Budapest Day 3

Our last day in Budapest started out a bit rainy. We went to the Central Market Hall to shop, however this is when we learn it is a holiday in Budapest. The hall is now known as the &%$!@ Hall since we had planned to do a lot of wandering there and couldn't!



Cave Church

Instead we went to Anna's café for breakfast and then took pictures of the cave church from across the river. We walked over to a different market on the off chance it was open, however it was also closed. So it was on to the opera. As in the other two cities, the opera house was very beautiful.

Hungarian State Opera House opened in 1884

We walked over to the Parliament building and saw the Shoes on the Danube Bank - a representation of the shoes of Jewish people killed during World War II in Budapest. It was a very poignant spot.

Hungary's largest building, Parliament - built from 1885-1902.

Shoes on the Danube Bank - made of iron.

After that we decided it was time to head up Heroes' Square, a place that represents the national pride of Hungary. There is a castle - Vajdahunyad, where a carnival and fair were going on. This area was designed for the millennium celebrations in 1896.

Heroes' Square

Vajdahunyad Castle

And now... on to the baths. We visited Szchenyi Bath - constructed between 1909 - 1926. The hot springs were discovered in 1875 and they are the deepest and one of the hottest baths in Budapest. The springs are rich in minerals and have alleged healing properties - it sure helped our aching bodies! We had wristband "watches" we had to wear while in the baths as our ticket in.We first got into the hot pools, the sauna and then went to the outdoor pool area which was also heated. And, the sun decided to shine! The baths were an awesome Budapest experience.

Enjoying the sun and Szechenyi Baths

One of three pools added to the baths in 1926.

Just what our walking around three cities bodies needed.

Bath power!

After the baths we went to buy paprika and had langos - deep fried potato cake served with sour cream and cheese - so yummy! We then went to dinner and while walking we saw the Ferris wheel. At VakVarju we had goulash and chicken and wine. Then we went back to pack. On to London and Wales tomorrow!

Delicious, even with a beer.

Until next time, Budapest.

Budapest Day 2

Our day began a little slowly after the ruin bar... but we got going and went up to the Castle District of Buda. After we climbed up over 300 steps to the castle, we went in search of sustenance. Unfortunately we had to wait a half hour as no one was ready for lunch!

Buda Lutheran Church

We went over to the Vienna Gate and saw the Buda Lutheran Church with a beautifully tiled roof. We then were able to sit down to lunch at 21 - probably some of the best food we have had on this trip - perfect latte's, then chicken paprikish and citrus risotto with salmon. We are all planning to buy paprika here.

Matyas Church



Shopping!

We wandered around some more after lunch and found a cute store with handmade Hungarian gifts. The proprietor of the store, Mark, was so much fun to talk too. Then we went to the Matyas Church built between the 13th - 15th century. It was also covered in a beautiful tiled roof and was very picturesque. 



Matyas Fountain

We went to Fisherman's Bastion a Neo-Romanesque built in 1895. The views were spectacular. You could see the Danube, Chain Bridge and Parliament from here. We walked over to the Royal Palace section with the Matays fountain - Kristi's favorite because of the doggies. The fountain was a design that took it's theme from a 19th century ballad about a king who meets a peasant girl while hunting and they fall in love.



Parliment

 

The walk down from the castle area offered more panoramic views. You can see Parliament, Hungary's largest building and based on Parliament in London (look kids! -  Big Ben! Parliament!). The Chain Bridge is famous for connecting Buda and Pest and was built between 1839-1849. Before crossing the bridge we decided it was gelato time! Melissa had lemon-lavender, Melanie had coffee and Kristi had blueberry. They were so good!

After we crossed the bridge we saw Gresham's Palace, one of Budapest's most distinctive buildings complited in 1907. Sir Thomas Gresham was the founder of the Royal Exchange in London and of Gresham's Law: "Bad money drives out good."
On our way to our next stop, we rode the Metro - Line 1.  Why is this significant, you ask?  Well, we'll tell you.  This line runs just beneath the surface of the city and was built in 1894.  It is the oldest metro line in continental Europe. The oldest line is in London, which we'll definitely be utilizing in a few days.

Eleszto - a beer garden recommended by our airbnb host, was next on the list. Melanie and Kristi got beer #7 and Melissa had beer #18 (see photo). Then we stopped to get wine, cheese, bread and meats for dinner (that doesn't sound familiar, does it?).



Budapest Day 1

Vienna was very sad to see us go - as we walked to the train station it was pouring rain. No fun! We had seats in a car with three other people - almost felt like there was more space there then the sleeper cabin on the previous train!



Inner City Parish Church

It was still raining when we arrived in Budapest at lunchtime. We stopped at a restaurant near the station, Montenegroi Gurman, where we had chicken and pork and beer. As we finished lunch the sun started peeking out and by the time we met Tomas, our airbnb host, it was actually sunny. 

Klotild Palaces

Tomas gave us recommendations of places to go so we hopped on the Metro and rode around town. We went to a mall that we hoped would have shopping, but it was just a mall. :) Then we went to the Klotild Palaces - built in 1902, that form the gateway to the Elizabeth Bridge. We also saw the Inner City Parish Church - the oldest building in Pest, established in 1046.

We split up for a bit as Melissa's feet were killing her, so she stopped for a Thai foot massage that was so good and Kristi and Melanie walked down Vaci street and shopped a little. They said they wouldn't share the goodies they bought, but they did! We had dinner at Alfoldi Vendeglo where we enjoyed Hungarian red wine, chicken with paprika and garlic pork - all suggested by our very sweet waiter.

