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Message
Prague and Budapest Trip Review (pic heavy)
Posted on 4/17/17 at 1:23 pm
Posted on 4/17/17 at 1:23 pm
We flew United from MSY-IAD-MUC-PRG. With the weather delays all over the area, I was shocked that we finally got out of IAD, sitting on the plane for over 2 hours after boarding. We got delayed again at MUC and finally made it to Prague around 3pm.
Prague
Old Town Square Area
It was a little wet and dreary on our first day, but we dropped our bags and started walking. Our rented apartment (~$60USD/nt - AirBnB) was in a perfect location in Mala Strana - just down the hill from Prague Castle and right around the corner from Charles Bridge. We headed over to check out the bridge and then to the Old Town Square. Charles Bridge is very cool, but stays packed with every selfie taking mouth breather in the city. The Easter markets were going on for the entire month of April and the two main markets are in Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square. This was perfect as we got a beer and some quick food. The astronomical clock is the oldest astronomical clock in the world (600 yrs old) and is pretty cool to see. We also paid to go up in the clock tower and we were very happy that we did. The views of the square and the church from up there were great. It was pretty cool to see the inner workings of the clock as well.
Nice apt for $60nt
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Walking across Charles Bridge
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Easter Market in Old Town Square
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Astronomical Clock
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Old Town Square from the clock tower
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Charles Bridge
[URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/93E8328A-8145-4CE6-B99B-46390C41B660_zpsg4aygkyw.jpg.html]
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Prague Castle
This place is massive. This was an easy walk straight up the hill. We were a little sluggish getting started and by the time we got there, there was a pretty long line. Luckily, it moves very fast as it is just pushing people through the metal detectors. Once you get inside, you can purchase tickets based on which parts you want to see. We did the B option (~$10USD/pp), which included St. Vitus Cathedral, Old Royal Palace, St. George's Basilica and the Golden Lane. Again, there were lines for most parts, but they all moved much faster than expected. We didn't realize at the time that we would miss out on being able to go in the towers there with that ticket, but we didn't care enough to go back and buy a new one later. There was another small Easter market going on inside the compound, but it was the same stuff as the others. We spent a few hours wandering around and really enjoyed it up there. St. Vitus Cathedral is pretty impressive and probably the highlight of the castle.
St. Vitus Cathedral
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Prague
Old Town Square Area
It was a little wet and dreary on our first day, but we dropped our bags and started walking. Our rented apartment (~$60USD/nt - AirBnB) was in a perfect location in Mala Strana - just down the hill from Prague Castle and right around the corner from Charles Bridge. We headed over to check out the bridge and then to the Old Town Square. Charles Bridge is very cool, but stays packed with every selfie taking mouth breather in the city. The Easter markets were going on for the entire month of April and the two main markets are in Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square. This was perfect as we got a beer and some quick food. The astronomical clock is the oldest astronomical clock in the world (600 yrs old) and is pretty cool to see. We also paid to go up in the clock tower and we were very happy that we did. The views of the square and the church from up there were great. It was pretty cool to see the inner workings of the clock as well.
Nice apt for $60nt
[URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/DD5857B9-773D-4AA8-8D14-1F28286E6CC8_zps80bo7qmd.jpg.html]
[/URL] Walking across Charles Bridge
[URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/C8D02296-881F-4140-A6C1-92347EEF356C_zpsnt0keuxn.jpg.html]
[/URL] Easter Market in Old Town Square
[URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/D2EEEF67-EAA9-415C-A370-4897AB059DED_zpsnaynxmta.jpg.html]
[/URL] Astronomical Clock
[URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/84ECAF57-9F02-4A21-B332-00E9942A621B_zpszilkgxdo.jpg.html]
[/URL] Old Town Square from the clock tower
[URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/5A189441-9D83-4AE4-8D7A-27FC59B18274_zpse0sh7ixo.jpg.html]
[/URL] Charles Bridge
[URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/93E8328A-8145-4CE6-B99B-46390C41B660_zpsg4aygkyw.jpg.html]
[/URL] Prague Castle
This place is massive. This was an easy walk straight up the hill. We were a little sluggish getting started and by the time we got there, there was a pretty long line. Luckily, it moves very fast as it is just pushing people through the metal detectors. Once you get inside, you can purchase tickets based on which parts you want to see. We did the B option (~$10USD/pp), which included St. Vitus Cathedral, Old Royal Palace, St. George's Basilica and the Golden Lane. Again, there were lines for most parts, but they all moved much faster than expected. We didn't realize at the time that we would miss out on being able to go in the towers there with that ticket, but we didn't care enough to go back and buy a new one later. There was another small Easter market going on inside the compound, but it was the same stuff as the others. We spent a few hours wandering around and really enjoyed it up there. St. Vitus Cathedral is pretty impressive and probably the highlight of the castle.
