Budapest Trip - 2016

The 'Budapest'  song by George Ezra played again and again on the big bus tour in Budapest... and added a lovely association to the trip - every time we hear the song, it takes us back to the Budapest trip! From Vienna, we took a train to Budapest and then a cab to our airbnb apartment. Right when we stepped outside the railway station, we could feel how different this place is from Vienna. The buildings are old, colorful, tattered and half shattered, and have a lot of finer details and character. It seems as if they have been through a lot and each building has a long story if you had time to stop and listen. To Megs and T, it reminded them of the old South Bombay - whenever Mumbaites meet, I notice that they try to associate each city to Bombay - shows their true love and obsession for the city!

Our airbnb apartment was in a tiny alley, we were a little skeptical about the place at first, but once we entered it, it looked so beautiful and airy! Tall ceilings, big windows, and white interiors (my three basic favorites). Our host was very friendly too and gave us a lot of tips on things to do, local food, drinks, pubs - it was a good start. We had 2.5 days in Budapest so it gave us some more time to relax and explore a little more of the city compared to the time we had in Vienna and Prague.

The first day (or the remaining 1/2 day after the journey) we took the big bus tour and visited the Heroes' Square (Hősök tere). The square has statues of seven leaders that led the Magyar tribes of the Hungarians. In the center is a tall column and on top of it is the statue of Archangel Gabriel, who holds the Hungarian Crown and the apostolic double cross in his hands. These statues are massive, and so tall. It is such a marvel and I wonder how they built them.

T researched and found this tiny hole in the wall place with amazing reviews called 'Zeller Bistro'. We weren't sure if we would be able to get into the place without any reservations, but after pleading with the restaurant manager, he did decide to give us a table after an hour of wait time. While we were waiting, Megs and I browsed through some items placed in the window of an antique store that was opposite the restaurant and Megs spotted an amazing antique vase that looked beautiful. Unfortunately, the store was closed so we left it at that and enjoyed a delicious meal. T tried the famous hungarian drink Palinka - it tasted really bad, I think it is an acquired Hungarian taste! The rest of the food and the wine pairings were delicious, would have loved to go back if we had time.

At night, T and I went for a walk around the Budapest city and walked with our tripod all the way to the Budapest parliament to get some night shots. The rain made the walk a little cold and unpleasant, but we stopped by for a vending machine coffee at a train station on the way, and I think that was one of the best hot coffees I had in the trip!

The next day, we grabbed breakfast at a tiny coffee shop right outside our apartment and then T and I continued the Big bus tour (Unfortunately, Megs wasn't well the next day and was stuck with a cold, so she stayed-in). Our first stop was at the Citadel to enjoy panoramic views of the city, the parliament and the Danube river separating Buda and Pest cities. After enjoying the lovely views, we stopped at a small outdoor cafe on top of the hill to have some water/wine/Palinka break. T wanted to acquire the Palinka taste before he left Budapest ;)

Next stop, we got off at the Market Hall and walked till the Chain Bridge (one of the two famous bridges at Budapest). My memory is a little blurred on what we did in between, but I do remember having lunch in a market square and then having some gelato to cool off the heat.

Next stop we went to Clark Adam Square for the Funicular ride. The Funicular ride was first opened in 1870 and at the time it was only the second railway of that type in Europe. It was completely destroyed in WWII, but was reopened in 1986. It was fun to take this 3 minute ride and enjoy the panoramic views of the city. This city is so photogenic from all the angels!

Next stop was the Fisherman's Bastion. This place is an architectural wonder (like every other building in Budapest). The towers, the terraces, the views, the countless steps and walkways.... everything was so spectacular. I was so tired of clicking in every direction, and one can only capture so much in the camera, plus I had to keep the camera aside and enjoy the moment as well! Sigh.

The parliament building is definitely the most prominent of all the buildings and can be seen and admired from every tourist spot. The Hungarian Parliament is one of Europe's oldest legislative building and has 691 rooms. Unfortunately due to the time constraints, we did not have time to take a tour of the building interiors.

Later in the evening, Megs joined us and we walked around St. Stephens Basilica and the Parliament building again. We had dinner at a random (a place not researched by T for best reviews) Italian place and T tried Unicum, the other famous Hungarian drink. Unicom is supposed to be a healthy drink - it is basically herbal liquor. However, I don't think T was very pleased with its taste and would probably never have it again, but it was an experience. When in Hungary, drink like a Hungarian!

