Budapest

We had a four-night stay at Budapest. The location was absolutely perfect—centrally located, and about a five-minute walk to three different subway lines and multiple trams stops and bus stops. An Aldi was a five-minute walk.  Dinner our first night was at a restaurant recommended by our host that was a short walk from the apartment. We also had a washer, which had allowed us to pack lighter for carry on.

(Cindy in Italics.) We were told by both our AirBnB host and all the guide books that a trip to Szechenyi Baths was mandatory, and so we took a day to go. While they open very early, we found that a 9:00am arrival was just right. Still not too crowded. Nice and sunny. We splurged about three extra dollars for a changing room and that was absolutely worth it. The baths themselves were fun, but it was cool enough that you wanted to stay in the water. Later Cindy ventured off to an indoor steam sauna and then a cold plunge pool. Tom found his way to an indoor soaking bath. It was a good way to spend a few hours, and there were plenty of Americans around to chat with, but it’s not exactly an active adventure, so plan accordingly.

After the baths, we went back to the Airbnb for a bit. We then went to lunch at a Syrian restaurant a few blocks from the apartment that we had noticed on the way home from dinner the night before. Wow was it good. And very inexpensive.

After lunch, we decided to take a one-hour boat cruise on the Danube. We figured a boat ride would be a good way to get oriented to the main sites and to understand what was on the Buda side of the river and what was on the Pest side of the river. The ride was very pleasant and included a glass of Hungarian sparkling wine at the start of the cruise. What I was not expecting was that our view of a lot of the sites on the Pest side of the river was blocked because of all of the big river cruise boats (Viking, etc.) that were parked there. Many were double parked. I would guess there were 25 to 30 of these boats. And this was the off season!

On Friday, we ventured out to the Buda side of the river. We had a terrific lunch at a place called Deryne Bistro, that was one of the “obligatory” recommendations of our Airbnb host. The meal was incredible. All of the servers were women, and they were wearing uniforms. Our waitress spoke excellent English, and with an accent very close to an American accent. Tom thought that she was not Hungarian. We finally asked where she was from, and it was Budapest. While a cabbage roll may not sound very exciting, that is what Tom ordered. Oh, my goodness—the flavors were incredible!

That evening, we had purchased tickets for a group wine tasting (with some light food) at a place within walking distance from our apartment. What a fun evening we had! We were the second couple there. The first couple was from Canada. Only as the evening went on, we discovered that they did not know each other and had met just minutes before we arrived. Then six more attendees arrived, all 30-something women from various cities in Romania. As the wine tasting went on, they taught us the Romanian word for cheers (No-ROOK!). That was much easier than the Hungarian word for cheers that our sommelier tried to teach us, but it was difficult. I think I know now how to say Cheers in more languages than I know how to say Thank you!

After a couple of active days, Cindy was ready for a slow day on Saturday. Tom took a train to a scenic small town north of Budapest called Szentendrei. The city was full of small museums and art galleries. Most of the entire town center is a pedestrian zone, with shops and restaurants in the middle of the street. The architecture was different than Budapest because Serbs had settled there hundreds of years ago. Tom had lunch at a Serbian restaurant. The town had steep hills that provided some great views, as well as a good workout. Tom bought a pass and went to three different museums. He was ready to sit for the half hour train ride back to Budapest and made it just in time for the dinner reservation Cindy had made.

While Tom was galavanting I spent some time finding a real restaurant with real reservations. Except it was a Saturday and everything was booked solid. I finally found a brewpub (I know, but do try to look surprised) with outdoor seating. It was chilly, but the restaurants did a good job of having table heaters. And blankets. and more heaters…so I wasn’t worried. This outdoor seating turned out to be a covered indoor courtyard, and that made it just wonderful. The beer was good. The steak was excellent. It was a great way to finish our time in Budapest.

Packing up after a long stay somewhere often feels a bit like moving, but we got it done. Our host had promised us a late checkout, but informed us with short notice that we’d be out early as he had a last-minute booking. I never mess with an AirBnB hosts effort to maximize returns. So out we went. Down the street to the local bistro for breakfast, and then off to the bus.