This post may be a little tricky as the pages keep reverting to instructions in Hungarian but I'll give it a go!
And the blog is still under construction as I wasn't intending to do anything until we went to India - but there's lots to write about here...
Wednesday 2 October
For some reason there were no queues anywhere on our journey across - no delay at check in, straight through departures, orderly moving queue onto the plane and straight off, pick up luggage and exit the other end! Don't think that has ever happened before!!
We were picked up after five minutes and arrived at the apartment after a fairly short drive. We were met there by Danny, a lovely Irishman who showed us round the apartment and gave us tips on where to go and where we were!
The apartment is lovely and overlooks a busy crossroads and underground metro station.
The lounge is lofty and large with three windows, quite rounded as it is on the front of the building. There are two bedrooms, kitchen/dining area, separate toilet and shower - even a washing machine (more of that later!) I've already got it earmarked for a trip with Lesley and Joan so start saving up Lesley!
As it was already about 8pm we decided to firstly get some milk - from a small Tesco which we could see across the road. We had to go down the metro underpass to cross the road - which we did, got the milk - and promptly got lost coming back!! Not a good start as we wandered about trying several exits before we found the right one!
We had been told the way to get to one of the bridges over the Danube so we decided to go for a short walk. We couldn't find the bridge, or the Danube but eventually did a bit of a circular tour and found our way back. When we went out yesterday (in the daylight!) we found that we were actually just yards away from the bridge (which would have been covered in lights if we'd seen it!) and the Danube was just literally across the road from where we were walking - but we couldn't see that in the dark!
There is a small cafe/restaurant at the door of this apartment block so we went in there for a snack - some sort of Hungarian sausage platter which was very nice - and a glass of white Tokay (Hungarian) wine.
Thursday 3 October
Woke up to beautiful sunshine - but cold in the shade! Decided to just have a wander and set off to find the river - we are just a 10 minute walk away from the Danube.
But first things first - breakfast! As we were mooching along we found a nice outdoor cafe so we stopped and grandad Mike had more sausages while I had healthy fruit and yoghurt!
But we both kept our coats on - it may have been sunny but it was distinctly chilly in the shade!
A bit more walking and we reached the river - it was huge!!
This was our first glimpse - loads of boats on it and very busy...
At this point we still hadn't worked out which side of the river we were on - Buda or Pest!
We finally managed to work out that we were staying in Pest and decided to walk along the riverside from the bridge we were at to the next one.
One of the first things we saw was these brass sculptures of abandoned shoes along the quayside. I think it is to commemorate the killing of the Jews in Hungary by the Arrow Cross (I think) party in the war - must google it! Some people visit and leave flowers or stones there - the shoes I am kneeling by are for a tiny child - it was all very moving.
As we wandered along there were loads of pleasure boats and floating restaurants etc on the river and it was quite amusing to see how many of them had parasols and sun loungers on the decks - even in October! Even some of the benches at the riverside were built for lounging - so I did! What a great way to take in the view!
There is a lot of construction/cleaning/restoration work going on around the city and it should look magnificent once it is finished.
But sometimes you end up walking miles out of your way to get to places!!
So we eventually walked from Elisabeth Bridge then past the Chain Bridge and onto Margaret Bridge - all in lovely sunshine!
Margaret Bridge also leads to Margaret Island in the middle of the river so we walked onto the island.
This island is sort of a huge leisure park with loads going on - really lovely. As we were quite tired with walking we found a small outdoor eatery and sat down with a couple of cocktails - as you do!
And of course we had to have the obligatory sausage snack! They use lots of paprika here in Hungary so the sausages are DE-LIC-IOUS! They are nearly as good as Spanish chorizo (but not quite!) and you would love them Uma!
There was a lovely fountain in the park with HUGE water jets - lots of people gathered round it, sitting in chairs, waiting for the music to play for the water fountain to dance to!
We decided to hire an electric buggy for a ride around the island - very amusing!
Grandad Mike had his foot hard down on the pedal and was still being overtaken by loads of people on bikes - very funny (well I thought so - he didn't!)
And we both ended up leaning forward when we went up a bit of a slope - it would nearly have been as quick to walk!
As we were walking out of the park I saw these signs - in English! It said to take a seat - so I did!
The Hungarian language doesn't seem like anything else that we know so it is very frustrating not to be able to either understand anything or be able to work it out from a similar word. But most of the locals seem to be very good at English - but it would be nice to at least say please and thank you in their language!
The currency is the forint. There are about 340/350 forints to the pound sterling. So roughly 1,000 forints = £3. Grandad Mike has it in his head that 2,000 forints = £6 - so far, so good you might say - but there it ends!
(He is just arguing with me about this and has said - give me a figure in forints and I'll convert it for you - so I said a bottle of wine costs 2,950 - he thought about it, worked it out and told me that the wine cost about £90! I rest my case!!) [Work it out Briony, Callum and Molly - no calculators!]
We went out for a lovely meal in the evening at a restaurant just around the corner called Ruben. Grandad Mike had rabbit in tarragon sauce with porcini mushroom dumplings and I had catfish with cottage cheese stuffed pasta - both absolutely delicious! And of course a bottle of Tokay wine.
The advice on tripadvisor was to try their desserts - even if you were absolutely stuffed - which we were but we did!
Grandad M had plum and almond tartlet and I had Hungarian walnut cake - both yummy! The waiter suggested (insisted on even!) a sweet Tokay wine to accompany these so of course we had to try...
Luckily we only had to wobble back round the corner...
Friday 4 August
Another day of blue skies and sunshine.
As we had the luxury of a washing machine we decided to pop a wash on before we left so we then set off with a vague plan to walk to the market then off towards the old part of Buda.
From over the road we had a good view of the apartment that we are staying in - the three windows under the blue writing are the three windows of the lounge - nice and easy to spot!
It is also just opposite the Astoria hotel (must pop in there for tea!) - and the Astoria metro stop is here as well - so it's quite hard to get lost!
The market was only a short walk away - another lovely building with loads of interesting things inside.
Loads of Russian type dolls Alex! (though their boxes seemed to suggest that they had been made in China!)
