Budapest, Hungary Week One
Jesse had been to Budapest in December 2013 and said that this was one of the places he was most looking forward to getting back to. We had decided to spend two full weeks here early on knowing that it would be a bit cheaper than other locations.
In some of our locations we had a hard time filling our days, but here we could spend weeks and still have things that we missed. The first week we stayed on the east side of the river in Pest in a nice little studio about a 15 minute walk to most attractions. It was on the 5th floor which gave me a run for my money carrying my 50lb bag up the stairs.
Budapest is a large city so we ended up renting bikes for the entire week. We had mistakenly used a taxi to get to dinner one night with about a 6 minute drive it cost $22.00. The city has been very inexpensive in almost every other way. A lot of European locations do not allow Uber because taxi unions fight tooth and nail against it, but taxis are so much more expensive than an Uber or other transportation that I don't think most travelers or locals use them. If you do want to use a taxi we have found that asking our airbnb host for the average cost is key to not get scammed by the local drivers.
Due to the low cost and endless volume of bars, restaurants, and hotels wealthier Europeans come here for bachelor or bachelorette parties. The groups of these parties were in the masses. Every other shop is a bar making it pretty easy to have a good time with a bunch of friends. Here if you are the bachelor they dress you up like a girl, which is hysterical not only for their friends, but also for onlookers. The streets started getting busy around 10 pm as people stumbled from bar to bar and then to grab a drunken Langosh, which is a Hungarian fried bread similar to a flat doughnut. They add sweet and savory toppings like chocolate or jam or sour cream and cheese which is most popular. Although they may sound good, unfortunately it did not tickle our fancies.
We did the usual tours on the hop on hop off bus, St Stephen's Basilica, Buda Castle, churches, and the market, but little did we know that the parks in Budapest were one of the best parts. Plenty of space to layout or take a jog right in the middle of the city. It was such a wonderful surprise to be able to get away from the honking noise. Our favorite park was called Margaret Island. It is a small island about 2 miles long and 1/2 mile wide in the middle of the Danube River. It is covered with large grass lawns, mature trees, flowers gardens and water fountains. No cars are allowed to enter, but you can get there by walking across the bridge or via bus and once there you can rent bikes or scooters. A few small restaurants are scattered on the island as are two hotels and a large water park with thermal baths.
We also decided to splurge and after taking a tour in the St. Stephen's Basilica we decided to go to a classical instrument and organ concert performed inside the Basilica. The venue was hard to beat, the music was wonderfully performed and the night was certainly memorable.
One of my favorite photos this trip.
St. Stephen's Basilica
Budapest is a large city so we ended up renting bikes for the entire week. We had mistakenly used a taxi to get to dinner one night with about a 6 minute drive it cost $22.00. The city has been very inexpensive in almost every other way. A lot of European locations do not allow Uber because taxi unions fight tooth and nail against it, but taxis are so much more expensive than an Uber or other transportation that I don't think most travelers or locals use them. If you do want to use a taxi we have found that asking our airbnb host for the average cost is key to not get scammed by the local drivers.
Due to the low cost and endless volume of bars, restaurants, and hotels wealthier Europeans come here for bachelor or bachelorette parties. The groups of these parties were in the masses. Every other shop is a bar making it pretty easy to have a good time with a bunch of friends. Here if you are the bachelor they dress you up like a girl, which is hysterical not only for their friends, but also for onlookers. The streets started getting busy around 10 pm as people stumbled from bar to bar and then to grab a drunken Langosh, which is a Hungarian fried bread similar to a flat doughnut. They add sweet and savory toppings like chocolate or jam or sour cream and cheese which is most popular. Although they may sound good, unfortunately it did not tickle our fancies.We did the usual tours on the hop on hop off bus, St Stephen's Basilica, Buda Castle, churches, and the market, but little did we know that the parks in Budapest were one of the best parts. Plenty of space to layout or take a jog right in the middle of the city. It was such a wonderful surprise to be able to get away from the honking noise. Our favorite park was called Margaret Island. It is a small island about 2 miles long and 1/2 mile wide in the middle of the Danube River. It is covered with large grass lawns, mature trees, flowers gardens and water fountains. No cars are allowed to enter, but you can get there by walking across the bridge or via bus and once there you can rent bikes or scooters. A few small restaurants are scattered on the island as are two hotels and a large water park with thermal baths.
We also decided to splurge and after taking a tour in the St. Stephen's Basilica we decided to go to a classical instrument and organ concert performed inside the Basilica. The venue was hard to beat, the music was wonderfully performed and the night was certainly memorable.
One of my favorite photos this trip.
St. Stephen's Basilica
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