Hungary - Eastern Europe - page 311

came to greet us with his chef 's hat eager explain his family's long-standing Budapest
tradition. The coffeehouse even existed in various locations and in some form or
another during the Communist era, save for the harshest years of the 1950s. In 1951
it was nationalized, the same year that József was born. As was the tradition of the
Communists with entrepreneurial types, they sent the family off to the countryside,
in their case, a small town in northeastern Hungary called Taktaszada. A year after
Hungary's 1956 revolution things became easier; they returned to Budapest and the
family opened the coffeehouse in its current location. József continues the family tra-
dition of creating a new cake for his father's birthday. Some years, they work, some
years they don't. The E-80, named after his father Elemér Auguszt, was created on his
father's 80th birthday, and has become a staple of the shop. József is now working on
the King's Cake, or the cake of Kings! His father will be 93 years old. . . .
II. Fény utca 8. & 1/316-3817. www.augusztcukraszda.hu. No credit cards. Tues-Sat 10am-6pm. Metro: Batthyány
tér (Red line).

THE CASTLE DISTRICT
Ruszwurm Cukrászda More than a century old, the Ruszwurm is an
utterly charming little place, with two rooms outfitted with small tables and chairs,
and shelves lined with antiques. It is owned by the Szamos dynasty of pastry and
marzipan chefs. It can be very difficult to find a free table here, and the four out front
on the sidewalk seem forever occupied. You must try the unsurpassable krémes, a two-
layered crisp pastry confection with vanilla cream filling. Another favorite here is the
Dobos torta, a multilayered cake with a thin caramel crust on top.
I. Szentháromság u. 7. & 1/375-5284. No credit cards. Daily 9am-8pm in high season, 10am-7pm in low season.
Bus: Várbusz from Moszkva tér or no. 16 from Deák tér to Castle Hill. Funicular: From Clark Ádám tér to Castle Hill.
EXPLORING BUDAPEST
Historic Budapest is surprisingly small, and many sights listed in the following pages
can be reached by foot from the city center. Take the time to stroll from one place to
the next—you'll find yourself passing magnificent, if often run-down, examples of the
city's distinctive architecture.
PEST: THE TOP ATTRACTIONS
Museums
Museums are closed on Mondays, except where noted. Most museums offer substan-
tial student and senior discounts. Many also offer a family rate. Inquire at the ticket
window.
Holokauszt Emlékközpont (Budapest Holocaust Memorial Center)
This center, a beautiful and moving memorial to the Jews murdered during World War
II, opened in 2004 and became the first government-funded Holocaust Memorial Cen-
ter in central Europe. The center is built around an old, eclectic-style synagogue build-
ing that was designed by Leopold Baumhorn (1860-1932), the most prolific architect
of synagogues at the turn of the 20th century. The space has a permanent exhibition
and a research center. The temporary exhibitions tend to be small or multimedia pho-
tography exhibitions. A memorial wall lists the names of Holocaust victims.
IX. Páva u. 39. & 1/455-3333. www.hdke.hu. Free admission. Tues-Sun 10am-6pm. Metro: Ferenc körut (Blue line).
Nemzeti Múzeum (Hungarian National Museum) The Hungarian
National Museum, an enormous neoclassical structure built from 1837 to 1847, was
one of the great projects of the early-19th-century Age of Reform, a period that also

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