The day wasn't done until we visited the Parliament building again. We did the night cruise on Danube river and were awed by the closer view of the magnificant structure.

And that was the end of a long, long, long day.

The next day, we checked out of the Airbnb apartment but we left our luggage there as our next journey wasn't until the evening. We walked up till Market hall and I did some souvenir shopping. This place had so many cute knick knacks that I had to absolutely buy. Wooden spoons, pencils with Hungarian Dolls carved, embroidered tea cup coasters, wooden tops, candle holders, Danube river shoe shaped pot, ceramic vases - all the essentials were bought!

Also since we had time to kill, and I could not take my mind off the the vase that Megs spotted the first day, T and Megs walked with me all the way back to that shop just so that I can pick up the vases (actually really old Palinka case). I thought that was a big score, and it was so amazing of T and Megs to come with me with so much patience!!!

After lunch at a local stir-fry chain, we had to bid farewell to Megs as her flight was a few hours earlier than our overnight train ride. They say, if you remain friends for 10+ years in life, you will be friends forever. So hope to see her soon again! :-)

Since we still had some time to kill till before our train departure, our airbnb host recommended that we spend some time visiting the ruin pubs of Budapest. I think that was the best recommendation and it was such a fun way to end the Budapest trip. These pubs are located in the buildings that were abandoned after WWII, they have very retro 70s decor, lots of plants, good music and very chilled out people! It was the perfect way to cherish the memories made on the trip and bid farewell to the city.

And finally, it was time to catch our over-night train ride to Munich! Coming up in the next travel blog post....

Vienna

Looking back at the trip we did in May and to continue the Europe travelogue... here is the next part (better late than never!). So we took a train ride from Prague to Vienna and now I know why Vienna is listed as one of the best cities in the world. We only spent a day and half in Vienna, but we made sure to make the most of it!

Day 1 (Actually 0.5): We reached Vienna late in the evening and checked into a cute little airbnb apartment in the heart of the city, right next to the Opera house. The apartment was part of an old building from the 1800s and it had that old charm - A magnificent entry door, really tall ceilings in the hallway leading up the apartments, the tiniest and the slowest elevator that took five minutes to go upto the third floor... all the experiences that remind you that you are in a really ancient building! But the building was very well maintained, it was clean and it looked royal. The small apartment was extremly chic, and it was a perfect for our stay! 

As soon as we checked into the apartment and finished our 'Wow' screams at getting so lucky finding this place, we stepped out and enjoyed Vienese style coffee and pastries by a street-side cafe - This was my favourite memory of the trip!

Vienna is a busy city. People are fashionably dressed and the city has a very busy hustle to it. So different from Prague. 

To add to all the excitement, Megs joined us at Vienna.  After years of planning a visit to Megs in Europe, so glad that we could finally make it happen. And happiness = Old friends + new places!!

In the evening we walked past the Operah House, the old town center, and visited St. Stephens church just before they closed. Since we had so much to catch-up, T found a perfect place for dinner - Figlmüller. The food, the wine pairing, ambiance, service, the company... everything made the dinner an unforgettable experience!

Day 2: The Big Bus tour is the best way to visit a city when you are short on time. The tour also included a 3 hour walking tour around the Oprah house and Old town square and we caught some interesting stories from the tour guide. We covered a lot on the bus and toured the city via the big bus audio recording.

A photo tip - To get the best pics, we always went a little early to the bus and sat in the front bench of the double-decker bus. The glass in front shielded the hair from flying in all the directions and we got the best pics from a height.

The only place we got off the bus was to visit was the Schoenbrunn Palace and I think that was a wise pick considering that we were so short on time. The imperial summer palace built and remodeled in 1750s was a wedding gift to empress Maria Theresa. The palace has  over 1400 rooms, I cannot imagine how the queen decorated them - and here I have 4 rooms to decorate in my new place and after a year in the place, I am still not done! The grand tour allows visitors to see 40 rooms in about an hour's time along with a very well controlled audio tour. The palace exterior was very unimpressive, but the interiors were rich. Each and every room was so grand and majestic - the tapestries, the chandeliers, the paintings, the ballrooms, the gardens - everything was suited to the lavish lifestyles of the kings and empresses! 

After the palace visit and missing the last tour bus, the famished us took an uber to a close-by shopping district (Mariahilfer Straße) to have some beer, wine and sacher torte. T also boasted of his language skills to the uber driver and spoke in random Sanskrit and French to impress him! 