We had a good wander around and then decided that we needed a late breakfast...
... so goulash and beer seemed appropriate - oh, and a sausage! Very nice.
So off we went again - over a new bridge this time - the Liberty Bridge. The Elisabeth Bridge is in the background then the Chain Bridge is beyond that (you can't see it) then the Margaret Bridge is way, way beyond that - so we had walked a fair distance yesterday!
We walked up Castle Hill to the Royal Palace and Castle and had a wander round the streets in the old town area.
There were some lovely old bits and some newer added bits that looked quite disneyesque!
There were even soldiers standing outside guarding something (something important obviously - can't you tell that we haven't been reading our travel guides?!)
Of course we chose to do things the hard way and walked all round the streets working our way upwards to get to the top - we then looked down at the funicular railway which we could have come up on!
As we have not really been looking at the guide books while we have been out it has been quite interesting later in the day when one or other of us reads a bit and then says - 'aah, THAT's who that man was' or 'look - that building WAS a church!' It's a case of fill in the blanks!
So we wandered around in the sunshine with the rest of the tourists - still quite busy even though it is October. There were lots of places to take nice photos with good views.
So back down to river level - via lots of backstreet steps and dodging more renovations. By the time we were back to the Danube more or less opposite the parliament buildings we were tired out - so found a subway stop and took the underground back to the Astoria stop - simples!
We thought that we'd take the washing out of the machine to dry then have a quiet hour before searching for food again. Only one problem - we couldn't get the door to the washing machine open! I tried, Mike tried then we both tried again. We then put the washing back on for a fast wash in case we'd done something silly. We tried it with child locks and without child locks. We tried it with a short spin (this was going to be the cleanest washing ever - if we could get to it!) but nothing. So eventually we gave in and rang Danny (our hero!) who came straight away but couldn't do it either.
it wasn't a problem really - apart from maybe having to go to buy another pair of jeans for Grandad M - in fact I found it quite amusing - but then I had lots of clean socks and knickers other than the ones we could see through a washing machine door!
But we were't too bothered and went off for a meal. At a place called Pesti Sorcsarnok that we had spotted near the market. Very nice too - homemade sausage (me) and suckling pig (Gr M).
As we were near the Liberty bridge I suggested taking a little walk there to look at it in the dark. Mike said that yes, he would walk there but NO WAY was he going any further and NO WAY was he walking along the embankment to the next bridge. We were both really tired as we had probably done the equivalent of walking in and out of Bury from our house several times! So we just walked to the bridge...
Lovely!
And when we got back to the apartment someone (Danny? Emma the cleaner? - don't know - but thank you!) had released our washing so it was a good end to the day!
Saturday 5 October
We decided that this was going to be a quieter day as we had done an awful lot over the previous two days and deserved a rest. Well Grandad M's back and my knee deserved a rest! - oh the joys of getting older...
Just a word here about the building we are staying in. It is quite grand with a huge entrance area. The lift is very small and seems to be original with little internal doors which need to be closed before you set off with a huge CLUNK (we think that is the bolts somewhere shooting into place). We are staying on the second floor but it's a bit like Harry Potter as you have to go past floor one and a half to get there!
This is the view looking up the staircase and some of the railings (well I like them!)
More sunshine but still chilly in the shade. Danny says that this weather is unusual and that it is normally warmer at this time of year - but we are quite happy with this! But it does explain why so many cafes and restaurants still have tables outside with no one sitting at them - only those in full sunshine are occupied!
We went to the market to buy some bread, meats, fruit etc and while we were there we booked into the Gellert thermal baths and spa - I wanted to go here anyway so it seemed sensible to arrange it as a treat for tired bodies!
We bought a bottle of wine the other night in Tesco on the recommendation of a little old lady in the queue - it was advertised as a Hungarian merlot at 399 huf (Hungarian florints) - definitely different!! But ok-ish when chilled in the fridge - much like some of the cheaper Spanish reds.
The Spar shop has a better selection - of wines and everything so we got a few things there. When we paid they gave us this small packet with the change - five cards with different puzzle pieces to collect. And Garfield on the front - don't think we'll be here long enough to collect a whole one but we'll try! (Don't know why that pic went sideways - sorry!)
These two adverts amused me - Robbie Williams advertising for the Budapest bank and some one with frightening eyebrows and a fearsome mustache telling you that you MUST try a paprika burger at McDonalds!
(Actually that sounds quite interesting so I might!!)
As it was lunch time when we got back from the market we went back to Ruben's restaurant to try their lunchtime menu - which turned out to be the same as the evening one. We had intended to get breakfast in the market but it was very busy (well it was Saturday!) so we hadn't eaten anything yet. We were very tempted to have the same as the other evening as it had been so good but we decided to try something else. So we both had pasta - once again really delicious - roast goose ravioli (Gr M) and ricotta stuffed canneloni with porcini mushroom and sage sauce for me. Total cost - with two beers and service charge included - 4050 huf - very reasonable! (Have you worked it out little mathematician grandchildren? - that means you too Uma and Arun!!) See if you can post your answers on the blog!
So after a short rest (or siesta for Grandad!) we packed our cossies and set off for the Gellert hotel to find the thermal baths. More walking - but only about 20 minutes from here across the Liberty bridge so very scenic.
As soon as you walked in the entrance it was impressive!
We found our way down to our little changing cubicle - already it was very, very warm! The water is pumped up from thermal springs underground and there are loads of different thermal baths and spas around the city (about 130 I think) - but this is advertised as the most impressive one - and it is!
There were several different thermal pools - each with different water temperatures. Originally they had separate pools for ladies and gents but now they are mostly mixed. The original ladies' baths are far more ornate and colourful than the gents' baths!
I think that the pictures speak for themselves really! One of the baths was really hot and we couldn't stay in it for more than a few minutes. There were also cold pools and saunas but we didn't go in either of those.
