This was an early one by which i mean we had to get up at 2.30am to get across to Luton from Bournemouth for our flight. This was after getting to bed at 00:30hrs and a 6 hour drive from Sunderland. The original plan was to leave Sunderland and then go to Luton but Angela had to work so I had to come all the way back to Bournemouth and then travel up country again.
This was our first trip to Budapest and also Hungary. I was going there for a few days karate training and both of us were having a few days break after the Xmas and New Year period where we had to cover at work.
Getting there
I used skyscanner.net to find the best combination of flights to suit my travel times and costs. In the end it worked out best flying out with Wizz Air and coming back with Easyjet. This did save me money and something I never really thought about before using skyscanner as it is normally easier just to use the same company.
It wasn't the best of starts. Bleary eyed, blowing a gale and raining the journey wasn't going to be easy. To throw something extra into the pot there was an accident on the M3 and I thought we could run a risk of missing the flight seeing as I knew there were roadworks near Luton airport turnoff as well. Arrgh!
The accident soon cleared and we were on our way. Getting through the roadworks on the M1 for the Luton airport turnoff was OK at that time of day but trying to find the Airparks place for our park and ride was a right pain. SatNav was no help and the signs or was it Angela's reading of the instructions weren't a great help.
Finally we made it to the car park. I would have to say that the Airparks facility was no where near the quality of the APH ones I normally use. In fact the first car park I had booked had shutdown in between booking and the departure date so this alternative was given.
The Wizz Air flight took off a bit late but we still arrived on time. Robert Torontali from the Dai Ichi karate club kindly met us at the airport and took us to our hotel whilst pointing out a few sights along the way.
Where we stayed
We booked the Starlight Suiten Hotel, on Merleg u., which is just behind the 5 star Four Seasons Budapest Hotel. We were very near the chain bridge, Szechenyi Lanchid, over the Danube on the Pest side. There was public transport, bars and restaurants nearby which made it very handy.
The room that we had was more like a suite as there was a large bedroom area, a lounge area with two piece sofa and a writing desk, two televisions, a bathroom, and also a mini-bar and sink station. For three nights it was about £135 through Expedia which I though was really good value for the size and location. Continental breakfast was pretty basic but sufficed. The staff however were very friendly and helpful. There was a small gym in the basement with a steam room and sauna. Angela had a massage one night while I used the very hot (!) steam room.
Out and about
Once booked in we went out for a quick walk along the Danube. This took us past the Hungarian Parliament building which was having some work done to the front. I thought it was interesting to see all that wooden scaffolding. It was a bit strange as there was no easy way to cross from the river side of the road back to the the built up areas. We took the same approach as the elderly ladies in front of us and made a quick dash over the barrier across the road once the traffic died down a bit.
Sushi again
As it was lunchtime, the map was out and I sought out the sushi place called Wasabi on Podmaniczky Ucta. They have a fixed price all you can eat buffet, so we did. There were two levels to the conveyor system. Top level for hot or wok fried foods and the bottom level for chilled stuff.
They had to come back a few times to clear the huge pile of small black dishes we kept on accumulating. Actually the plates were never that full and you would only get one piece of salmon nigiri sushi, which was my favourite, on a plate. Probably good in a way as it slowed you down. The edamame looked a bit sad and dried as they were already shelled. I have read on other blog sites that the wok fried stuff in the evening is a lot better.
It worked out around £27.50 or 10,000 HUF for the two of us, with a bottle of water and two green teas.
The weather was unusually mild for this time of the year. It should have been freezing but it was around 14 degrees C. No need for the thermals or the big winter jacket I had, well not during the day anyway.
We went back to the hotel, grabbing some bottles of water in a supermarket, and had a bit of a rest seeing as we had been up for literally a few hours. It was off training at Robert Torontali's Dai Ichi karate club.
Make sure you have a ticket
The Metro was really cheap and very efficient. 230 HUF per trip which is about 70p or so. One word of advice, make sure you stamp your ticket in the electronic posts before venturing into the main platform areas. There can be large and humourless ticket inspectors at the other end. I was told that it is easier for them to give you a big fine than to listen to your innocent explanations.
After training we went two blocks to a local restaurant for some beers and food. This was on the corner of Bezeredi u. and Berzesenyi u. They seem to favour German or Czech beers here. I sank a few glasses of the Gosser. Angela has a really nice steak done in a Hungarian style with mushrooms and liver. I had a roasted goose leg with purple cabbage and boiled potatoes. They were both very nice and hearty. Finished things with a shot of slivovice.
Back in the hotel we opened a bottle of red wine from the mini-bar. It was nice and light and more of a rose it taste.
Around the castle
The next day we spent around the castle. We took the metro from Deak Ferenc ter to Moszkva ter. It was a short walk to one of the castle's entrances. We just took a leisurely walk for the rest of the day. After a short meander we stopped outside of Matthias Church. There is a viewing point just behind it where you can see over the Pest region and the Danube. After this we went past the galleries and so on. It took a couple of attempts to find an exit to get down from the castle along some windy route. We finally ended down by the lifts and tunnel opposite the chain bridge.
