It was another early alarm today to move onto to the next stop on this mini adventure – Budapest!
It rang at 5.30am, so we got up, and called an Uber back to the airport at 6am (373.20kc/£12.73) and arrived at 6.25am. It started snowing on the way which was nice to see.
Security was seamless, so we went to find some breakfast. We settled for Costa, where Matt had a Coke Zero and muffin, I had a granola, croissant and juice, which came to 417kc/£14.23.
We were called for boarding at 7.40am, but stood in the bus for ages to take us to the plane. Defeats the object of priority boarding for Ryanair, I think?! We ended up being one of the last on the plane! Once settled, I played on the Switch again for a bit (and had a little doze) and Matt watched more Game of Thrones.
Look at this loon - -1c it was!
We landed ahead of schedule at 9.35am, and were surprised that there was no passport control?!
I had initially planned to get the Airport Express bus into the city, but we decided to get a Bolt (taxi) in the end. The Airport Express would have taken quite some time and this was just far easier (albeit lazy and more expensive!). We unfortunately had 2 of them cancelled though because Apple Pay was rejecting our payment (same card as we had used in Prague) but I switched cards and it was fine. This was 8440HUF/£21.70, and we got to our hotel – the NH Budapest City – at 10.25am.
We were luckily able to check in early, and were given our room keys. We went and dropped our bags, and headed out on another new adventure!
For info, by comparison, this hotel was £45 per night. It was nowhere near as nice as our hotel in Prague, but for the price, we were more than happy!
Our first stop was the Parliament Building which I was so excited to see! It's so iconic, and beautiful!
In the same area, we saw the Liberty Square (Szabadstag Ter).
Communist Monument
Ronald Reagan Statue
This monument was commissioned as a tribute to the Nazi Regime but this has since been campaigned about and is now regarded as a memorial to those who lost their lives.
The Parliament Building is right on the river's edge, so I was obsessed with photos here, lol (though mostly selfies, which seem to be the ones not working
)
One of the main reasons that I had wanted to come to Budapest was to see the shoes monument on the river – this is a tribute to the Jews who had lost their lives on the banks of the river. They had been shot in the backs of the head so their bodies fell straight into the river, but had been asked to take their shoes off first, which is what they represented. So very sad but an important reminder and tribute.
Our next stop was St Stephen’s Basilica which was a stunning cathedral.
We wandered next over to Vorosmarty Ter but it was really quite quiet. I expected this to be a hive of activity (shops, restaurants, cafes) but there was hardly a soul to be seen!
On the way to our next stop, we popped into a Tesco Express for a snack and drink. We each got a pastry, shared a bag of crisps, and a drink each, plus a water for the bag, which came to 1178HUF/£3.03. Bargain!
We found the famous Ruin Bars shortly after, but by day, they were quite underwhelming! The place must really come alive at night to be worth the hype!
Around the corner, we found the painted wall murals – Rubik’s Cube and Football (where the Hungarians beat England by a large margin, apparently).
Just behind them, was the Great Synagogue and Raoul Wallenberg Memorial Park (Tree of Life monument). We didn’t go into the Synagogue, but saw the monument from the street, and it was a lovely tribute.
Along the street, we found the remains of the Ghetto Memorial Wall, and read the stories written on there.
I next wanted to see the Hungarian National Museum, as I felt on researching this trip that the building was quite impressive. It was!
And our final stop of the day was to be the Central Market Hall, where we spent quite a lot of time. We wandered the shopping floor and looked at the fresh produce (much of it was the same after a while, to be honest) and then wandered upstairs to where the ‘food court’ was. This term is a bit generous but there was ‘quick service’ food to buy and eat.
We ordered a spicy sausage in a bun for Matt, and a sausage wrapped in cheese & bacon for me (which turned out to be a frankfurter sadly), with some paprika-spiced wedges and a Sprite. This came to 6340HUF/£16.30, which we felt was quite expensive, especially compared to what we had grown used to in Prague.
We then ordered a Goulash (when in Rome!) which was 1500HUF/£3.85.
I had also planned to buy a Langos here, but we were both full, and decided to save it for tomorrow.
At the market, we popped back down to sample some strudel – we ordered 2 slices of apple & cinnamon, and 2 of soured cherry, for 1520HUF/£3.90. We had these at the hotel during our two evenings here, and enjoyed the apple but less so the cherry.
I had also planned to buy some paprika but we didn't in the end as we tend to cook with smoked paprika which wasn't something they seemed to have.
Before heading back to the hotel, we stopped by Aldi for some provisions. We each got a pastry for a light bite this evening, and each for breakfast too, I got a banana, we got a large bottle of water, and a bag, which came to 1087HUF/£2.79. Much cheaper than our Costa breakfast that morning!
It was 45 minute walk back to our hotel from here, and we were tired, achy, and it was very cold, so we called a Bolt. This was 2110HUF/£5.42. We took an hour or two to chill out, ahead of this evening’s excursion, and were treated to this gorgeous sunset.
We left the hotel again at 5.30pm, and walked down to the river, where I had booked a night time sightseeing cruise. In my research, I had seen more than enough photos to demonstrate to me that Budapest was at its best at night, so I was hoping that this would show us some of that. We weren’t disappointed!
We got on board at 5.50pm, and were given a welcome drink, which was included in our 9Euro fare. We sat out on deck, and while it was cold, we were spoiled by the views. (No fingers were lost to frost bite in the taking of these photos). The cruise was well worth the money.
At 7pm, we docked back, and walked back to the hotel. I fancied a hot chocolate on the way back to thaw me out but McDonalds didn’t sell it!? Shocker! I made do without. We did pop in the Spar though to get Matt a 2L bottle of Coke Zero which was 375HUF/96p (same price as a smaller bottle).
I got a photo of my new bag on the way back - I am in love! <3
We also saw this beautiful opera building behind our hotel.
We got back at the hotel for 8pm, where I showered, and crawled into bed to enjoy our snacks and chill for a bit after a long and busy day.