There was also a swimming pool which I'm sure was quite warm - but not after you'd been sitting in the thermal spas! Women had to wear bathing hats in the swimming pool but they were quite happy for you just to wear a shower cap so I'd taken one with me as I'd read this somewhere. So the pictures of me with a shower cap on my head were taken in the swimming pool - only problem was that my hair was already soaking wet from being in the thermal spas so I was constantly having to empty the shower cap!! But never mind - I was obeying the rules and there were lots of other ladies looking just as daft as me - and one or two men too!
The only disappointment was that the outdoor pools were being repaired - they hadn't told us this when we were booking! There is a big outdoor thermal spa bath which has lovely views of several buildings in the dark - and there is also a water wave feature which is the oldest working one in Europe - and Grandad Mike was keen to have a go in that. But we can save that for next time!...
I liked the hair dryers which were automatic and needed no hands - very useful.
I was trying to work out which one I'd fit under under - until Gr M pointed out that you could move them up and down with the handle and I didn't need to crouch!
Duhhh...
While I was drying my hair Grandad M went upstairs where there was a balcony overlooking the swimming pool so he was able to take some photos.
Someone had left a door open to the outside bathing area so we both sneaked out and took a few more pics of the outdoor bit which was being renovated. So at least we saw the outdoor pool and the lovely view - though we nearly got locked out and Gr M had to hammer on the door to attract attention so we could be let in!
So a quick apology and thank you and off we went!
The outside of the hotel was lit up - it's a lovely building and very pretty. (Very deco!)
Grandad Mike had to stop for a few more photos on the bridge on the way back - this is his favourite...
As we were so tired after all that exercise (and the walk there and back!) we ate in for the first time - a lovely picnic with all the food (and various sausages) we had bought at the market.
Another good day in Budapest!
Sunday 6 October
The skies were slightly grey and cloudy this morning (how dare they?!) but the sunshine was soon back and it was warmer too.
I had been thinking about the McDonald's paprika burger (as you do...) so we decided to walk to the City Park via the Nyugati train station - bit more art deco - but more importantly there was a McDonald's there!
We can actually see a MaccyD just over the road from the apartment but the one at the train station is in one of the original station buildings and 'it has been sympathetically restored and still retains the original charm' according to the guide book blurb. Plus I had to find out what a paprika burger was...
We planned our route carefully with walking and transport options (in case we got tired!) - using our new system - photos taken on the camera of pictures of the map from the computer! It worked a treat.
The walk to the station was lovely in the sunshine - really warm too.
A quick look round then off next door for the important bit. After a bit of language difficulty we got our burgers - they didn't look any different - until we spotted the SLICES of paprika sausage inside!! And the chillies (though I discovered those myself slightly later - there's one of the little offenders on my bread!!)
Oh well - mission accomplished I suppose - and that's my yearly McDonald fix (that's about as much as I eat them - which is one more per year than Gr M!) so I'm now ok until October 2014...
Just one more thing though - do you think that this scary, mustachioed man with the fierce eyebrows is the Hungarian equivalent of Ronald??...
So off we went to the park via an avenue of very posh houses and palaces (some of it quite genteel but delapidated) - and in the middle of this was a little old Trabant car! Gr M informs me that they were made of a papier mache like substance not metal.
Our first stop was Heroes Square which has several museums and galleries and lots of statues of kings and leaders. In the middle is the tomb of the Unknown Soldier (I think) which is guarded by soldiers.
Then we went into the park. Lots going on and lots to see - and lots of people having a nice Sunday afternoon out. Some lovely stalls with beautiful hand embroidered cloths and others selling tasty pastries - this cherry one was very good. And the mime artist who seemed to be suspended in mid air - the children were very impressed.
There is loads going on in the park - a boating lake (which is turned into a skating rink in the winter), amusements, museum, circus and a zoo. There is also a castle which was built for a temporary exhibition but was so popular that they had to rebuild it. It is based on a Transylvanian castle so quite gothic looking.
In one corner of the park is the Szechenyi spa and swimming pool - this is another one of the most famous thermal baths.
As we walked up to it we could see the steam rising from a large vent in the lawn so the thermal rooms must be somewhere underneath that bit.
It is in a lovely yellow stoned building and as we walked round it we found that we could get into the entrance area...
Another beautiful high ceiling with lots of decoration and an amazing sculpture - but no sign of the famous outdoor pool area!
We walked further round the building and found another entrance - it wasn't as grand as the first one but there was a window where we could see the pools. Lots of people swimming in the pool bit and sitting in the thermal area - it was sunny and quite warm but not cossie weather in the UK so it shows how warm the water was!
We'd had enough walking by this time so we went back to the underground station at Heroes Square and took the subway back to near the apartment and walked the last bit
We stayed in for another meal as we were too tired to go out again!
Monday 7 October
Grey skies again this morning but not really cold. We had decided to use the Hop on/Hop off tourist bus today as it meant that we wouldn't have to walk too far - and it would be good to be able to put names to some of the places we had seen!
Also the bus stopped directly outside the apartment so nice and easy to get to!
We wanted to sit on the upstairs deck of the bus so we put on several layers of clothes to keep us warm - and off we went!
It was a good tour with lots of information - we had actually walked most of the route over the last few days but it was interesting to hear the history. We actually missed about three stops worth of commentary as we managed to get the headphones tangled up (a lot!) and it took ages to get them unravelled!
One of the places we hadn't visited was the Citadel - where there are lovely views of the city. Unfortunately it was still a bit cloudy and misty at the time we were there although the sun came out a short while later. But the views were still quite spectacular!
As we went round the route we saw a couple of places that we wanted to return to - if we get time!
We got off the bus outside the apartment and decided to go for an early lunch at the Bali cafe/restaurant just over the road. I had chicken pancakes in a cream and paprika sauce and Gr M had a Hungarian dish of paprika sausage (no surprise there!), bacon, pork, peppers and potatoes.
This is how close we were to the apartment - I was peeping round the plant to take the pictures!
And these are some of the bank notes and coins...
It was warm and sunny in the afternoon so we went on a boat trip - all included in the Hop on/Hop off tour price. Lots of other people were doing the same thing in the afternoon sunshine!
In fact it was so nice that we stayed on the boat and did the whole round trip again!