St. Vitus Cathedral
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[/URL] This post was edited on 4/17/17 at 1:46 pm
2
Posted on 4/17/17 at 1:24 pm to speckledawg
Petrin Hill
Another easy walk from our apartment was to Petrin Hill (~10min). From the base of the hill, you can take a funicular or walk up. It looked like quite a hike, so we opted to take the funicular up and walk back down. There was already a solid line pretty early. We had heard a few horror stories of people being checked and fined at the top for purchasing the wrong ticket, needing cash to pay the fine immediately or be arrested. My wife was freaking out about this, but I didn't see how it could be very complicated. When we got through the line, there are machines to purchase tickets, but they only take coins and I only had paper on me - shite. Luckily, someone pointed out a little convenience store type window in the corner where you can purchase tickets with paper cash (no CCs, I don't believe) for the same price as the machine. There are a few options for 30min, a couple hours, 24hrs and 3 days, I believe. I'm not sure how anyone could mess this up, as it was pretty simple and straight forward. We grabbed a couple 24hr tickets for ~$4USD/ea. Up top, there is an observation tower, several large gardens, etc. and some pretty good views of the city. We opted to hike up to the middle platform of the observation tower (steep winding stairs) and not bother with the top, as we already had a great view in the middle. There was a fee for the tower of ~$4, I think. There are some other nice areas to walk and see, but the only thing I would say is really great is the view from the tower. The tickets purchased for the funicular are also good for other public transportation during the time window purchased.
View from Petrin
[URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/ADC30AED-363F-44C2-9FAC-2A5DF6A693ED_zpss3utvmk4.jpg.html]
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Strelecky Island
Strelecky Island is in the middle of the Vltava, with access from the bridge just south of Charles Bridge. It's a really nice park with some different views of Charles Bridge and the Vltava. There's also a restaurant on the island and a few places to get some gelato. It's worth making a pit stop when walking to see other places for sure.
[URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/1A874039-EBCF-4332-A92B-17EE7974D432_zpsxgjtumz4.jpg.html]
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Viewing Charles Bridge from the island park
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Vysehrad Castle
Vysehrad was the only place we went that was a hefty hike, but it was enjoyable with the nice weather and we saw the Dancing House on the way. The castle is up on a steep hill overlooking the river and was one of the more enjoyable things we did in Prague. Inside is the Basilica of St Peter and St Paul and a very cool cemetary to stroll through and check out. It was far less crowded with tourists and had some great views/sights.
Vysehrad
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Looking down the Vltava from Vysehrad
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Vltava River Cruise
Yes, these river cruises are usually pretty cheesy, but for $8/pp, I recommend it. This gets you some cool views of the bridge and surrounding buildings, while you drink a $1 beer on the top deck of a boat. Why not?
pics
Food/Drink
Of course, the Czech Republic loves beer and I had no problem with that. I enjoyed a lot of their local beers, but not many places can compete with the craft beers in the US anymore. That said, beer (and food in general) was extremely cheap. Most places, I paid <$2USD for 0.5l beers of any type. I was going to visit the beer museum, but decided to hit a few of the small pivovars and pubs and do some testing. A lot of the food we ate, especially at the markets where we had several times, may really be Hungarian, but there's a lot of shared items between them. The one thing that I really wanted to try, that did not disappoint, was the pork knuckle. A huge hunk of delicious pork and a couple Pilsner Urquells hits the spot for sure. One of our favorite items was the trdelniks. It's dough, wrapped around a stick and cooked over open coals. They then put sugar and crushed walnuts on the outside - delicious. The sausage is also everywhere and all of it that I had, was great.
Pork Knuckle
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Paprika sausage and a Pilsner Urquell
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Langos
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Flight at the Kynspersky Pivovar
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Half the workers at this place were American, but they had a great selection of Czech craft beers.
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Trdelniks
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We enjoyed most everything in Prague and never had any issues. Many places will accept credit cards, but it's much easier (and preferred) to use cash. They do have Uber in Prague and the only time we used it, it was ~$3USD to go a couple miles when we were in a hurry.
