Sat Aug 31; in Budapest

 I was the sleepy head this morning with. Caro waking me up about 9:15. She had been awake since 7:30.

After our breakfast we started walking to the old Jewish quarter which was only about a kilometre away (and in reality we had unknowingly walked through parts of it over the last couple of days). The first stop was the big Synagogue. We were balking at the high price for tickets however it quickly became a moot point when we realized it was Saturday and it was closed anyway. With so many tour groups there we hadn’t even noticed that the building was closed. 

Along the side there were memorials to the 100’s of thousands of Hungarian Jewish people killed in WW2. The photo above is a memory tree made of metal (and is inside the grounds of the synagogue). Each of the leaves on the tree contains a name of one of the victims.

From there we walked over to Saint Stephan’s Basilica . This church was very beautiful and like many places here we got a nice seniors discount when buying our entry tickets. One specifically important spot in the church is the  supposedly preserved hand of Saint Stephan.

 We spent about half an hour there before continuing our meandering around.

Stops were made for lemonade and (non alcohol) beer. 

Caro had wanted to try a Hungarian specialty called chimney cake (yummy)

We went to the river to take one last photo and then slowly found our way to the area of the famous  “ruins”bars where we again stopped for lemonade and Coke Zero. 

The following photo is just a random shot of a building we liked (one of hundreds of awesome buildings we saw here).

By 3:30 we had had enough so we were back at the hotel getting ready to meet up tonight with our fellow travellers beginning tomorrow.

Later in evening. We got together for an initial meeting followed by a meal (the restaurant next to the one we went to yesterday (as it turned out).

It was a long evening!

Friday night in Budapest (part 2 of today’s blog)

 After a quiet relaxing time (meaning nap time!) we headed out for the second half of our day.

We went on the metro again to the same general area where we were this morning.

We then walked about a kilometre looking  for a restaurant that served Hungarian food and we found a nice one.

The food was really good and the wine wonderful as well. Not a cheap meal but certainly one to remember!

We walked back to our river cruise pick up point about 30 minutes before the cruise started (7:45 PM start time).

While waiting, we FaceTimed several family members showing them the view of the Parliament buildings across the river from us.

The one hour cruise was beautiful and we saw all the lit up buildings.

The metro ride back to our hotel was fats and efficient.

As usual, another awesome day; with 18,000 steps and 12 kilometres.

Budapest Day 3 Part one

 The first half of the day!

We each had a terrible night with both of us getting very poor sleep, and not much of that either!

We finally got up shortly after 5 AM. This time we made in to the hotel supplied breakfast. It was pretty good and we both ate quite a bit.

We took our first ride on the metro shortly after 8 AM, getting off at the parliament building for our previously purchased 9:15 AM tour.

Buda Castle (Palace) which we visited yesterday. Photo taken from near the Parliament building

 The Parliament tour is a “must” do and in 2018 it was TripAdvisors 10th most popular landmark in the world. The tour takes less than an hour however it is not a waste of money (I believe the tickets cost $95 for the two of us). The following are some photos from inside the building.

The photo immediately above is the royal crown (about 1000 years old).  I had to zoom for this photo as none are allowed when we stood near it as we listened to the story of the crown and the room it is located in,

Afterwards we walked the banks of the Danube pausing at the bronze shoes.These represent the Jewish victims of WW2; people who were lined up on the edge of the Danube, shot, and then disposed of in the river.

After crossing the chain bridge (and looking up at Buda Castle where we toured yesterday) we walked up to another high point nearby called Fisherman’s Bastion and Matthias Church. It was a very long walk to get there and while we didn’t pay to walk the walls of the bastion, we did pay to enter the medieval church.

The photo above is Matthias church and the Bastion on the east side of the  river.

View back towards the parliament building

Some photos from inside the church

Around the Bastion and church the area is a UNESCO World Heritage site. We walked through it on our way to the metro station.

We took the metro to the area of Hero’s Square where we had wanted to have a meal yesterday. Upon leaving metro station we walked into the park there but soon left- we didn’t see any of the restaurants that are in the area. The photo below was taken inside the park

We decided to walk back to our hotel (probably two kilometres). We stopped at a couple places for snacks and water including one store called ”Caviar and More”. We were in the store to find the “more” .  I bought a Hungarian chocolate bar while Caro bought a bag of cheese flavoured mini bread sticks (which she really didn’t like that much).

As I write this it is 3 PM and we have walked 15,000 steps and 9,6 kilometres. Whew!, no wonder we are exhausted! Tonight is the Danube River cruise (part two of today’s blog)

Budapest, Day 2

Jet lag really got to us. I was awake several times in the night and would start listening to a podcast, only to fall asleep and miss most of each different podcast; Caro said she was awake for quite a while in the middle of the night.

Having said that, I didn’t wake up until 9:20 and Caro woke up at 10:20!

We missed the hotel supplied breakfast however the staff did manage to find a couple of small pastries each for us.

We were out the front door at 11 AM for the first of our 18,400 steps covering 11.6 km’s today,

We made our way down to the Danube river, stopping first at the famous Central market.

We walked across the Petofi bridge into the “Pest” side of town.

Walking along the river bank promenade we enjoyed the views of this famous river.We saw quite a few river cruise boats tied up to the river banks, thus allowing their passengers to spend the day walking in this beautiful city.

