Arrived a little late at 8.45am to a fairly noisy and hectic Keleti station in Budapest. We had booked our tickets for the next stage of our journey online some time ago but we had to pick them up in the station. We thought it best to pick them up while we were at the station so after an initial confusion between a cash dispenser and a ticket dispenser we got tomorrow’s tickets.
There is a new tram line being laid outside the railway station so it is a little bit chaotic in and around the station, and to add to the general confusion it is difficult to find an exit from the building as the huge main doors are blocked by the works. Another word of warning: taxis are unregulated as of now in Hungary (new regulations are being introduced we were told in the Autumn), and there are lots of charlatans operating around the railway station. We got a taxi outside the station which cost us 6000 HUF (around €20). Our return taxi journey booked by the hotel cost just 2000 HUF. A good lesson for us!
We were staying in the Hotel Palazzo Zichy Budapest which is a beautiful hotel. We arrived at around 9.30am to a wonderfully warm welcome, and were directed to a bar area where complimentary teas, coffees and bottles of water are provided for guests, while we waited for our room. What a welcome sight – a bed that wasn’t rocking. Irresistible! So into bed for 1 hour, luxurious shower, and we were refreshed and ready for Budapest.
Budapest is a big big city but we decided to start out on foot towards the Danube – stopping off on the way to visit the wonderful food market at Nagyvásárcsarnok. This is a gastronomer’s paradise, with stall after stall of the best Hungarian produce – including the very delicious Hungarian liquor Tokaj Azu which is on sale everywhere in its many strengths from 1 up to 6 puttunyas, but be warned, at varying prices. So shop around before you buy!
The sight of all that food was too much to resist – so we decided that there could be no better place for lunch. So in the upstairs carvery-style restaurant we lunched on pork chop with a ratatouille type topping, and pork knuckle served with roast potato wedges, all washed down with two glasses of hungarian wine out of large wooden caskets. The wine here was not great (seems to be the case with most Hungarian wine apart from the notable exception of the Tokaj!), but the food was superb if a little pricey (by Hungarian standards). My main was approx €7, my husband’s was €10. This was not the case in most places where we ate subsequent to this and typically a small beer, glass of wine and water came to only approximately €3. Dinner that night in a small restaurant near the hotel, Leonardo’s, was approx. €50 including 2 large beers and 3 glasses of wine – admittedly very small glasses as is the norm in these parts.
So on with our perambulations around Budapest, firstly along the spectacular Danube with its majestic bridges and enormous river boats that cruise its fast-flowing waters. We walked through the busy pedestrianised shopping streets around Vorsmarty Ter, and on to the strangely named Chain Bridge Szechenyi Lanchid. This is a very interesting bridge with an interesting history.
Onwards past the Four Seasons hotel (best location in Budapest for those who can afford it!) and into St Stephen’s Basilica (very ornate, named after István or Stephen who was not only the founding King but a Saint as well) and a quick peek into the lobby of the majestic Opera house. At this stage we were feeling quite hot and sticky from our exertions, so we hopped on the cutest of metros, the Millennium line, which brought us in snappy fashion to the famous Széchényi Baths in the City Park. This was one of the best experiences of our visit to Budapest, where we bathed outdoor and indoors, in waters of varying degrees of minerals and health-enhancing properties, and in temperatures ranging from a hot 40*C to an icy 18*C. We emerged into the evening air squeaky clean and very very chilled out! We finished off a busy day with dinner in one of the lovely traffic-free streets next to our hotel in Józsefváros.
Our 2nd day in Budapest was to be a short one as we had our next train to catch in the evenIng time, so we decided that we would spend the time doing a little bit of exploration around the old town of Buda. We had at this stage become reasonably expert on the transport system of Budapest which is excellent. So we hopped on a combination of buses and trams to our first stop of the day at the famous New York Café. Do not be misled by the name because this is as far from an american diner as you are likely to find. Sumptuous décor, tinkling piano music, and elegant food and drinks are what awaits you when you step inside the doors of this famous landmark restaurant.
We had only a few hours left so we decided that rather than try to see a lot of the old town we would just go over there and soak up the feel of this world heritage site. We had lunch in a street café overlooked by St Matthias church (remarkable for its colourful roof), listened to two young ladies playing beautiful classical violin in the park area nearby, and then jostled for a space with the best view on the Halászbasty or Fishermen’s Bastion which has panoramic views over the city.
We had received an email some weeks ago telling us that our next train was leaving an hour earlier than the original time, so we arrived at the Keleti station with plenty of time to spare, only to find out that no indeed this was not the case, was never the case and that the train to Bucharest would leave at the usual time of 19.10. So we had plenty of time to twiddle our thumbs in a little café in the station, and of course time for another beer before we headed off on the next leg of our journey to Bucharest, Romania on board the Ister.
Faraway Fields 