We took a train from Prague to Budapest, via Bratislava. The whole trip took ~6.5hrs, with no transfers. I've taken trains in several places, but this was my favorite so far. Two first class reserved tickets was ~$72USD total. The train station in Prague is really nice and we got there early enough to get some breakfast and get our bearings a little bit. Along the way, we saw everything from the expected Slovakian run-down buildings to beautiful rolling hills covered with red deer. It was also nice to kick back and relax a little after all of the walking we had done in Prague. I would take this ride again in an instant.
Nice Slovakian train station
[URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/6B4D3866-D30E-48D4-9013-EE0E54DB225E_zps8geazqsl.jpg.html]
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Another easy walk from our apartment was to Petrin Hill (~10min). From the base of the hill, you can take a funicular or walk up. It looked like quite a hike, so we opted to take the funicular up and walk back down. There was already a solid line pretty early. We had heard a few horror stories of people being checked and fined at the top for purchasing the wrong ticket, needing cash to pay the fine immediately or be arrested. My wife was freaking out about this, but I didn't see how it could be very complicated. When we got through the line, there are machines to purchase tickets, but they only take coins and I only had paper on me - shite. Luckily, someone pointed out a little convenience store type window in the corner where you can purchase tickets with paper cash (no CCs, I don't believe) for the same price as the machine. There are a few options for 30min, a couple hours, 24hrs and 3 days, I believe. I'm not sure how anyone could mess this up, as it was pretty simple and straight forward. We grabbed a couple 24hr tickets for ~$4USD/ea. Up top, there is an observation tower, several large gardens, etc. and some pretty good views of the city. We opted to hike up to the middle platform of the observation tower (steep winding stairs) and not bother with the top, as we already had a great view in the middle. There was a fee for the tower of ~$4, I think. There are some other nice areas to walk and see, but the only thing I would say is really great is the view from the tower. The tickets purchased for the funicular are also good for other public transportation during the time window purchased.
View from Petrin
[URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/ADC30AED-363F-44C2-9FAC-2A5DF6A693ED_zpss3utvmk4.jpg.html]
[/URL] Strelecky Island
Strelecky Island is in the middle of the Vltava, with access from the bridge just south of Charles Bridge. It's a really nice park with some different views of Charles Bridge and the Vltava. There's also a restaurant on the island and a few places to get some gelato. It's worth making a pit stop when walking to see other places for sure.
[URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/1A874039-EBCF-4332-A92B-17EE7974D432_zpsxgjtumz4.jpg.html]
[/URL] Viewing Charles Bridge from the island park
[URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/5F8EB216-6857-4A01-86C9-534326F61306_zpsnwnnmezg.jpg.html]
[/URL] Vysehrad Castle
Vysehrad was the only place we went that was a hefty hike, but it was enjoyable with the nice weather and we saw the Dancing House on the way. The castle is up on a steep hill overlooking the river and was one of the more enjoyable things we did in Prague. Inside is the Basilica of St Peter and St Paul and a very cool cemetary to stroll through and check out. It was far less crowded with tourists and had some great views/sights.
Vysehrad
[URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/E26C3135-DE51-42DD-B946-F84C13EB7994_zpspxacnj7q.jpg.html]
[/URL] Looking down the Vltava from Vysehrad
[URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/6DC87AAB-2744-4B92-AA7C-3CB585EC0F23_zps4hucsp1n.jpg.html]
[/URL] Vltava River Cruise
Yes, these river cruises are usually pretty cheesy, but for $8/pp, I recommend it. This gets you some cool views of the bridge and surrounding buildings, while you drink a $1 beer on the top deck of a boat. Why not?
pics
Food/Drink
Of course, the Czech Republic loves beer and I had no problem with that. I enjoyed a lot of their local beers, but not many places can compete with the craft beers in the US anymore. That said, beer (and food in general) was extremely cheap. Most places, I paid <$2USD for 0.5l beers of any type. I was going to visit the beer museum, but decided to hit a few of the small pivovars and pubs and do some testing. A lot of the food we ate, especially at the markets where we had several times, may really be Hungarian, but there's a lot of shared items between them. The one thing that I really wanted to try, that did not disappoint, was the pork knuckle. A huge hunk of delicious pork and a couple Pilsner Urquells hits the spot for sure. One of our favorite items was the trdelniks. It's dough, wrapped around a stick and cooked over open coals. They then put sugar and crushed walnuts on the outside - delicious. The sausage is also everywhere and all of it that I had, was great.