On the way back we had a look into a building which was open - it looked as though it had been some sort of arcade and was very ornate but rather faded and neglected.
And then we called in to the Astoria hotel for a coffee - another lovely building with lots of deco features - and two coffees only cost us just over £4! (Try that at the Midland in Manchester - see what change you get from £20!)
As we had enjoyed the river cruise we decided to do it again by night - except that I'd got the times wrong and when we walked back to the embankment (again!) there was no boat at that time. Silly me! So we went for a walk instead.
And this was Grandad Mike just before he nearly fell in the river - he was looking at his camera and tripped over a hawser (look it up grandchildren!) and fell flat on his nose! I sort of half caught him by the scruff of the neck and he dinked his head on a pillar and dinked his camera on the concrete - but both he and the camera survived - but he was not allowed anywhere near the water to take photos after that!!
Another Hop on/Hop off bus tour today - in more sunshine! We have now seen most of the places of interest on the bus tours (from the outside at least - it's been too nice to be indoors!) but we decided to use the tour to have a look at one or two places and then we could get off at the market. The bus stop is right outside the door so it's nice and easy to get to!
We hopped off at the market to get a few little fancy ginger biscuits which we had seen before. Not much to buy for presents - and not much room in the luggage to carry things anyway - so we thought that these would be fun!
As we weren't far from the apartment we walked back and had a coffee while we waited for the next bus as we had just missed one. By now it was very warm - sunbathing weather in the UK!
The next bus took us up to the top of Gellert Hill - the high bit of Budapest with the monument on top which you can see from all over the city. We had been there on the bus the day before but the weather had been a bit hazy and the views weren't so good.
As you can see - today the views were amazing!
On one side you could see all the bridges - and on the other you could look down to the Gellert Hotel and thermal spa - where we had been the other day.
These are the statues at the top of the hill.
We decided to walk down the hill through the woods - easier than walking up! then we walked back over the bridge - to the market again!
As we walked back over the bridge (again!) one of the sections had been filled with brightly coloured t shirts and other tops - Gr M thought that it was someone's washing but there was an awful lot of it! I think it was some sort of artwork - if you look closely at the first picture there is a man in a green shirt lounging in the middle of it. And as we walked further along the bridge there were a load of students with very large cameras taking arty shots - so probably something to do with them!
So back to the market again - we were going to have something to eat outside but it was too hot!
Back to food stall we had been to before where Grandad Mike had a goose leg and I had a sausage (for a change!) with cabbage cooked in honey. Really tasty!
A last wander round the market...
And then we walked back to the apartment by a different route - there were lots of little heads in archways every time we looked up!
So back to the cafe where we had started our day with a coffee to buy a couple of cakes - not sure if we were 'feed my belly' or 'roll my heart'!
But back at the apartment the cakes were good with a cup of coffee and the shoes kicked off!
After a rest we walked back to the embankment for the night boat cruise - at the right time this evening!
As it was dusk we got some lovely pictures in the evening light...
... and some more when it went completely dark.
We then went back to the Bali cafe/restaurant for a meal - pork medallions for Gr M and pasta (with sausage!) for me. We also tried a dessert of honey dumplings with poppy seeds which sounded interesting - it turned out to be a sort of sweet bread and butter type pudding (bit like the Spanish torrejas) with loads of poppy seeds - really nice but we were picking poppy seeds out of our teeth for the rest of the evening!!
Wednesday 9 October
Our last day in Budapest and the skies were cloudy and grey - but we didn't mind as we'd done all our photographs in brilliant sunshine!
We packed our bags and set off for a walk up to the New York cafe. It is said to be the most beautiful cafe in the world (probably said by itself!) and it certainly is very striking.
The outside is very ornate - the lights are held by devilish sort of nymphs - the building was originally an insurance office but later turned into a hotel and the figures are something to do with coffee but I can't remember what!
Once you walk through the doors you are hit by an abundance of Italian gilt, marble, glass, painted ceilings, mirrors, chandeliers, cherubs, pillars and more gilt with waiters scurrying about holding trays of food and drink - and a piano tinkling gently in the background!
We were shown to a table - a very good one actually in a small alcove just opposite the tinkly piano player.
I ordered the New York burger (cooked medium please!) and Gr M had a New York spare rib sandwich - all very nice.
I was especially impressed with the lemon for my Earl Grey tea (I was doing posh!) - as it was in its own little net bag tied with twine.
They seemed quite happy for people to wander around taking pictures which was good.
We then tried a plate of desserts which were very nice.
It was certainly an experience - and quite funny really sitting there listening to the pianist playing 'Raindrops keep falling on my head', 'New York, New York' and the 'Blue Danube' waltz!
But a nice thing to do on our last day!
We set off walking again with a vague idea that we would walk down to the river. As we wandered through the streets we went past St Stephen's Basilica.
We had passed this building several times - on foot and by bus - and taken many photographs (luckily for us with more sunshine!) but had never been inside. So in we went. It's a beautiful building - apparently it took over 50 years to complete it.
Even though the sky was quite cloudy it wasn't cold so we walked down to the river and sat on one of the benches watching the boats go by and looking at the lovely view of the Fishermen's Bastion (the bit that looks a bit disney like) and the churches and all the other lovely buildings on the Buda side of the river - but not lit up in the sunshine as we had seen them before.
Then off we went with our bags into the night... well to the cafe downstairs for a drink and a snack before being picked up to be taken back to the airport.
It seemed quite fitting that we ended our holiday in the same cafe that we had started it!
Gr M had a drink of some local liqueur to celebrate a good week - don't know what he was drinking but it was strong!
And the blog is still under construction as I wasn't intending to do anything until we went to India - but there's lots to write about here...
Wednesday 2 October
For some reason there were no queues anywhere on our journey across - no delay at check in, straight through departures, orderly moving queue onto the plane and straight off, pick up luggage and exit the other end! Don't think that has ever happened before!!
We were picked up after five minutes and arrived at the apartment after a fairly short drive. We were met there by Danny, a lovely Irishman who showed us round the apartment and gave us tips on where to go and where we were!
