Short break in Budapest

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21/08/2009 - Since I hadn’t visited any new countries so far this year Hannah and I decided to take a short break to Budapest, Hungry. Hannah and I flew out together however since Hannah would spend the Monday working in Budapest it was planned that I fly back on my own on Sunday night. We landed in Hungry in the late morning after a two and a half hour flight with W!zz Air and looked for the best way to get to our hotel in the city. We decided even though public transport was much cheaper we had no idea where we were going and we didn’t speak Hungarian, so we choose the airport shuttle bus. The shuttle bus took us straight to our Ibis hotel where we checked in and headed to our room.

We headed straight out to spend the day exploring the city. To begin with we walked toward the stunning St. Stephens Basilica. It was a beautiful church which had a massive dome and two tall towers on either side on the entrance. Before heading inside to have a look around we picked one of the nearby cafes and sat down for lunch. Once we had finished we headed inside the Cathedral. As beautiful as the inside was, it was quite similar to all the other Cathedrals I’ve been in. We bought tickets to climb the stairs up to the top of the dome and eventually slowly made our way to the top, step-by-step. Once we made it to the top the views across Budapest were stunning. We did a full circle around the top of St. Stephens Basilica as I took loads of photos of the beautiful city of Budapest. Eventually we headed back down, this time using the lifts and continued on to explore the city.

Next we headed past the famous Hungarian State Opera House to see if we could get tickets to any shows on over the weekend. The building was beautiful and full of history, but unfortunately for us there were no performances on for the next few weeks. Afterwards we headed to the Danube River which separated the twin cities of Buda and Pest. We crossed the famous Szechenyi Chain Bridge, the first bridge to join Buda and Pest then continued to walk along the Danube River towards the incredible Hungarian Parliament Building. We stood opposite this stunning gothic inspired building on the other side of the Danube as I took as many photos as I could, the building was simply astonishing. After spending some time sitting by the Danube taking in the atmosphere of beautiful Budapest, Hannah and I decided to catch the Sightseeing Bus to other sites around the city. We jumped onto the Millennium Underground, the second oldest underground in the world behind the Tube in London and eventually jumped onto the sightseeing bus.

We spent the next couple of hours driving around Budapest on the sightseeing bus. We had a brief stop on the hill which overlooked the entire city, from here you easily had the best views of the city. Budapest really was one of the most beautiful cities I had been to in Europe, though I still have to say it falls short of Paris. As I stood overlooking the city I took some fantastic photos before it was almost time to get going again. We took the sightseeing bus back to the centre of town and headed toward a restaurant both Hannah and I were keen on. It was a steak restaurant and it was amazing, some of the best steaks I’ve ever eaten. After a very large, very yummy and very expensive dinner we headed back to our hotel and went to sleep after a massive day.

22/08/2009 - We woke this morning got ready and headed back into the centre of Budapest to go on our pre-booked bike tour around the city. We met just by the State Opera House and were each given a bike, before long we were on our way. Our first stop was at Hero’s Square which was just down the road. Hero’s Square was an important political monument in Hungary’s history and a quite impressive one at that. The square was made up of a massive open space with statues at either side on one end and a large pillar in the centre. As we continued on we rode through the city park and stopped by the biggest and most popular bath complex in Hungry, Szechenyi Thermal Baths. Hannah and I had planned to come here tomorrow to try these famous baths, so after a brief chat with our tour guide we were once again on our way.

Next we headed for the amazing St. Stephens Basilica where Hannah and I were exploring yesterday. Our guide gave us a brief explanation of the history of this beautiful building before we were again on our way. Our final stop was the Hungarian Parliament Building where again our guide briefly explained the history surrounding it. Afterwards we crossed the Danube River and back again as we rode back to the bike shop to return the bikes. The tour went for a few hours but was fantastic was to experience the city. By this time it was the late afternoon but since we were meeting Hannah’s colleague Trang and her husband for dinner we had a bit of time to kill. By taking the sightseeing bus we were given a free boat cruise, so we headed down to the pier and jumped aboard the boat. For the most part the cruise was quite boring, we passed the Parliament Building so I got some great photos but apart from that I was asleep most of the time. Soon enough we were back on land and slowly made our way to meet Trang and her husband for dinner at the same steak restaurant we went to the night before. Again the steak was delicious, we stuffed ourselves before paying another expensive bill then heading back to the hotel to bed.

23/08/2009 - Today was my last day in what was a short but sweet visit to Budapest. We got ready and checked out of our hotel, we left our luggage at the Ibis since today we were off to experience the Szechenyi Thermal Baths. We jumped on the underground towards the baths and once there paid entry to go inside. Hannah and I got changed and made our way inside the baths. The first few we saw were quite cold, the temperatures were written on the wall, however we quickly found a really hot one, 40C. We got in, it was awesome, so relaxing sitting and swimming around in this naturally heated bath.

We eventually headed outside, it was freezing outside today, but we were glad once we jumped in the massive outdoor bath. It was so nice and warm steam rose off the surface of the water. After spending around 2 hours relaxing in the amazing baths we decided to make a move and head off. We returned to the Ibis to collect our luggage and since Hannah was staying an extra night to work the next day we dropped her stuff at her next hotel across town. It was then time for me to say goodbye to Budapest as Hannah came with me back to the airport and I took my flight back into London.

Accommodation:
Emke Ibis Hotel Budapest

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Photos

Budapest
The breathtaking gothic inspired Hungarian Houses of Parliment in Budapest

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The beautiful St. Stephans Basillica in the centre of Budapest

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St. Stephans Basillica from the back

Budapest
Stunning view across beautiful Budapest from the top of St. Stephans Basillica

Budapest
The incredibly detailed and historic Hungarian State Opera House

Budapest
Beautiful view of Chain Bridge the first bridge to join the twins cities of Buda & Pest

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Heros Square in beautiful Budapest

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Absolutely stunning views across Budapest as the sun sets

Budapest
Beautiful Hungarian Houses of Parliment up close while on a cruise down the Danube River

Budapest
The Szechenyi Thermal Baths, the largest and most popular baths complex in the city