Pork Knuckle
[URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/837D322A-42D9-402F-BC13-A423672C91D4_zpse5rbqunc.jpg.html]
[/URL] Paprika sausage and a Pilsner Urquell
[URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/8397DC9F-2AAB-43C4-9E8B-764D9745C25A_zps0wxdcoma.jpg.html]
[/URL] Langos
[URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/4C71799B-93BE-490B-9638-3D65B542FD9D_zpsydiglfhj.jpg.html]
[/URL] Flight at the Kynspersky Pivovar
[URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/EB3A07EA-631C-4FFA-9F2C-42B7B28883BB_zpsb82r7ars.jpg.html]
[/URL] Half the workers at this place were American, but they had a great selection of Czech craft beers.
[URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/6EDD92F0-8594-4FDB-A11D-B28847A9E3E8_zps83obzzu9.jpg.html]
[/URL] Trdelniks
[URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/D64E1E41-7065-420E-85DB-E90764593114_zpse1ia1rn0.jpg.html]
[/URL] We enjoyed most everything in Prague and never had any issues. Many places will accept credit cards, but it's much easier (and preferred) to use cash. They do have Uber in Prague and the only time we used it, it was ~$3USD to go a couple miles when we were in a hurry.
We took a train from Prague to Budapest, via Bratislava. The whole trip took ~6.5hrs, with no transfers. I've taken trains in several places, but this was my favorite so far. Two first class reserved tickets was ~$72USD total. The train station in Prague is really nice and we got there early enough to get some breakfast and get our bearings a little bit. Along the way, we saw everything from the expected Slovakian run-down buildings to beautiful rolling hills covered with red deer. It was also nice to kick back and relax a little after all of the walking we had done in Prague. I would take this ride again in an instant.
Nice Slovakian train station
[URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/6B4D3866-D30E-48D4-9013-EE0E54DB225E_zps8geazqsl.jpg.html]
[/URL] This post was edited on 4/17/17 at 1:47 pm
Posted on 4/17/17 at 1:38 pm to speckledawg
Budapest
We arrived to the train station in Budapest around 4pm without much of a plan for getting to our AirBnB rental. They no longer have Uber in Budapest. The owner of the apartment mentioned two taxi services and made it seem like there would be plenty there. Well, there was not. We finally found a few on the other side of the bus pickup area (hidden by the buses). Unfortunately, these were priced by zones of the city and a complete rip-off (7500HUF or ~$25USD to go just a few miles). Regardless, we made it there easily. Having come from Prague, Budapest felt huge. The Danube makes the Vltava look like a ditch. When we arrived, we did our usual and just headed out on foot. There are a ton of restaurants lining the Pest side of the river (we were staying on the Buda side), but as figured they are pretty over-priced traps. That said, even over-priced tourist traps there are cheap by our American standards.
Nice rental
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Old elevator for our apt
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Castle Hill
Once again, our apartment was just below the main attraction in town. We were literally about 50 yards from the funicular up Castle Hill, which is situated right at the Buda end of the famous Chain Bridge. The funicular is ~$4USD/pp one way or $6 for a round trip, with no time restrictions. We did the one way up and walked back down. The line for the funicular can get pretty ridiculous in the morning, but is usually very short in the afternoons, at least while we were there. Castle hill is enjoyable with a lot of things to do, but not much is old in Budapest as it has been destroyed so many times over the years. Matthias Church is the first thing you see and towers above everything on the hill. Fisherman's Bastion is where all the famous pictures from Budapest are usually taken. You actually have to pay to go up to the "famous spot", but you can take the same pictures about 10feet below it for free. The Labyrinth of Buda Castle is a little tricky to find, but worth it. This is where Vlad Tepes (Count Dracula) was imprisoned in the 15th century. The Dracula self tour (~$10/pp) is a little cheesy, but still pretty fun. You can wander around in the dark with creepy music and over-done fog machines, but there are some interesting things to read and it actually is a little creepy in there. It is very damp down there and you will come out with soggy clothes. We also did a Hungarian wine tasting at Faust Cellar. This place is even harder to find - located below the backside of the Hilton hotel on the hill. You have to either reserve one of the 5 tables or show up and hope someone was a no-show. We showed up and got lucky. We did the 6 wine tasting (~$20USD/pp) of reds and it was much better than expected. These were pretty large glasses and we left having a good time.
