We were returning to the hotel after one too many drinks at the Ruin Bar when I spotted a sign and snapped a picture on a whim.
“What is it?” Fafa asked.
“I don’t know – a shop? It looked cute; I’ll google it later, I replied casually and promptly forgot about it.
The next day, we went out for breakfast—our last meal in Budapest—when he reminded me about the picture I had taken and suggested I check out the place while he found a barber. So we went our separate ways, each armed with Google Maps. A few minutes later, I found it. That’s the power of technology for you.
I expected to see an arts-and-crafts store, a kindergarten, or maybe a cute tattoo shop.
But nem, nem, nem.
Standing before the door, I realized I was looking at a stationery temple—a divine course correction by the Universe after the disappointment of Luiban in Berlin. Papetri Paperworks.
Papetri Paperworks
Inside, rows upon rows, racks upon racks of stationery—stickers, journals, calendars, tote bags, postcards, prints. The home brand stickers, in particular, were vibrant—the complete opposite of the muted Suatelier, my previous obsession.
I spent way too long in this teeny-tiny store, enough for Fafa to finish at the barber and come find me. He waited patiently outside.
In the end, I bought a limited-edition Budapest print featuring the Ruin Bar and an obnoxious amount of sticker sheets*—including one featuring Balaton, which makes me want to visit Balaton.
While paying, I got a bit too excited about the stickers, and the cashier mentioned that most of them were designed by the lady working alongside her, the same person who had been busy adding missing price tags to a few sheets when I asked about them.
Cool. Cool. Cool.
Papetri Paperworks is easily my favourite in Budapest. It’s firmly on my “repeat visit” list for the next time I’m in Pesti—right behind the Thermal Baths, Hange, and Ruin Bar.
*I told myself some were for Jik, but let’s be honest: most of them are for me.
Papetri Paperworks address: Klauzál utca 31, Budapest, Hungary 1072.
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