.

Peter suggests we go to the nearest ruinpub, mostly frequented by contemporary artists and designers, so we turn right on the next corner.

He tells me, how every time he visits the place, there is at least one group of fine art students, and it probably is because of the workshops, exhibitions, film clubs and alternative theatrical plays.

He, however, prefers the underground DJ nights, live concerts and parties.

As we walk down Akacfa street I spot a nice flag with dentures on it, which turns out to be our destination. Our mystery ruinpub is called Fogashaz, which means House of Teeth, and indeed, everything here is about teeth. The theme was

inspired by the dental practice that used to be situated in this very place. When I look up, I spot a gigantic creepy mouth on top of the building, and this is not the only element in their toothy decor.

More of these visual jokes can be found inside, for example, big sized paper mouths covering the windows, a massive toothpaste above the bar and my favourite, Stephen Spielberg’s JAWS poster painted onto one of the walls, with braces. As if this place is just waiting for discovery, each room is different and all have their own kind of humour

inside them. But this was not all, we go around and by walking through a hall, we enter Fogaskert or Garden of Teeth, an open air space with trees, lanterns, stars and bikes. When I told my friend how much I appreciate the interior and their support towards creativity, he was sure I would like Instant Art Bar, who Fogashaz paired up with recently. I’m confident he knows me well, so off we go to the next venue, but before stepping out, we grab another pizza at the door.

While devouring the pizza slices, we walk back to Pizzanet, then turn right onto Nagymezo street, also known as the Broadway of Pest.

This is a wide street with a lot of cars, cafes and shops. The entrance is right after O street on the left, which looks like an average party venue from outside, but on the inside . . . when I step inside I feel like I’m Alice stepping into wonderland. From all the places so far, this is the most surreal, psychedelic fantasy I have ever lived.

The whole interior design looks

like one massive installation. First thing I notice are the marching bunnies in the sky and various characters and shapes projected onto the walls and us. Just like Fogashaz, this place has several rooms, each with different themes. Room ideas and visual gags here are more developed, for example the upside-down room, where tables and chairs are stuck on the ceiling. Also, the area is bigger than you would think.

It has three levels, together with the basement, plus another building attached, this means it has two gardens. It is a forest-like labyrinth with several dance floors, each with different genres of music. The basement has blue lights and electronic music, from

which we go up to Vaddiszko, the pop music dancefloor accompanied by the truck-driver bear. After that we make our way back to the main building and go up the stairs, witnessing some bunnies attacking a knight in armour and other weird unexplainable elements. Our favourite element is the boar shaped disco ball on the

upper dance floor, but I also appreciate the room which features all famous hungarian poets together with a toilet. We decided to chill here and chat for a few hours, then decided to go to Tilos Park where Tilos Radio, the best hungarian radio channel according to Peter, plays their music and dance until they close, which is 4am. In the morning we both get onto tram 4-6, which is in service 24 hours a day and head to his place for a good night sleep.

The nex t morni n g I a sked Peter for the addresses so me and my friends can go back on another day.

Szimpla kert 1075 Budapest Kazinczy utca 14.

0036 20 261 8669 www.szimpla.hu Pizzanet 1077 Budapest Kiraly utca 51.

Fogashaz 1073 Akacfa utca 51.

0036 1 783 8820 www.fogashaz.hu Instant 1065 Budapest Nagymezo utca 38.

0036 1 311 0704 www.instant.co.hu

2014 Š Sophia Tai ru i npub sz i ne @ g ma i l.c om