A Visit to Gallwitz Pipe Shop in Budapest, Hungary

[MCJ]

Had a very enjoyable holiday vacation with my wife and another couple in Hungary during Thanksgiving week, including 3 days in Budapest. Fantastic city with beautiful architecture, great food and very friendly people. And what better memento to bring home than another pipe or two? To that end, made a point of visiting Gallwith's pipe shop located just a short walk from the city's largest Christmas Market. Hidden away in a small courtyard off a narrow side street, the shop is tiny but packed full of neat things squirreled away in drawers and cabinets. To make a long story short, ended up walking out of the shop with two pipes -- a nice 1966 Dunhill estate shell apple as well as one of Gallwitz's own Legend pipes (a limited edition of 140 numbered Dublin-shaped pipes made from Corsican roots to commemorate the shop's 140th Anniversary in 2020; they still hade several unsold Legends remaining, so couldn't resist picking one up in addition to the estate Dunhill). Now when I smoke these two pipes I'll always think of Budapest...

 

[DanWil84]

Looks like a wonderfull shop in a fantastic city. I love Hungary and Budapest, wished I had visited more, spend about 4 weeks there. What else did you see in Hungary?

 

[TheIronMonkey]

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Had a very enjoyable holiday vacation with my wife and another couple in Hungary during Thanksgiving week, including 3 days in Budapest. Fantastic city with beautiful architecture, great food and very friendly people. And what better memento to bring home than another pipe or two? To that end, made a point of visiting Gallwith's pipe shop located just a short walk from the city's largest Christmas Market. Hidden away in a small courtyard off a narrow side street, the shop is tiny but packed full of neat things squirreled away in drawers and cabinets. To make a long story short, ended up walking out of the shop with two pipes -- a nice 1966 Dunhill estate shell apple as well as one of Gallwitz's own Legend pipes (a limited edition of 140 numbered Dublin-shaped pipes made from Corsican roots to commemorate the shop's 140th Anniversary in 2020; they still hade several unsold Legends remaining, so couldn't resist picking one up in addition to the estate Dunhill). Now when I smoke these two pipes I'll always think of Budapest...

Sounds like a great trip, and very cool mementos! I visited Budapest two different times—once in 1986, while still under Communist rule, and in 1991—what a difference! Brown lettuce in my salad at dinner in 1986 and fresh vegetables available at an open market in 1991. The natural spring at the Hotel Gellert was memorable.

 

[Hillcrest]

Wow ! What a hidden gem to find ! I love the curtain over the door to the back and the customer stool at the counter; and the walking sticks and canes for gents from the old days. The back wall has framed tobacco knives. So cool ... and that you found NOS pipes ... a gold mine !

 

[MCJ]

Looks like a wonderfull shop in a fantastic city. I love Hungary and Budapest, wished I had visited more, spend about 4 weeks there. What else did you see in Hungary?

During our 3 days in Budapest we saw/did most of the "must see" things, including: walking tour of Budapest Castle District with all its sights, evening Danube River cocktail cruise, St. Stephen's Basilica, City Market, morning coffee and pastries at one of Budapest's several impressive cafes (in our case, Parisi Cafe & Brasserie), and (seasonal to our visit) two of Budapest's outdoor Christmas Markets. And some great authentic Hungarian meals in family-run restaurants.

After Budapest, we spent 3 days in the city of Gyor (about 1.5 hrs west of Budapest). Stayed in a nice boutique hotel in the Old Town (pedestrian only, very narrow streets & alleys, with some really good restaurants). Wives spent the days there in town on their own, while husbands were off hunting for fallow deer & wild boar in nearby forests (the main purpose of the trip). All in all, one of the best trips I've ever taken...

 

[DanWil84]

Sounds wonderfull! In my 4 weeks we've wandered around lake Balaton, my then girlfriend had a house in Veszprem and we went a few times to Budapest, loved the old Buda part of it with the castle, the bastion, the view over the city on the parlement and the old bridges. Even the subway was enjoyable! Gyor looks great to, looks like not to far from Bratislava and Vienna. I think people have a very misunderstood image of eastern Europe culture and cities, I loved the hospitality of the people in Hungary.

 

[jpberg]

Most excellent.

 

[Staggerlee]

I brought some nice pipes home from Germany in the early 80’s. Unfortunately I don’t have any of them now. My entire collection seemed to disappear in about 95.
I shouldn’t speculate on the responsible party, it only makes the loss that much harder.