Thursday, July 18, 2013

Balkans tour - Hungary.

Beautiful, beautiful Budapest. 'You're gonna love it', Louise said. And we certainly did. Wow! Wow! Wow! We arrived in Budapest after a long, and anything but boring, train trip - our final destination for this Tucan Tour for us, and extended our stay by three more nights. Still not enough, we have left some things for another time, this is certainly a place to come back to. It seems destinations on this tour have been more and more impressive as we travelled along, not to say that we didn't like or enjoy Sofia, our starting point. We certainly did that too. Sad to be leaving, but the adventure for us continues in another direction.

The train trip....compartments for 6, perfect for our group. 10 hours. We were told a dining carriage was a 'maybe', not something to be relied on. So in something similar to pre-Xmas panic buying, we added significantly to our pack weights with an assortment of nutritious and not so nutritious treats. Way too much, but we ate and drank from Ljubliana to Budapest via Zagreb. Yep, back through Zagreb, and consequently out of Slovenia and into Croatia, then out of Croatia and into Hungary. Just the way it is this month, apparently.

There was a dining car, but it had no power so services were limited. Lucky we were well catered for, but they had alcoholic beverages. So we passed the time with a few drinks, and much merriment.

A unique transfer to the hotel followed our arrival at the station. Having a tour leader really makes this part of a trip stress free. She bought tickets, luckily as none of us had local currency ( forints... Around 200 to Aust dollar, so back to big numbers again). So a suburban train first, get off at the fourth stop ( train was quite crowded by this stage), follow the leader up and down through the station to a different platform and onto a small 2 carriage train/tram. Instructions this time.....' Spread out along the platform, and when it stops, get in quick. It only stops for 7 seconds. Push. Get off fast on the third stop.' Yikes!!

Our last night together, a farewell group dinner followed. We were in two minds about a tour following closely on our amazing camino journey, but it certainly didn't disappoint. We visited incredible places, met some wonderful new friends, laughed a lot and shared the adventure with family members, ensuring that this trip will be relived over and over again. So many highlights. We really didn't know much about Eastern Europe before this trip, and although we have learned a lot about the places we visited, we have both discovered a thirst to know more. It's like a tasting tour.

Beautiful Budapest.

Firstly, a confession. I carried an airline magazine from our flight to Sofia 4 weeks back, solely for an article about Budapest that I wanted to read, and a stunning photo of the Parliament - a site I really wanted to see, and something that symbolised Budapest to me. Sadly, I only read the article this morning, as we were about to leave. Oh well, next time.

We had 3 full days, walked a lot, and used the Hop On Hop Off bus tickets to advantage. Our ticket gave us 2 days ( extended to 2 and a half days) on two different bus routes taking in many of amazing sights and a boat trip along part of the Danube.

Architecture here is so impressive. There are so many stand outs, both inside and outside buildings, but my favourite places were the Parliament buildings, and the Fishermen's Bastion. Both have so much detail and are almost fairytale-like. Would love to see them lit up at night, maybe a different season next time.

We did a tour of the Labyrinth, under the hill near the Fishermen's Bastion. Brrrr, very, very cold deep down under the ground, and very creepy. Such a maze of tunnels and rooms, dimly lit, damp and cold. You could imagine what it would be like to be imprisoned down there. Apparently Dracula was..... For 10 years. Can't imagine anyone surviving that long in those conditions.

The opulence of the New York Cafe has to be seen to be believed. So stunningly grand! We enjoyed a superb coffee, just to be there.

Souvenirs here highlight local craftsmanship. The embroidery is incredible. All hand done apparently, although I cannot imagine doing all that embroidery by hand. Lou observed someone doing exactly that, so ..... Such big displays, and so, so beautiful.

We met some people from Hungary on the camino, so we had some tips.... Places to see, food and drinks try. Sorry Krisztina, we didn't get to the baths, for which Budapest is so famous. No swimsuit this trip, next time for sure.

Tried local food, beers and wines, but avoided the STRONG szilvapalinka Laszlo told us about - mmmm 40-50% alcohol might be a tad too much. At this moment, we are still to enjoy the wonderful gifts of the finest Hungarian wine and chocolates Laszlo left at our hotel for us. So sorry we weren't able to get together and share camino stories. Another time. Feel very blessed to have met such wonderful people.

 

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