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Published: December 19th 2011
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Today began our "discovery cruise" to prepare for our 2012 AmaWaterways Blue Danube Discovery Adventure which my partner Michael and I will be leading for our Friends of Dave Tours 2012 Fall cruise. Neither of us has ever been on a river cruise before so we are quite excited to see what's in store. This is also my very first visit to Hungary and Budapest so I'm quite eager to discover this great European capitol.
Another first for us, we're leaving on a journey from our new home in Warnemünde for the very first time - so getting to where we want to go is a little bit more hectic than it used to be when we lived in the Frankfurt region. The taxi was ordered for 4am, then a 2.5 hour train ride to Berlin and a quick flight to Budapest and we could begin!
One of the first surprises was a VERY positive experience with the taxi stand and ride into the city. While there are very many car services available to book beforehand on the internet, we were also pleased to see that the taxi from the airport to the city center had fixed prices of
20-22€ per car depending on which part of the city you wanted to go to. All the official taxi drivers were very courteous and no one made you feel as if you were being "taken for a ride" so to speak. We merely had to exit the airport terminal and go to the main taxi stand and we were sent on our way. For any of our guests arriving next year, keep this in mind because it is a reliable way to reach our pre-cruise hotel. (Only guests who book their airfare with Ama have transfers to the hotel from the airport included).
We stayed at the "Buda"pest Hilton on the Buda side. It is an old converted monastery with a beautiful view to the Pest side of the city. We could see the Parliament Building, the chain bridge and the Sofitel that Ama uses for their guests from our room, and as were located directly above the Fisherman's Bastion, we felt like we had the most magnificent view in the whole city!
The Buda side of the city is up on the hill and is the site of the old, medieval center. It is quiet and quaint
with lots of sweet little cafes, shops, restaurants and a few pubs - it is perfect for strolling and you can see everything in one day.
After check-in we walked around a bit until we found an interesting place to eat called Pest-Buda. This trendy little eatery had fantastic food, incredible service, and a very friendly staff. The prices were extremely reasonable and the waiter even told us that the tip was included in the price: we still left a little more because we were just so amazed. In fact, this amazement stayed with us during our entire stay in Budapest. Everywhere we went we were met with super service, dedicated staff, good food and decent prices. We were also quite pleased with the variety of selection. We spent so much time enjoying Buda, we never really made it to Pest. That's what the future is for I guess!
Lastly, one of our very favorite discoveries was the Faust Wine Cellar which was located in our hotel. Since the Hilton is in an old monastery up on the hills overlooking Pest, we were fascinated and excited as we made our way down, down, down into the bowels of
Wine tasting
Who knew Hungarian wines would be so delicious?!?! the old wine cellars which today are the home of a most wonderful wine pub. Our fantastic host took us on a journey of delightful grapes and interesting wines that allowed us to experience some very surprising wines. Neither Michael nor I realized just how good Hungarian wine can be and we hope some of our guests next year will take advantage of our offer to show them! This will officially be one of our "extra tour" possibilities for Budapest next year!
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Diana Haney
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Ama cruise
Thanks, Dave! Can't wait for all the installments!