Day 43: Pressath, Germany to Budapest, Hungary

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Day 43: Friday, January 8th, 2010.
Pressath, Germany to Cologne, Germany to Budapest, Hungary.

Egészségedre (aggie-she-god-ra) means "To your health!"
Szya (ci-ya) means "hello" and "goodbye"
Boldog Születésnapot (bulldog sully-nap-pot) means "Happy Birthday"
Köszönöm (cos-sa-gnome) means "Thank you"

There ya go, now you know all the Hungarian I know!

So my plane leaves Munich around 11am (again, I'm writing this many days later so I don't really remember) and Dusty and I leave the house around 6am. Everyone in the area is in a tizzy about a snow storm that's supposed to come in and already the school has said they'll only have a half day and release the kids at Noon. So, should be a fun car ride to and fro for Dusty!

I can't really say much about the car ride because, being the stellar co-pilot that I am, I fell asleep. We get to the airport and Dusty keeps me company a little bit longer by coming in to stand in the ticket line with me. I get my luggage checked, say goodbye to Dusty, and head thru security. A while later I hop on the plane, we get to Cologne, and I have a 5 hour wait until my next flight which I spend watching more Grey's Anatomy (that I downloaded from iTunes while at Dusty's). Get on the plane in Cologne, land in Budapest, and take a taxi from the airport to the Buda side where I'm staying at the Buda Castle Fashion Hotel. Look at all that I'm learning- I didn't know that Budapest was made up of two sides: Buda and Pest.

The area the hotel is located in, the Castle District, is quaint and historical. The streets are old cobblestone and around the corner from the hotel is Matthias Church and the Fisherman's Bastion. I check into the hotel and dump my bags in my very spacious room, complete with a heated bathroom floor!! I proposed to the last heated floor I met (in 2007 at the Glasgow hotel). Since that bathroom floor never took me up on my offer, I hope this floor will.

I head down to the front desk and ask the clerk for a hotel recommendation since the croissant I had in Cologne is long gone. She tells me the name of a place nearby and I head out. The streets are covered in fog, it's absolutely surreal and beautiful. Thinking I was going to do a quick walk to a restaurant, I was a bad photographer and left my camera at the hotel. So, you'll have to take my word for it- beautiful. I find the restaurant and head in and have the best meal I have had on this trip. It was a tender pork, with bacon grizzle (sounds gross but was awesome) and some awesome potatoes. Seriously, I'm drooling typing about it many days later. Plus, an added bonus, is that they have a string quartet playing so I got to listen to some amazing music. I have found (suggested to me by many) a way to survive eating on my own, and I always have a book with me. Currently I'm reading a book my good friend Scott gave me, "The Art of Running in the Rain" which is a story about life, as told by a dog. Good book, but it starts with the dog talking about his end of days and then does a back flash thru his life, so you know the tears are going to come. Luckily I wasn't at the teary part while reading at dinner. I finish my dinner and head back to the hotel and call it a night.

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Comments

[Dona Deardorff]

Love that Book!!!
OMG - I loved that book. I think it may have been one of my all time favorites. I'm sure you are through reading it by now. Let me know what you think between the tears.

[Barb]

awesome!
Wow! What a difference in hotels, huh Amanda? It would be interesting to find out the breakdown of how much you paid for each accomodation along the way, tour vs. no tour. This is a beautiful city! Glad you were able to see it!

[Chris]

You threw your book at the string quartet when they tried to steal your grizzle?
Bacon makes everything taste better. Ever try bacon wrapped bacon? Mmmmm, bacon!