After strolling around the city some more, we had a nice hot thai dinner at 'Bangkok' restaurant and the tired feet called it a day. And we had an early morning train to catch to Budapest...coming up in the next travel blog post.

Goodbye, beautiful city!

Prague

T and I have always loved vacations between the nature - either the mountains or the ocean. I am not a big fan of vacationing in cities, but Europe is just at a whole different level. History and the old town charm is so well preserved - those cities are nothing like the cities we live in! So thanks to both of us having our visas ready, we planned Home -> Prague ->Vienna -> Budapest -> Hallstatt -> Fussen -> Rothenburg -> Munich -> Home. Ten days and seven places. 

Lets start with Prague...

I have always been so fascinated with those red roofs, so when a Europe trip was on cards, it had to include Prague in the itinerary. The rest of the trip was planned around Prague :-)

As soon as we landed and checked into the hotel around new town (the new town that is 600 years years old!!!), we walked to 'Lokal' to start the trip with some good Pilsner and authentic Czech cuisine. After dinner, we were greeted by fireworks at Charles Bridge and Prague lived up to all the expectations and hype!

Day 1: Off to an early start, we were lucky to get the tickets to the Astronomical clock bell tower without any big lines. And the trip to the top of the tower left our mouths open...

The  astronomical clock in the tower was first installed in 1410 and is the oldest  working astronomical clock. For the rest of the trip, we walked past the clock many times and we always stopped for the hourly chiming to see the 12 apostles bless the city and the 4 figures (vanity, miser, death, lust) shaking their heads. 

The rest of the day was spent stopping at local coffee cafes, Pivo (beer) breaks, being entertained by the amazingly talented street artists and cons, walking along Charles bridge countless times and climbing up the Astronomical tower again in the evening to view the rain-soaked red roofs. 

We also accidentally stumbled upon the Old Town Bridge Tower at the foot of Charles Bridge, and we climbed up the narrow staircase for more breathtaking views... This is the most picturesque city I have ever seen!

Day 2: We started off the day with a private 3 hour walking tour as we learnt about the history, demographics and the different architectural styles and eras in Praha. We started at the Astronomical tower and walked past the Old town square, Jewish quarters, Charles university (founded in 1348!) and to the Prague Palace.  History is so overwhelming, it almost gave us goosebumps to walk those streets that have such an old story. 

We learnt so much about the different architectural styles - Gothic (Early 13th century era that had pointed arches, tall spires, gargoyles), Renaissance (between 1400 and 1600 - with symmetrical designs on the windows and Pilasters) and Baroque (from 1600 to 1830 - with elaborate designs, lavish and complex shapes, paintings and bold colors). Fascinated by the buildings, T was very inspired to do a part-time course on architecture!

Prague is known for Garnets and I have always wanted to get a garnet ring from there. But with so many stores, it was hard to know which was a genuine stone. So the tour-guide took us to the factory outlet where the guide and T chose a ring for me :-) and that is where our tour ended. After all that walk, we headed over to 'Mlejnice' for some traditional Czech onion soup, potato croquettes and goulash.

Evening was spent walking the 200 steps up the castle and a stroll down the city with stops for wine, pivo, coffee, pastries, crepes and all the yummy street food! 

Prague is beautiful. I loved every moment and it is so hard to say which was my favorite moment in this city. But recently, T and I were sipping tea at home and asked each other to pick one favorite memory from each place. I think having chocolate crepes and coffee in the old town center with the setting sun, drizzling rain, standing at the square sharing table with strangers while enjoying the hot crepes was a blessing. This was also where history was made, kings had walked and wars have been fought! T's favorite part of the trip was the walking tour where he learnt the different architectural styles and had all his questions answered by the guide!

Day 3: We packed our bags and walked up to the railway station to catch our train to Vienna. The highlight was the dining car in the train where we had finger-licking good chicken tikka masala with wine. A break from all the walking we did the last two days....

Next stop --> Vienna!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Post-vacation blues...

Haven't we all suffered from post-vacation blues?

Specially after spending ten days in a new continent, away from work, TV, Internet, news and phone.

And the first weekend that you are back, over with jet lag, load all the memories from the camera 

and start reminiscing what you were doing this same time last week.

But it is also go good to be home, enjoying my hot cup of tea on this rainy afternoon and 

dreaming about these places...

Have a lovely week ahead!