I’m not a huge fan of early mornings but Budapest is calling so when 7.30am rolled around I was up, out of bed and on my way to the train station. I’ve really enjoyed my time in Vienna but I’m excited to see what Hungary has to offer! We got the 8.42am train which was relatively uneventful, so much so that Rory decided to fall asleep ten minutes in to the journey. When we arrived we headed to a cash machine and despite having no idea what the exchange rate was we went for a cool 30,000 Forint which was only about £80. With relative ease we found the four star Hotel Prestige and it certainly lived up to its name. I managed to get a good deal on the room and once we’d checked out all the free stuff, including a bar of chocolate, we set off in search of adventure.
On our way to the parliament building we came across the Shoes on the Danube Bank memorial. The sculpture is in memory of the many Jewish people who were told to stand along the bank of the river and remove their shoes before being shot. It seems so incomprehensible that something so tragic and ugly happened in such a beautiful and historic place.
Unfortunately we had missed the English tour of parliament so we decided to head straight to St Stephen’s Basilica. Named after the first King of Hungary it took 54 years to built and no building in Budapest can be built higher. We’ve seen a lot of churches on this trip but I was really impressed by this one. You were free to take pictures inside and there was no entry fee meaning that even tight people like Rory can enjoy the grandeur.
Our next stop wasn’t just as historic – it was a burger joint. The number 3 restaurant in Budapest but still a burger joint. I went for the classic burger and a lemonade both of which were absolutely delicious and so massive that Rory had to help! Now that he was fed and watered he was happy to tag along as I dragged him halfway across town to the Heroes Square. The park was much bigger than I had imagined and had plenty of little hidden gems to keep us occupied. We even found the Szechenyi Thermal Baths. Unfortunately we didn’t have our swimmers with us so we had to make do with a quick look and a cheeky photo.
We then decided to head back to our hotel via the Andrassy Avenue. Home to several highly ostentatious foreign embassies I quite enjoyed the walk but it was insanely long, I think we passed five or six tube stations but I’m glad we did it, purely because we got to see more of the city! As a reward for doing an insane amount of walking I had my first ice cream of the trip and to be honest, I don’t see how it could be topped! The server sat and intricately layered ice cream upon ice-cream and flavour upon flavour until he presented me with the finished product – an ice cream shaped like a rose! Not only was it beautiful, it was delicious!
After a leisurely walk back to the hotel where we found more chocolates on our pillows, we watched J Edgar which is enough to send anyone to sleep!
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