The apartment is lovely and overlooks a busy crossroads and underground metro station.
The lounge is lofty and large with three windows, quite rounded as it is on the front of the building. There are two bedrooms, kitchen/dining area, separate toilet and shower - even a washing machine (more of that later!) I've already got it earmarked for a trip with Lesley and Joan so start saving up Lesley!
As it was already about 8pm we decided to firstly get some milk - from a small Tesco which we could see across the road. We had to go down the metro underpass to cross the road - which we did, got the milk - and promptly got lost coming back!! Not a good start as we wandered about trying several exits before we found the right one!
We had been told the way to get to one of the bridges over the Danube so we decided to go for a short walk. We couldn't find the bridge, or the Danube but eventually did a bit of a circular tour and found our way back. When we went out yesterday (in the daylight!) we found that we were actually just yards away from the bridge (which would have been covered in lights if we'd seen it!) and the Danube was just literally across the road from where we were walking - but we couldn't see that in the dark!
There is a small cafe/restaurant at the door of this apartment block so we went in there for a snack - some sort of Hungarian sausage platter which was very nice - and a glass of white Tokay (Hungarian) wine.
Thursday 3 October
Woke up to beautiful sunshine - but cold in the shade! Decided to just have a wander and set off to find the river - we are just a 10 minute walk away from the Danube.
But we both kept our coats on - it may have been sunny but it was distinctly chilly in the shade!
A bit more walking and we reached the river - it was huge!!
This was our first glimpse - loads of boats on it and very busy...
At this point we still hadn't worked out which side of the river we were on - Buda or Pest!
We finally managed to work out that we were staying in Pest and decided to walk along the riverside from the bridge we were at to the next one.
One of the first things we saw was these brass sculptures of abandoned shoes along the quayside. I think it is to commemorate the killing of the Jews in Hungary by the Arrow Cross (I think) party in the war - must google it! Some people visit and leave flowers or stones there - the shoes I am kneeling by are for a tiny child - it was all very moving.
As we wandered along there were loads of pleasure boats and floating restaurants etc on the river and it was quite amusing to see how many of them had parasols and sun loungers on the decks - even in October! Even some of the benches at the riverside were built for lounging - so I did! What a great way to take in the view!
There is a lot of construction/cleaning/restoration work going on around the city and it should look magnificent once it is finished.But sometimes you end up walking miles out of your way to get to places!!
So we eventually walked from Elisabeth Bridge then past the Chain Bridge and onto Margaret Bridge - all in lovely sunshine!Margaret Bridge also leads to Margaret Island in the middle of the river so we walked onto the island.
This island is sort of a huge leisure park with loads going on - really lovely. As we were quite tired with walking we found a small outdoor eatery and sat down with a couple of cocktails - as you do!
There was a lovely fountain in the park with HUGE water jets - lots of people gathered round it, sitting in chairs, waiting for the music to play for the water fountain to dance to!
We decided to hire an electric buggy for a ride around the island - very amusing!
Grandad Mike had his foot hard down on the pedal and was still being overtaken by loads of people on bikes - very funny (well I thought so - he didn't!) And we both ended up leaning forward when we went up a bit of a slope - it would nearly have been as quick to walk!
The Hungarian language doesn't seem like anything else that we know so it is very frustrating not to be able to either understand anything or be able to work it out from a similar word. But most of the locals seem to be very good at English - but it would be nice to at least say please and thank you in their language!
The currency is the forint. There are about 340/350 forints to the pound sterling. So roughly 1,000 forints = £3. Grandad Mike has it in his head that 2,000 forints = £6 - so far, so good you might say - but there it ends!
(He is just arguing with me about this and has said - give me a figure in forints and I'll convert it for you - so I said a bottle of wine costs 2,950 - he thought about it, worked it out and told me that the wine cost about £90! I rest my case!!) [Work it out Briony, Callum and Molly - no calculators!]
We went out for a lovely meal in the evening at a restaurant just around the corner called Ruben. Grandad Mike had rabbit in tarragon sauce with porcini mushroom dumplings and I had catfish with cottage cheese stuffed pasta - both absolutely delicious! And of course a bottle of Tokay wine.
Grandad M had plum and almond tartlet and I had Hungarian walnut cake - both yummy! The waiter suggested (insisted on even!) a sweet Tokay wine to accompany these so of course we had to try...
Luckily we only had to wobble back round the corner...
Friday 4 August
Another day of blue skies and sunshine.
As we had the luxury of a washing machine we decided to pop a wash on before we left so we then set off with a vague plan to walk to the market then off towards the old part of Buda.
From over the road we had a good view of the apartment that we are staying in - the three windows under the blue writing are the three windows of the lounge - nice and easy to spot!
It is also just opposite the Astoria hotel (must pop in there for tea!) - and the Astoria metro stop is here as well - so it's quite hard to get lost!
The market was only a short walk away - another lovely building with loads of interesting things inside.
Loads of Russian type dolls Alex! (though their boxes seemed to suggest that they had been made in China!)
We had a good wander around and then decided that we needed a late breakfast...
... so goulash and beer seemed appropriate - oh, and a sausage! Very nice.
So off we went again - over a new bridge this time - the Liberty Bridge. The Elisabeth Bridge is in the background then the Chain Bridge is beyond that (you can't see it) then the Margaret Bridge is way, way beyond that - so we had walked a fair distance yesterday!We walked up Castle Hill to the Royal Palace and Castle and had a wander round the streets in the old town area.
There were some lovely old bits and some newer added bits that looked quite disneyesque!
There were even soldiers standing outside guarding something (something important obviously - can't you tell that we haven't been reading our travel guides?!)
Of course we chose to do things the hard way and walked all round the streets working our way upwards to get to the top - we then looked down at the funicular railway which we could have come up on!As we have not really been looking at the guide books while we have been out it has been quite interesting later in the day when one or other of us reads a bit and then says - 'aah, THAT's who that man was' or 'look - that building WAS a church!' It's a case of fill in the blanks!
So we wandered around in the sunshine with the rest of the tourists - still quite busy even though it is October. There were lots of places to take nice photos with good views.