Funicular up Castle Hill
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View from the top
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Entrance to the Labyrinth – no other signs
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Gellert Hill
We took a cab from our apartment up to Gellert Hill. There is no funicular, but you can walk up. My wife had a bum knee at this point, so we rode up and walked down. The famous statue that towers over the city can be found up here, as well as some more great views of the river and city. The Citadella is the fort on top of the hill, but not a whole lot to see here. We spent much less time up here than we did on Castle Hill.
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We arrived to the train station in Budapest around 4pm without much of a plan for getting to our AirBnB rental. They no longer have Uber in Budapest. The owner of the apartment mentioned two taxi services and made it seem like there would be plenty there. Well, there was not. We finally found a few on the other side of the bus pickup area (hidden by the buses). Unfortunately, these were priced by zones of the city and a complete rip-off (7500HUF or ~$25USD to go just a few miles). Regardless, we made it there easily. Having come from Prague, Budapest felt huge. The Danube makes the Vltava look like a ditch. When we arrived, we did our usual and just headed out on foot. There are a ton of restaurants lining the Pest side of the river (we were staying on the Buda side), but as figured they are pretty over-priced traps. That said, even over-priced tourist traps there are cheap by our American standards.
Nice rental
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[/URL] Old elevator for our apt
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[/URL] Castle Hill
Once again, our apartment was just below the main attraction in town. We were literally about 50 yards from the funicular up Castle Hill, which is situated right at the Buda end of the famous Chain Bridge. The funicular is ~$4USD/pp one way or $6 for a round trip, with no time restrictions. We did the one way up and walked back down. The line for the funicular can get pretty ridiculous in the morning, but is usually very short in the afternoons, at least while we were there. Castle hill is enjoyable with a lot of things to do, but not much is old in Budapest as it has been destroyed so many times over the years. Matthias Church is the first thing you see and towers above everything on the hill. Fisherman's Bastion is where all the famous pictures from Budapest are usually taken. You actually have to pay to go up to the "famous spot", but you can take the same pictures about 10feet below it for free. The Labyrinth of Buda Castle is a little tricky to find, but worth it. This is where Vlad Tepes (Count Dracula) was imprisoned in the 15th century. The Dracula self tour (~$10/pp) is a little cheesy, but still pretty fun. You can wander around in the dark with creepy music and over-done fog machines, but there are some interesting things to read and it actually is a little creepy in there. It is very damp down there and you will come out with soggy clothes. We also did a Hungarian wine tasting at Faust Cellar. This place is even harder to find - located below the backside of the Hilton hotel on the hill. You have to either reserve one of the 5 tables or show up and hope someone was a no-show. We showed up and got lucky. We did the 6 wine tasting (~$20USD/pp) of reds and it was much better than expected. These were pretty large glasses and we left having a good time.
Funicular up Castle Hill
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[/URL] View from the top
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[/URL] Entrance to the Labyrinth – no other signs
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[/URL] Gellert Hill
We took a cab from our apartment up to Gellert Hill. There is no funicular, but you can walk up. My wife had a bum knee at this point, so we rode up and walked down. The famous statue that towers over the city can be found up here, as well as some more great views of the river and city. The Citadella is the fort on top of the hill, but not a whole lot to see here. We spent much less time up here than we did on Castle Hill.
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[/URL] Posted on 4/17/17 at 1:43 pm to speckledawg
Central Market Hall
After you walk down from Gellert Hill, the Central Market Hall is directly across the bridge. This place is awesome. This is where we bought all of our gifts to bring back. There's a lot of paprika (of course), wines, trinkets and tons of sausage and meats. We also had a really good lunch at one of the vendors upstairs. All of the food vendors are on the second floor, other than some of the dessert places on the first floor.
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City Park
We made a pretty good hike across the river and down Andressy Ave to the City Park. This is an enjoyable walk and there are tons of restaurants, etc. along the way. The park area has Heroes' Square with the large BUDAPEST sign, several museums and the famous Szechenyi Baths (we screwed up and didn't get to go in the baths, but I won't go there). Vajdahunyad Castle is also located in the park and is a pretty cool sight, with the moat around it.
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Budapest Eye
We did the Budapest Eye at night, but if you've ever even seen the London Eye, this one is quite disappointing. Not much to say, it's a ferris wheel.