We then went to the Ruin Bar, Szimpla. Ruin bar's/pub's are set up in dilapidated buildings or in the courtyards of ruined blocks of buildings. They are characterized by colorfully decorated graffiti rooms with random chairs and tables everywhere. We sat at a table with a very nice couple who suggested all sorts of places to visit. We had beer, wine and shots... It was a fantastic evening!





 

Vienna Day 3

Our last day in Vienna...

Karlskirch

We started at Kunsthalle Cafe for breakfast and coffee. We then went to the Karlskirch, a church dedicated to St. Charles Borromeo, that the emperor built after the plague in the 1700's. Then we walked back by the St. Stephenson Cathedral and over to Hoher Markt to see the oldest square in Vienna. In the center of the square is the Nuptial Fountain and the Anker Clock that was completed in 1914.

Anker Clock

Then we decided to go back to the Julius Meinl store we dined at the previous night. They had an awesome selection of chocolate and coffee. We may have purchased our weight in coffee and chocolate... it was too hard to choose just one!

Upper Belvedere

Upper Belvedere

We then visited the Upper Belvedere Museum and Lower Belvedere Gardens. At the Upper Belvedere we viewed some amazing artwork housed in the former summer home of Prince Eugene. We saw Monet, Degas, Richard Gerstl (a Viennese artist), and our new favorite - Gustav Klimt. The collection was wonderful. On our way down, we walked back through the gardens. We had some slightly stale bread we decided to take to feed the ducks, however the crows caught on to what we were doing and swooped in. It was like a scene out of The Birds - it was a bit freaky!

After the Belvedere, we dined at a beer hall, Salm Brau. We had good beer, yummy food and a really nice waitress who gave us a shot of their newest distilled liquor. Then it was home to pack, finish off some wine and get some sleep so we could take the train to Budapest in the morning.

Vienna Day 2

Day 2

Secession Building

On our second day in Vienna, we slept in a bit then when to the Café Museum - one of the ubiquitous coffee shops in Vienna. The café was built in 1899 and Gustav Klimt hung out there. The coffee was delicious - just what we needed! We had lunch while there, asparagus soup, asparagus cordon bleu (can you tell it's asparagus season?), Viennese pasta and dumplings.

Wagner apartments

We then walked past the famous Secession building, built in the Jugendestile style. Next we saw the Wagner apartments, designed in 1899. On the way back up the street we wandered through the Naschmarkt an outdoor market with fresh foods, souvenirs, places to eat and bakeries.


Sachertorte

We went over to the Vienna Opera House - which opened in 1869 and then up to Sacher Hotel for the famous sachertorte and coffee. The dessert was created in 1840 and has been made the same way ever since. After our fortification, we went to the Hofburg Complex, which contains imperial apartments, the national library, the Spanish Riding School and more. We saw the Mozart Memorial and buildings ranging from the early 1700's to late 1800's.

Then it was over to Stephansdom Cathedral. A church has been there for over 800 years but has be rebuilt over the years. The church is in the center of Vienna and has a tiled roof with a quarter of a million glazed tiles. There was a church service happening while we were there and the choir and organ music was great.

After we left the church we walked over to the Frauenhuber, the oldest coffee house in Vienna and a place Mozart played. We had the kaiserschmarrn - basically fluffy shredded pancake with plum sauce - a dessert named for Franz Joseph I. Our waiter there was fantastic! Since we were still hungry, we went over to Julius Meiln, a great grocery with a restaurant upstairs. We had some wonderful Viennese white wines, asparagus with hollandaise and dessert.



Vienna Day 1

The overnight train was an adventure. We had a 3 person private car. There were three bunk beds along the wall - Melanie had to climb a ladder to the top bunk. There was barely enough room for us and the suitcases; pretty much had to get in the bunk beds right away and hope you didn't have to move again! The train took off on time and we tried to get some sleep. All of us snoozed a bit but it was harder then we had figured. The train hit curves pretty hard that jolted you around and it stopped a few places to connect and disconnect cars.

We arrived in Vienna bright and early (6:10 a.m.). We couldn't go to the airbnb until 9 a.m. so we talked to the information desk to figure out where we were going, changed money and found a place to get coffee and pastries. Because we were exhausted, we took the underground the two stops to the station near the airbnb. It's a cute place - two bedrooms and a couch and a washer!

Found a cute café near the airbnb that had been there since 1913 to get more coffee and decide what to do. The repeated caffeine infusions were very necessary! We decided to go to Schonbraunn Palace & Gardens - home of the Habsburg dynasty. Because we promised ourselves we weren't going to walk as much, we figured out how to take the underground to the palace.

And then we arrived. The grounds were beautiful - words can't even describe it. We bought tickets to tour a number of gardens, the maze, the inside of the palace itself and the Gloriette. The Gloriette was built in 1775 and was up a big hill. The Neptune Fountain was beautiful; sculpted in 1780, was at the base of the hill up to the Gloriette. The views from the top were amazing - you could see all of Vienna! After that, we went into the hedge maze. A few wrong turns later, we made to an overlook. All of this of course meant we had to walk... and walk... and walk. We toured the interior of the palace - the rooms were ornate and beautiful. We also found some soft pretzels as big as our heads as we needed to eat - so good.

We called it an early day because we were exhausted and hungry. We went back to the main station, got some groceries and wine and went back to our place. This is when we figured out we had walked 10 miles! Well, if we are going to enjoy the food and wine, at least we are earning it!!!!