So back down to river level - via lots of backstreet steps and dodging more renovations. By the time we were back to the Danube more or less opposite the parliament buildings we were tired out - so found a subway stop and took the underground back to the Astoria stop - simples!
We thought that we'd take the washing out of the machine to dry then have a quiet hour before searching for food again. Only one problem - we couldn't get the door to the washing machine open! I tried, Mike tried then we both tried again. We then put the washing back on for a fast wash in case we'd done something silly. We tried it with child locks and without child locks. We tried it with a short spin (this was going to be the cleanest washing ever - if we could get to it!) but nothing. So eventually we gave in and rang Danny (our hero!) who came straight away but couldn't do it either.
it wasn't a problem really - apart from maybe having to go to buy another pair of jeans for Grandad M - in fact I found it quite amusing - but then I had lots of clean socks and knickers other than the ones we could see through a washing machine door!
As we were near the Liberty bridge I suggested taking a little walk there to look at it in the dark. Mike said that yes, he would walk there but NO WAY was he going any further and NO WAY was he walking along the embankment to the next bridge. We were both really tired as we had probably done the equivalent of walking in and out of Bury from our house several times! So we just walked to the bridge...
And when we got back to the apartment someone (Danny? Emma the cleaner? - don't know - but thank you!) had released our washing so it was a good end to the day!
Saturday 5 October
We decided that this was going to be a quieter day as we had done an awful lot over the previous two days and deserved a rest. Well Grandad M's back and my knee deserved a rest! - oh the joys of getting older...
Just a word here about the building we are staying in. It is quite grand with a huge entrance area. The lift is very small and seems to be original with little internal doors which need to be closed before you set off with a huge CLUNK (we think that is the bolts somewhere shooting into place). We are staying on the second floor but it's a bit like Harry Potter as you have to go past floor one and a half to get there!
This is the view looking up the staircase and some of the railings (well I like them!)More sunshine but still chilly in the shade. Danny says that this weather is unusual and that it is normally warmer at this time of year - but we are quite happy with this! But it does explain why so many cafes and restaurants still have tables outside with no one sitting at them - only those in full sunshine are occupied!
We went to the market to buy some bread, meats, fruit etc and while we were there we booked into the Gellert thermal baths and spa - I wanted to go here anyway so it seemed sensible to arrange it as a treat for tired bodies!We bought a bottle of wine the other night in Tesco on the recommendation of a little old lady in the queue - it was advertised as a Hungarian merlot at 399 huf (Hungarian florints) - definitely different!! But ok-ish when chilled in the fridge - much like some of the cheaper Spanish reds.
The Spar shop has a better selection - of wines and everything so we got a few things there. When we paid they gave us this small packet with the change - five cards with different puzzle pieces to collect. And Garfield on the front - don't think we'll be here long enough to collect a whole one but we'll try! (Don't know why that pic went sideways - sorry!)
These two adverts amused me - Robbie Williams advertising for the Budapest bank and some one with frightening eyebrows and a fearsome mustache telling you that you MUST try a paprika burger at McDonalds! (Actually that sounds quite interesting so I might!!)
As it was lunch time when we got back from the market we went back to Ruben's restaurant to try their lunchtime menu - which turned out to be the same as the evening one. We had intended to get breakfast in the market but it was very busy (well it was Saturday!) so we hadn't eaten anything yet. We were very tempted to have the same as the other evening as it had been so good but we decided to try something else. So we both had pasta - once again really delicious - roast goose ravioli (Gr M) and ricotta stuffed canneloni with porcini mushroom and sage sauce for me. Total cost - with two beers and service charge included - 4050 huf - very reasonable! (Have you worked it out little mathematician grandchildren? - that means you too Uma and Arun!!) See if you can post your answers on the blog!So after a short rest (or siesta for Grandad!) we packed our cossies and set off for the Gellert hotel to find the thermal baths. More walking - but only about 20 minutes from here across the Liberty bridge so very scenic.
There were several different thermal pools - each with different water temperatures. Originally they had separate pools for ladies and gents but now they are mostly mixed. The original ladies' baths are far more ornate and colourful than the gents' baths!
There was also a swimming pool which I'm sure was quite warm - but not after you'd been sitting in the thermal spas! Women had to wear bathing hats in the swimming pool but they were quite happy for you just to wear a shower cap so I'd taken one with me as I'd read this somewhere. So the pictures of me with a shower cap on my head were taken in the swimming pool - only problem was that my hair was already soaking wet from being in the thermal spas so I was constantly having to empty the shower cap!! But never mind - I was obeying the rules and there were lots of other ladies looking just as daft as me - and one or two men too!The only disappointment was that the outdoor pools were being repaired - they hadn't told us this when we were booking! There is a big outdoor thermal spa bath which has lovely views of several buildings in the dark - and there is also a water wave feature which is the oldest working one in Europe - and Grandad Mike was keen to have a go in that. But we can save that for next time!...
I liked the hair dryers which were automatic and needed no hands - very useful.I was trying to work out which one I'd fit under under - until Gr M pointed out that you could move them up and down with the handle and I didn't need to crouch!
Duhhh...
While I was drying my hair Grandad M went upstairs where there was a balcony overlooking the swimming pool so he was able to take some photos.
Someone had left a door open to the outside bathing area so we both sneaked out and took a few more pics of the outdoor bit which was being renovated. So at least we saw the outdoor pool and the lovely view - though we nearly got locked out and Gr M had to hammer on the door to attract attention so we could be let in!
So a quick apology and thank you and off we went!
The outside of the hotel was lit up - it's a lovely building and very pretty. (Very deco!)
Grandad Mike had to stop for a few more photos on the bridge on the way back - this is his favourite...
As we were so tired after all that exercise (and the walk there and back!) we ate in for the first time - a lovely picnic with all the food (and various sausages) we had bought at the market.
Another good day in Budapest!
Sunday 6 October
The skies were slightly grey and cloudy this morning (how dare they?!) but the sunshine was soon back and it was warmer too.