We walked towards the Erzsebit bridge as we talked about having lunch at the Three Wise Monkeys restaurant but ended going past it and ate at Taberni Gosser. For starters Angela had the grilled mozzarella which was two large slabs of grilled cheese with lots of salad as well. She struggled with that as she knew the main course was to follow. I went for the bone marrow. This arrived as a medium sized bowl of bone marrow, plenty of toast, garlic cloves and onions. The waiter had to tell me how to approach this mix of stuff which was to take a piece of toast, rub some garlic on it, spoon and spread the bone marrow on it, a dash of salt and paprika along with some optional onions and away you go. After a few, I was starting to flag.
For the main course Angela had a pork that was flattened, with ham and cheese on top, then rolled up, breadcrumbed and deep fried. I had chicken thighs that had also been bashed flat and grilled. They were very crispy on the outside and succulent inside, very good indeed. This was served with spaetzle which just reminds me of macaroni cheese. There was loads so unfortunately I had to leave most of it otherwise I would have had a carbo-overload. 9500 HUF for lunch including a couple of beers.
Night began to fall so we made our way back and took a few night time photos.
Once back in the hotel Angela had booked a full body massage. Was supposed to be 30 pounds for an hour but ended up getting 1 hour 45 minutes. I used the steam room, which was very hot. We were too relaxed to head out after this so we had the rest of the wine in the room and had an early night. That's what holidays are for I guess.
I could draw comparisons with Prague but people had told me that actually it is better to say it is different. I thought that more of the shops and restaurants were more modern here. There was still the annoying graffiti at ground level in places. Blasted youth! Both places had a castle high on the hill, bridges over a central river and churches and museums everywhere.
I would say I prefer the beer in Prague but have enjoyed both places.
On Friday we went to the City Park. It was just 8 stops on the Metro, which was very fast. The weather started nice enough but just as we got out of the metro station the dark clouds came in and it started to rain. It soon cleared and we made our way back to the Millennium Monument.
There was a Van Gogh exhibition that was seemingly sold out as our karate chief instructor, Shiomitsu sensei, had wanted to go but there was no way. I think people would have to be shown around in small groups for security reasons.
Spa baths, well next time
We had a nice stroll around the park. During winter much of the lake is not filled so the moat around the central castle was also dry. The air was nice and fresh though. People, mostly kids, were skating on the ice rink. There is a spa bath there as well. We thought it was a museum until we went through the doors and took a smell of the air. This was definitely one of the wonderland Budapest spa baths that people recommended we take in on our visit. Unfortunately we didn't have time or get round to it. Maybe on our next visit. Remember to bring your bathing gear as although they do hire costumes, you don't really want to do that do you?
On the way back we had lunch at a bar/cafe called Julius Meinl near St. Stephen's Basilica on the corner of Arany Janus u. and Hercegprimas u. which was a nice little bar that had a mezzanine floor. Would have been nice to have also popped in on a night as it seemed pretty cosy. Angela had a strange chicken and fruit salad thing that was supposed to have been marinated in curry. I've forgotten what I had but it came with chips.
Tonight I went training and surprised Shiomitsu sensei who did a double-take as I walked up the stairs. After training we headed off onto what is known as Budapest's Broadway. I think this is near the Opera. It was very nicely lit with fancy shops and probably looks very different to during the day when it is a little bit greyer.
Robert took us to a restaurant, which I will get the name of, that is one of his favourites. It was not a big place and we went downstairs to our table. Angela had the French onion soup which was served inside a hollowed out round loaf of bread. With the melted cheese as well it looked very filling even without eating the bread. I had the goulash soup, for the first time, and that was very tasty.
For my main course I had goose liver, which I think is a very Hungarian speciality that President Bush refused to eat due to bird flu. I only had four pieces surrounded by cherries and walnuts. The livers were so plump and soft but the sauce was a bit too much for me and the potato croquettes were very filling.
It wasn't a long walk back to our hotel. Everything seems so far on the map but actually by foot it is not that hard.
On our last day, Saturday, after training we went to a Chinese restaurant called Momotaro that also does Japanese food. It is a small place near Szabadsag ter. They only have a few small tables but we were able to get a larger row of tables through in the interconnected restaurant which was nice of them. The portions are large. I thought my ramen noodles were self-replicating. I gave up after eating the seafood and had to leave the noodles. Angela's bowl of tofu was also huge as well.
We bade farewell to everyone and thanked Robert for showing us around the place. It was a very easy place to get around, for us anyway as the places we want to go to where near the metro stops.
Getting back
We got our Easyjet flight back later that night. We made the mistake of checking in and then going to the restaurant to get some food and bought some water to take onto the plane. D'oh, we hadn't even cleared security yet which meant downing as much as we could and then chucking the rest into the bin. Damned restrictions.
Those roadworks meant that we took a detour on the way back and finally got back in our beds for 2am when we landed around 10pm.
Ah well, it was a lovely place and I would recommend going. It doesn't have the reputation of a stag-do destination.
I didn't get to as many "bars" as I did in Prague so couldn't compare it in that way but it is a beautiful city that I should return to. There were a few recommendations from friends and from the Internet that I didn't get to.
