rolling on the river

one last budapest thing  i wanted to write about is the recently revived and restarted bkv boat service.
one of the things i like the most about budapest is the fact that a river runs through it, thus making it even more special and  beautiful with all the many bridges connecting the two distinct sides of the city, buda and pest. it's truly captivating, isn't it? i mean can you even imagine budapest without a river? with no pretty bridges connecting the banks? and has it ever occurred to you that all the decent cities have rivers running through them? london. paris. prague. new york. and have i mentioned that whenever i am walking around erzsébet-híd the view and the entire atmosphere of the spot always always reminds me of london? and it always pops into my head that there definitely should be a budapest eye on the other side of the river. great idea, eh? maybe not very original, but still, a nice one, isn't it?


anyway, back in early spring when i heard that the bkv boats would be refurbished and put back into service, i got really excited. i mean, hellyeah, rolling on the river! so much fun! floating down the river, we can see the city from a completely new perspective. what a refreshing idea after all that smoke and smog at the busiest junctions where god only knows how many buses exhale their evil fumes. some articles even suggested that the boat service could be an alternative way to commute between home and work, and not only a more fun one, but maybe even a faster and less crowded one. and, surprisingly (when it comes to bkv and its plans), just as the unbearable heat hit the streets of budapest, the boats did start running on the river. i was planning to hop on one of the boats and roll down the river since day one of the service. still, being the same old mañana mañana me,  it took me practically three months to organize a boating event of some sorts.

and boy, was it fun! it is, indeed, truly exciting to wait by a dock for a boat that is scheduled to show up at a certain time. and then it does show up, throws down its anchor, moors, opens its gate, and then, welcomes you aboard! you find a seat, hop down, and simply let the beauty of the city wash over you as the river billows under your feet. rolling on the river is, without a doubt, fun, and every single citizen of the city should try it out, give it at least one go, just to have a completely new perspective, just to see the city with clear eyes, to realize how much it has to offer for each and every one of us, and how marvelous budapest really is.

as the service may not be a fast one, the boats may not always arrive at the scheduled times, and the docks may not be very close to the main transport hubs, the chances of getting to work by boat in less time are  rather slim. nevertheless, the service adds yet another bright shade to the already pretty colorful image of budapest.

(not to mention that on weekdays with a travel pass passengers are welcome onboard free of charge. and if you don't happen to have a pass, a single ticket costs 400 huf. a great and thrifty way to play tourist in the city.)