I had been thinking about the McDonald's paprika burger (as you do...) so we decided to walk to the City Park via the Nyugati train station - bit more art deco - but more importantly there was a McDonald's there! We can actually see a MaccyD just over the road from the apartment but the one at the train station is in one of the original station buildings and 'it has been sympathetically restored and still retains the original charm' according to the guide book blurb. Plus I had to find out what a paprika burger was...
We planned our route carefully with walking and transport options (in case we got tired!) - using our new system - photos taken on the camera of pictures of the map from the computer! It worked a treat.The walk to the station was lovely in the sunshine - really warm too.
A quick look round then off next door for the important bit. After a bit of language difficulty we got our burgers - they didn't look any different - until we spotted the SLICES of paprika sausage inside!! And the chillies (though I discovered those myself slightly later - there's one of the little offenders on my bread!!)
Oh well - mission accomplished I suppose - and that's my yearly McDonald fix (that's about as much as I eat them - which is one more per year than Gr M!) so I'm now ok until October 2014...
So off we went to the park via an avenue of very posh houses and palaces (some of it quite genteel but delapidated) - and in the middle of this was a little old Trabant car! Gr M informs me that they were made of a papier mache like substance not metal.Our first stop was Heroes Square which has several museums and galleries and lots of statues of kings and leaders. In the middle is the tomb of the Unknown Soldier (I think) which is guarded by soldiers.
There is loads going on in the park - a boating lake (which is turned into a skating rink in the winter), amusements, museum, circus and a zoo. There is also a castle which was built for a temporary exhibition but was so popular that they had to rebuild it. It is based on a Transylvanian castle so quite gothic looking.
In one corner of the park is the Szechenyi spa and swimming pool - this is another one of the most famous thermal baths. 
As we walked up to it we could see the steam rising from a large vent in the lawn so the thermal rooms must be somewhere underneath that bit.
It is in a lovely yellow stoned building and as we walked round it we found that we could get into the entrance area...
Another beautiful high ceiling with lots of decoration and an amazing sculpture - but no sign of the famous outdoor pool area!
We'd had enough walking by this time so we went back to the underground station at Heroes Square and took the subway back to near the apartment and walked the last bit
We stayed in for another meal as we were too tired to go out again!
Monday 7 October
Grey skies again this morning but not really cold. We had decided to use the Hop on/Hop off tourist bus today as it meant that we wouldn't have to walk too far - and it would be good to be able to put names to some of the places we had seen!
Also the bus stopped directly outside the apartment so nice and easy to get to!
We wanted to sit on the upstairs deck of the bus so we put on several layers of clothes to keep us warm - and off we went!
It was a good tour with lots of information - we had actually walked most of the route over the last few days but it was interesting to hear the history. We actually missed about three stops worth of commentary as we managed to get the headphones tangled up (a lot!) and it took ages to get them unravelled!
One of the places we hadn't visited was the Citadel - where there are lovely views of the city. Unfortunately it was still a bit cloudy and misty at the time we were there although the sun came out a short while later. But the views were still quite spectacular!
As we went round the route we saw a couple of places that we wanted to return to - if we get time!
We got off the bus outside the apartment and decided to go for an early lunch at the Bali cafe/restaurant just over the road. I had chicken pancakes in a cream and paprika sauce and Gr M had a Hungarian dish of paprika sausage (no surprise there!), bacon, pork, peppers and potatoes.
This is how close we were to the apartment - I was peeping round the plant to take the pictures!
It was warm and sunny in the afternoon so we went on a boat trip - all included in the Hop on/Hop off tour price. Lots of other people were doing the same thing in the afternoon sunshine!
In fact it was so nice that we stayed on the boat and did the whole round trip again!
On the way back we had a look into a building which was open - it looked as though it had been some sort of arcade and was very ornate but rather faded and neglected.
And then we called in to the Astoria hotel for a coffee - another lovely building with lots of deco features - and two coffees only cost us just over £4! (Try that at the Midland in Manchester - see what change you get from £20!)
As we had enjoyed the river cruise we decided to do it again by night - except that I'd got the times wrong and when we walked back to the embankment (again!) there was no boat at that time. Silly me! So we went for a walk instead.
And this was Grandad Mike just before he nearly fell in the river - he was looking at his camera and tripped over a hawser (look it up grandchildren!) and fell flat on his nose! I sort of half caught him by the scruff of the neck and he dinked his head on a pillar and dinked his camera on the concrete - but both he and the camera survived - but he was not allowed anywhere near the water to take photos after that!!
But a nice evening in spite of the near mishap - and another good day in Budapest!
Tuesday 8 October
Another Hop on/Hop off bus tour today - in more sunshine! We have now seen most of the places of interest on the bus tours (from the outside at least - it's been too nice to be indoors!) but we decided to use the tour to have a look at one or two places and then we could get off at the market. The bus stop is right outside the door so it's nice and easy to get to!
Quite a few of our pictures were all over the place this time as the bus was quite bumpy - but as we had taken most of them before (some of them several times!) it didn't really matter.
The leaves on some of the trees are starting to turn into lovely autumnal colours - we have seen the change just in the few days that we have been here. It has probably been to do with the colder weather (for them anyway) which they have had over the past few days.
We hopped off at the market to get a few little fancy ginger biscuits which we had seen before. Not much to buy for presents - and not much room in the luggage to carry things anyway - so we thought that these would be fun!
The next bus took us up to the top of Gellert Hill - the high bit of Budapest with the monument on top which you can see from all over the city. We had been there on the bus the day before but the weather had been a bit hazy and the views weren't so good.
On one side you could see all the bridges - and on the other you could look down to the Gellert Hotel and thermal spa - where we had been the other day.
These are the statues at the top of the hill.
We decided to walk down the hill through the woods - easier than walking up! then we walked back over the bridge - to the market again!
As we walked back over the bridge (again!) one of the sections had been filled with brightly coloured t shirts and other tops - Gr M thought that it was someone's washing but there was an awful lot of it! I think it was some sort of artwork - if you look closely at the first picture there is a man in a green shirt lounging in the middle of it. And as we walked further along the bridge there were a load of students with very large cameras taking arty shots - so probably something to do with them!