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Danube River Cruise
We did a river cruise here as well for ~$20USD/pp with two drinks included. This was actually way more fun than I anticipated. The top floor of the boat was for people that only purchased the drink ticket and it got a little rowdy. The cruise was >2hrs long and Beer & wine was 350HUF(1.18USD)/each after the free ones, so some folks got a little carried away. From a boat, is about the only way to get a good picture of the parliament building. The views of Chain Bridge at night were also great from the boat.
Chain Bridge at night
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Parliament Building
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Ruins Pubs
Everyone knows about the ruins pubs, so we had to check it out. The only one we made it to was the most famous, Szimpla Kert. It was a blast. We enjoyed walking around with a beer and just checking out all of the random junk. Of course, drinks were stupid cheap as usual and they had some pretty good beers (my favorite was a Slovenian beer on tap). When we got there around 2pm, there were only a handful of people, but by ~5pm it was pretty busy. They have 4 or 5 bars inside though, so waiting for a drink was never an issue.
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Food/Drink
There were several of the same foods that we had in Prague (sausage, langos, etc.). I had a goulash a couple times and enjoyed both. The Hungarian sponge cake is damn good. Tokaj is a famous Hungarian wine, so we had to give it a shot. It was everywhere, but I did not really care for it. Every one of the Hungarian reds we tried were great. All around the food was great and I'm sure I'll remember some of the others later. As cheap as it is to eat/drink there, it was tough looking at menus on the way home.
Goulash
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Tokaj
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Bean goulash and potato cakes
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Hidden entrance to Faust Cellar
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Hugarian sponge cake
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[/URL]
One thing of note is that I have never been anywhere as cash oriented as Budapest. At least not for a large city, but even many small dumpy places I have been were more CC friendly. Many places in Budapest advertise that they accept a CC, but it took an act of Congress to actually use one and they were not real happy about it.
After you walk down from Gellert Hill, the Central Market Hall is directly across the bridge. This place is awesome. This is where we bought all of our gifts to bring back. There's a lot of paprika (of course), wines, trinkets and tons of sausage and meats. We also had a really good lunch at one of the vendors upstairs. All of the food vendors are on the second floor, other than some of the dessert places on the first floor.
[URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/461CA3F9-9A9A-4A0C-BA84-2BC203BDE360_zpsslax7ihp.jpg.html]
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[/URL] City Park
We made a pretty good hike across the river and down Andressy Ave to the City Park. This is an enjoyable walk and there are tons of restaurants, etc. along the way. The park area has Heroes' Square with the large BUDAPEST sign, several museums and the famous Szechenyi Baths (we screwed up and didn't get to go in the baths, but I won't go there). Vajdahunyad Castle is also located in the park and is a pretty cool sight, with the moat around it.
[URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/7F60A85C-36B0-4DD2-8B02-EE1E72AA6E2B_zpsqtaixhxo.jpg.html]
[/URL] Budapest Eye
We did the Budapest Eye at night, but if you've ever even seen the London Eye, this one is quite disappointing. Not much to say, it's a ferris wheel.
[URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/E3B987C3-D51A-40DB-869E-FF61CD6C6292_zpsbsgqqwye.jpg.html]
[/URL] Danube River Cruise
We did a river cruise here as well for ~$20USD/pp with two drinks included. This was actually way more fun than I anticipated. The top floor of the boat was for people that only purchased the drink ticket and it got a little rowdy. The cruise was >2hrs long and Beer & wine was 350HUF(1.18USD)/each after the free ones, so some folks got a little carried away. From a boat, is about the only way to get a good picture of the parliament building. The views of Chain Bridge at night were also great from the boat.
Chain Bridge at night
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[/URL] Parliament Building
[URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/7D1D026B-249C-43A5-B9F2-1E43C2F6403B_zps0pnzzg9h.jpg.html]
[/URL] Ruins Pubs
Everyone knows about the ruins pubs, so we had to check it out. The only one we made it to was the most famous, Szimpla Kert. It was a blast. We enjoyed walking around with a beer and just checking out all of the random junk. Of course, drinks were stupid cheap as usual and they had some pretty good beers (my favorite was a Slovenian beer on tap). When we got there around 2pm, there were only a handful of people, but by ~5pm it was pretty busy. They have 4 or 5 bars inside though, so waiting for a drink was never an issue.
[URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/7AF640D1-926D-436D-87F5-656DCADA25EA_zps5gdsowwg.jpg.html]
[/URL] [URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/061A2BFB-91D8-48CD-B460-6918031C784A_zpsa9yhra1u.jpg.html]
[/URL] Food/Drink
There were several of the same foods that we had in Prague (sausage, langos, etc.). I had a goulash a couple times and enjoyed both. The Hungarian sponge cake is damn good. Tokaj is a famous Hungarian wine, so we had to give it a shot. It was everywhere, but I did not really care for it. Every one of the Hungarian reds we tried were great. All around the food was great and I'm sure I'll remember some of the others later. As cheap as it is to eat/drink there, it was tough looking at menus on the way home.
Goulash
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[/URL] Tokaj
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[/URL] Bean goulash and potato cakes
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[/URL] Hidden entrance to Faust Cellar
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[/URL] Hugarian sponge cake
[URL=https://s1319.photobucket.com/user/kbs68/media/C9BB030B-1525-4F67-8B36-6E87AA3493BF_zpsyyrgk6sk.jpg.html]
[/URL] One thing of note is that I have never been anywhere as cash oriented as Budapest. At least not for a large city, but even many small dumpy places I have been were more CC friendly. Many places in Budapest advertise that they accept a CC, but it took an act of Congress to actually use one and they were not real happy about it.
Posted on 4/17/17 at 3:09 pm to speckledawg
Awesome review!
Posted on 4/17/17 at 3:15 pm to speckledawg
Cool! Two great cities.
Posted on 4/17/17 at 3:32 pm to OldHickory
Awesome review! Thanks for sharing.
Did you feel safe around town and were the locals hospitable?
Did you feel safe around town and were the locals hospitable?
Posted on 4/17/17 at 3:35 pm to speckledawg
Looks like a great trip. 
Posted on 4/17/17 at 4:01 pm to Palmetto08
quote:
Did you feel safe around town and were the locals hospitable?
Absolutely. We felt safe in both cities, even walking back late at night. Everyone was much more hospitable than I expected, especially in Prague. The only negative I can think of was the cafe closest to our apt in Budapest, Clark Picnic. I forgot to mention in the OP, but avoid this place. We went a few times, due to proximity, and the staff just did not GAF.
Posted on 4/17/17 at 4:28 pm to speckledawg
Very nice!!! Prague is on my want list, you may have must moved it up a couple of notches.
Posted on 4/17/17 at 5:18 pm to speckledawg
great review.
Posted on 4/17/17 at 5:55 pm to speckledawg
Man I'd love to take a trip like that but I'm too big of a bitch
Posted on 4/17/17 at 7:27 pm to speckledawg
frick ya!!
Posted on 4/17/17 at 8:31 pm to tigerfootball123
quote:
Man I'd love to take a trip like that but I'm too big of a bitch
It's great, on the long arse flight you will say "why in the hell am I doing this" then you get to your destination and say "worth it."
Posted on 4/18/17 at 12:05 am to DoUrden
I'd also add that if flying is what scares him, the big airliners don't move around like the domestic ones do... Usually. Its very hard to tell you're even flying a lot of the time, outside of being crammed in there.
This post was edited on 4/18/17 at 8:04 am
Posted on 4/18/17 at 1:40 am to Teddy Ruxpin
Yep. There's no excuse. Flew Lufthansa over there last fall. PLENTY of room. Movies and even a few free beers on the flight.
And as far as safety, I felt much safer in Prague and Budapest than I do in New Orleans.
Do it.
And as far as safety, I felt much safer in Prague and Budapest than I do in New Orleans.
Do it.
Posted on 4/18/17 at 9:26 am to OldHickory
quote:
ep. There's no excuse. Flew Lufthansa over there last fall. PLENTY of room
Flew Lufthansa as well, for the first time. I was impressed. It probably helped that I had an empty seat next to me.
quote:
even a few free beers on the flight
Hell, they walked by with bottles of wine about a dozen times. They were also passing out Bailey's and schnapps after the meal as well.
Posted on 8/26/17 at 7:49 am to speckledawg
Is there a way to update your photo links?
Posted on 8/26/17 at 8:48 am to HoustonGumbeauxGuy
Photobucket... 
I'll try to update when I have a little time.
I'll try to update when I have a little time.
Posted on 8/26/17 at 9:33 am to speckledawg
No sweat...I've updated the map and also the sticky.
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