Lunch was at a cafe close to the river. It was so hot today that we were drinking beer by 1 PM.

We tried a goulash soup.  It was excellent

The soup, two beer and two bottled water plus tip was about $40.Worth the money in our books!

Our major (and longest) stop of the day was Buda Castle.

We had heard this was a “must” visit and it lived up to its reputation. This palace was rebuilt after being destroyed in WW2 and by the looks of all the information inside the building and grounds it has been a very important part of Hungarian history. The last (unexpected) Austro-Hungarian emperor was crowned here in 1916 (the original crown prince being assassinated  in 1914 thus beginning WW1 in 1914).

I didn’t take a lot of photos inside the building except this spectacular room (I “think”it was the tea room)

The views of the Danube and the “Pest” side of the city were spectacular.

I copied a photo from Wikipedia showing the chain bridge (shown in the photos above) and the castle/palace at the end of WW2

It was getting late in the afternoon by now and we started walking to an area known for its restaurants, however after a solid km or two and only half way there we stopped at a tree lined pedestrian block full of outdoor cafe’s.

We hit the jackpot with a great little place for good food and great waiters!

We had another beer each and started with a typical Hungarian dish of red wine flavoured beef stew, with dumplings. It was really good and got even better when Caro ordered some hot sauce which turned out to be a typical sauce of paprika and tomato’s. The paprika is much more tasty than the kind we get at home.

Upon completion of the meal we asked for our bill.The waiter brought it to us and stated that it was now “happy hour” so he would bring us another couple beers “on the house”. 

Well , “OK” by us (!) so we enjoyed another round

We had originally planned to get dessert at some street food place on our walk back to the hotel but the waiter was so good we decided to stay and had a speciality of Hungary called (in English)  Gundel crepes.

Yummy,Yummy!

We were back at the hotel shortly after 7PM. We have an early day tomorrow.

Budapest Aug 28/2024

Aug 27/28

Using notes written as we flew.

KLM flight delayed about 70 minutes in Edmonton (late arriving)

KLM then had to change our flights from Amsterdam to Budapest as we would miss the original connection. 

Plane loaded up on time. We are in seats 19A+B. In a 2-4-2 configuration (A-330 plane)

We had a great supper ( we both chose pasta) accompanied by wine. By 8:30 PM the meal service was over and clean up began. Caro took a nice moon photo before we were all asked to close the blinds. 

We both had about two hours of awful sleep (!) before arriving at AMS airport. 

After killing an hour wandering around the airport we went through passport control with no issues. 

We saw a super neat clock. The “man” (computer generated). inside the clock “paints” a new minute hand after erasing the previous minutes hand (which of course is no longer the correct time).Such a fascinating idea!

On my KLM app I had noticed some e-vouchers for each of us which I assume was compensation for us having to get a later flight to Budapest. Amazingly the vouchers were for 12 Euro each!!

We had to use them within 48 hours so Caro bought a cappuccino and yogurt and I bought a coke and three chocolate bars for later consumption. 

Too bad Air Canada and WestJet didn’t compensate like that instead of the excuses we always get whenever an issue occurs.

Arrival in Budapest went smoothly (no immigration or customs).

I knew we had to get the 100E express bus to the city Center. We simply tapped my credit card twice on the machine inside the bus to pay the approximate $9 each charge.

The drive in took about 30 minutes and after getting off at the appropriate point we walked the kilometre to our hotel just enjoying the old city buildings.

Our hotel is satisfactory and will suit us fine.

We settled in for a bit then went out to walk around the local area checking out where we may want to eat or drink over the next three full days we have here. So far, so good.

Wednesday July 31

 After a restful night we grabbed some breakfast food at a coffee shop where we have always had good food from.

We also picked up subs for our lunch (and later on, supper).

The drive back through the mountains to Banff National Park was great. We stopped at Lake Louise for gas and carried on to our first major stop of Peyto Lake. Beautiful as alway!

The clouds were predominant however there were many times that shafts of sunshine shone down on the mountain peaks giving us spectacular views. Truly, wonderful views.

As we headed north towards Saskatchewan Crossing, (the road north of there towards Jasper being closed due to the bad fire that burned down 30% of the town of Jasper), we passed a sign for Mistaya Canyon. We had never been there so I made a split second decision to turnaround and go back to see it. Good call by me as the visit was wonderful. This canyon is a small version of Maligne Canyon near Jasper. 

We had our next break after leaving the parks, at Crescent Falls. The Alberta government has spent a lot of money and effort making this a nice stopping point. There is still work to do but it is coming along nicely.

We stopped in at Nordegg and found a place to eat lunch. Nordegg is a pretty little town.

Homeward bound, we went via highway 11 towards Red Deer. At Sylvan lake there is a four lane divided highway bypassing that town. This highway has two major traffic circles on it. At the first one I was in the left lane and a large tanker truck was on my right. As we slowly entered the circle the trucker cut over into our lane forcing us up into the centre part of the circle. Fortunately no damage to us (although if I hadn’t moved our vehicle it would have been destroyed). 

We got home about 6:30.

The Seltos was fantastic! The gas mileage was amazing. We got 58 mpg in one section of road (we were driving 80-85 km.hr during that stretch of highway). Our last tank of gas was 52 mpg and that included two hours of 118 km/hr on highway 2. Very impressive!. The vehicle was comfortable and had good acceleration when needed.