So back to the market again - we were going to have something to eat outside but it was too hot! Back to food stall we had been to before where Grandad Mike had a goose leg and I had a sausage (for a change!) with cabbage cooked in honey. Really tasty!
A last wander round the market...
And then we walked back to the apartment by a different route - there were lots of little heads in archways every time we looked up!
And we weren't sure about this sign (in the middle) - it seemed to be suggesting that it was an elephant hospital!
But back at the apartment the cakes were good with a cup of coffee and the shoes kicked off!
After a rest we walked back to the embankment for the night boat cruise - at the right time this evening!
As it was dusk we got some lovely pictures in the evening light...
... and some more when it went completely dark.
We then went back to the Bali cafe/restaurant for a meal - pork medallions for Gr M and pasta (with sausage!) for me. We also tried a dessert of honey dumplings with poppy seeds which sounded interesting - it turned out to be a sort of sweet bread and butter type pudding (bit like the Spanish torrejas) with loads of poppy seeds - really nice but we were picking poppy seeds out of our teeth for the rest of the evening!!Wednesday 9 October
Our last day in Budapest and the skies were cloudy and grey - but we didn't mind as we'd done all our photographs in brilliant sunshine!
We packed our bags and set off for a walk up to the New York cafe. It is said to be the most beautiful cafe in the world (probably said by itself!) and it certainly is very striking.
The outside is very ornate - the lights are held by devilish sort of nymphs - the building was originally an insurance office but later turned into a hotel and the figures are something to do with coffee but I can't remember what!
Once you walk through the doors you are hit by an abundance of Italian gilt, marble, glass, painted ceilings, mirrors, chandeliers, cherubs, pillars and more gilt with waiters scurrying about holding trays of food and drink - and a piano tinkling gently in the background!
We were shown to a table - a very good one actually in a small alcove just opposite the tinkly piano player.
I ordered the New York burger (cooked medium please!) and Gr M had a New York spare rib sandwich - all very nice.
I was especially impressed with the lemon for my Earl Grey tea (I was doing posh!) - as it was in its own little net bag tied with twine. They seemed quite happy for people to wander around taking pictures which was good.
It was certainly an experience - and quite funny really sitting there listening to the pianist playing 'Raindrops keep falling on my head', 'New York, New York' and the 'Blue Danube' waltz!
But a nice thing to do on our last day!
We set off walking again with a vague idea that we would walk down to the river. As we wandered through the streets we went past St Stephen's Basilica. We had passed this building several times - on foot and by bus - and taken many photographs (luckily for us with more sunshine!) but had never been inside. So in we went. It's a beautiful building - apparently it took over 50 years to complete it.
There is a mummified hand in here somewhere (from a saint or a king - back to the guide book again...) but we didn't remember until afterwards so forgot to look for it - it's probably one of the most important bits of the Basilica, oops!
As we went outside the clock chimed for three o'clock - it rang four times from the left hand tower and then three times from the right hand tower - we eventually worked out why - can you??
Even though the sky was quite cloudy it wasn't cold so we walked down to the river and sat on one of the benches watching the boats go by and looking at the lovely view of the Fishermen's Bastion (the bit that looks a bit disney like) and the churches and all the other lovely buildings on the Buda side of the river - but not lit up in the sunshine as we had seen them before.
The benches were made to look like packing crates and had been placed as though they had been scattered (artfully) along the riverside - they were nice and big - good for lounging in and looking at the view. I liked them but Gr M found them uncomfortable and sat with his legs sticking out!
Then we walked along the embankment for the last time (with Gr M on the side furthest away from the river - not taking any chances now!) before making our way back to the apartment to pick up our luggage.
When we got back Emma the cleaner (lovely lady with excellent English!) had been and Danny was there with the next occupants - a couple from USA I think who were also going to be staying for a week. We were able to add a few more tips and suggestions to those that Danny was giving them - which they seemed to find helpful.
Then off we went with our bags into the night... well to the cafe downstairs for a drink and a snack before being picked up to be taken back to the airport.It seemed quite fitting that we ended our holiday in the same cafe that we had started it!
Gr M had a drink of some local liqueur to celebrate a good week - don't know what he was drinking but it was strong!
So a short half hour drive back to the airport, no queues at check in and off to departures. A quick frisk search after setting the beeper off (me this time - it was Gr M on the way out - no idea why!) and we just had time for a quick wander round Duty Free - to buy some vodka for Mark (happy belated birthday Mark!) and the usual Beckie's baccy!
The plane was already boarding so straight on - to find a couple of Germans sitting in our seats! (and not a beach towel in sight!) Rather than trying to winkle them out we just sat in their seats - sorted.
Nice flight with Gr M chatting to the elderly gentleman sitting next to him who had been over to Budapest for two days to have his teeth done. Lots of people seem to do this as they have excellent dental services in the country and it is far cheaper than the UK.
Our luggage was one of the first on the carousel (never happened before - and at least we got to it before someone else took it by mistake!!) and we got to the bus stop to take us back to the car park - and the bus pulled up. The bus driver even dropped us off at the end of the row where our car was parked - even though it was between bus stops.
So it was all very smooth and hassle free and we were soon home - just got the washing to do now.
Oh - the washing machine! We found out that Danny had liberated our washing in quite an unusual way!
He wasn't able to get an engineer out for a couple of days as it was the weekend so he had been back to his flat and googled the problem. One of the solutions had been to loop a piece of string round the door and pull it tight against the catch to release it - so he had tried this and to his surprise it had worked! So thank you Danny!
So a lovely week in a beautiful place which we really enjoyed - Danny had said that Budapest was a relaxing city and he was quite right - and it was lovely to be able to walk and not have a car (though my knee and Gr M's back might not agree). But there was still a lot more that we didn't see - and it would be lovely to visit again in the winter months with snow - so we need to go back!
Thank you M & M (Maureen and Michael - the lovely Irish owners that we met when we stayed in Ireland) for sharing your lovely apartment.
So that's it - I'm blogged out for now - hope you enjoyed it! x
