Days 14 and 15 Budapest
Lyns apartment is in a really good position, within walking distance of lots of lovely places and so handy for public transport. With the benefit of having, as Lyn puts it, a really fit looking German as her neighbour - unfortunately I could not verify this as I didn’t see him but I’ll take Lyn’s word for it.
Also, found out that Lyn is a bit of a voyeur, from her balcony she can see the apartments of the people opposite, they now have no secrets - haha. Last evening whilst we were having a little glass of wine on the balcony she was letting me into their world. Lyn should put a pair of binoculars on her Christmas list - she’ll get a better view and be able to see the apartments to the side as well!
It is so darn hot at the moment and not ideal for sight seeing, well into the 30’s, In fact on Sunday it was 36 degrees at one point. But this didn’t deter us (although Lyn has done all the sights many times she still puts up with being dragged round again - such a good host), just a few frequent stops for refreshment and cooling in air conditioned hotels along the way was required.
On Sunday we went out for breakfast at one of Lyns fav haunts, had their version of an English breakfast, not one that I’ve seen in England but had the component parts just Hungarian versions; for example the baked beans were kidney beans with onions and chilli in a tomatoey sauce. After breakfast we walked across the Danube to the Basilica which is a beautiful church in the centre of Budapest. From there we got a 24 hour Big Bus ticket; which ended up being rather handy for the next day as we had a little trail ticket drama. What happened was this, we asked Lyns friend Tebor to arrange for me a taxi for Tuesday morning to take me to the station from which I was going to Belgrade. The station on my ticket was from Budapest Pesterzsebet, which isn’t really in Budapest (its like saying Luton is a London airport). So, bless him, Tebor and his son Christian got on the case and found out that the train from Pestesrzsebet originates at Keleti (the station I went into originally) so Lyn and I took a jaunt to the Keleti Station and saw a nice man at the passenger information who told us that I could go from there. So instead of having to get a taxi to the outer reaches of Budapest I could simply get a number 5 Bus to the main station in the centre - job done.
The Big Bus took us to all the main sights and we should have had a little history lesson on Budapest but we kept on talking and missed most of the commentary. Got off at Hero’s Square and walked through the part - they had a fair going on with food stalls and all sorts. Had a nice little glass of wine by the riverside watching people play around in fun shaped boats - cars, Indian canoes and floating desert islands complete with palm tree!
By late afternoon we were flagging and were going to walk up Gellert Hill to the observation platform but got about 200m up and gave-up - it was way too hot for so much exertion. Headed back to Lyns for a cold shower and wine on the balcony.
The next day, we had breakfast and several cups of tea for me and coffee for Lyn, did the ticket excursion, went to the big market hall in the town centre and had a little wander around the shops before heading back up the Castle Hill to do the Labrynth. This is series of caves built under the streets on Castle Hill - the story is that Vlad the Impaler (aka Count Dracula) was imprisioned by the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus in the 15th century and was buried down there. It’s about 6 miles long but apparently the police raised it a few years ago, arrested the staff and closed off most sections of it - tourist can now only visit a 1km long section. Reputed to be haunted, it was very spooky down there and there is a section that is pitch black (thankfully we had our phone torches), but both of us at times felt really cold spots and I heard some music which Lyn didn’t (I’m hoping that that’s because Lyn is slightly deaf!). Well worth a visit and guess what we did after - yep went and had a glass of wine at the Hilton nearby.
As it was my last evening we went and had dinner at one of Lyns local restaurants, food was typically Hungarian and very nice. Lyn had her fav dessert which was a plate of cream covered with riced chestnuts.
Also, found out that Lyn is a bit of a voyeur, from her balcony she can see the apartments of the people opposite, they now have no secrets - haha. Last evening whilst we were having a little glass of wine on the balcony she was letting me into their world. Lyn should put a pair of binoculars on her Christmas list - she’ll get a better view and be able to see the apartments to the side as well!
It is so darn hot at the moment and not ideal for sight seeing, well into the 30’s, In fact on Sunday it was 36 degrees at one point. But this didn’t deter us (although Lyn has done all the sights many times she still puts up with being dragged round again - such a good host), just a few frequent stops for refreshment and cooling in air conditioned hotels along the way was required.
On Sunday we went out for breakfast at one of Lyns fav haunts, had their version of an English breakfast, not one that I’ve seen in England but had the component parts just Hungarian versions; for example the baked beans were kidney beans with onions and chilli in a tomatoey sauce. After breakfast we walked across the Danube to the Basilica which is a beautiful church in the centre of Budapest. From there we got a 24 hour Big Bus ticket; which ended up being rather handy for the next day as we had a little trail ticket drama. What happened was this, we asked Lyns friend Tebor to arrange for me a taxi for Tuesday morning to take me to the station from which I was going to Belgrade. The station on my ticket was from Budapest Pesterzsebet, which isn’t really in Budapest (its like saying Luton is a London airport). So, bless him, Tebor and his son Christian got on the case and found out that the train from Pestesrzsebet originates at Keleti (the station I went into originally) so Lyn and I took a jaunt to the Keleti Station and saw a nice man at the passenger information who told us that I could go from there. So instead of having to get a taxi to the outer reaches of Budapest I could simply get a number 5 Bus to the main station in the centre - job done.
The Big Bus took us to all the main sights and we should have had a little history lesson on Budapest but we kept on talking and missed most of the commentary. Got off at Hero’s Square and walked through the part - they had a fair going on with food stalls and all sorts. Had a nice little glass of wine by the riverside watching people play around in fun shaped boats - cars, Indian canoes and floating desert islands complete with palm tree!
By late afternoon we were flagging and were going to walk up Gellert Hill to the observation platform but got about 200m up and gave-up - it was way too hot for so much exertion. Headed back to Lyns for a cold shower and wine on the balcony.
The next day, we had breakfast and several cups of tea for me and coffee for Lyn, did the ticket excursion, went to the big market hall in the town centre and had a little wander around the shops before heading back up the Castle Hill to do the Labrynth. This is series of caves built under the streets on Castle Hill - the story is that Vlad the Impaler (aka Count Dracula) was imprisioned by the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus in the 15th century and was buried down there. It’s about 6 miles long but apparently the police raised it a few years ago, arrested the staff and closed off most sections of it - tourist can now only visit a 1km long section. Reputed to be haunted, it was very spooky down there and there is a section that is pitch black (thankfully we had our phone torches), but both of us at times felt really cold spots and I heard some music which Lyn didn’t (I’m hoping that that’s because Lyn is slightly deaf!). Well worth a visit and guess what we did after - yep went and had a glass of wine at the Hilton nearby.
As it was my last evening we went and had dinner at one of Lyns local restaurants, food was typically Hungarian and very nice. Lyn had her fav dessert which was a plate of cream covered with riced chestnuts.
Really enjoying your blog Sue, Lyn sounds fun.
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