Budapest

Another great weekend destination, Budapest, the capital of Hungry. This Hungarian capital is really two cities – Buda and Pest. Separated by the Danube river these cites became one in 1873 to form the beautiful, cultural Budapest.

The Hungarian capital is a city with something for everyone. Whether it’s the National Gallery, historical museums, the Opera or the local pubs. It all just a quick flight away.

The Journey

Travelling with my best friend in tow we ventured out and flew from London Heathrow. After enjoying our breakfast, we boarded our 2.5 hour flight to Budapest.

We didn’t pay to choose our seats but hoped that arriving at the airport early would give us dibs. Unfortunately, this didn’t work as we were told we couldn’t be seated together. Not for our outward or inward journey.

We later realised this was just a ploy as several other travelling groups had also been spilt up for no reason. A disappointing move from BA. However, as this was a short-haul flight and I had been out on the town the night before celebrating my birthday, sleep was the only thing on my mind.

It was a package holiday with transfers included a 30 mins transfer to the accommodation.

The hotel experience

This 4* hotel is in a random back road of the Pest side of Budapest. It’s classed as the centre of Budapest and has amazing transport links to get wherever you need to.

Once dropped off it didn’t seem like much with a simple name above the door compared to bigger hotel chains.

The staff were friendly and welcoming. They were able to provide us with a Budapest city card for approximately £40 which covered 72hrs. I highly recommend this card as there isn’t much you’d want to do that this card can’t help with.

The hotel has a unusual, but endearing design. The dining hall is directly from the lobby and rooms along one side. But this allowed the design to shine and fit well with it’s name.

The rooms were small and beds very low. Don’t expect comfort here, it’s not that type of hotel. But it was clean and provided the rest stop we needed for our mini-break away.

Food

We opted for bed and breakfast and each morning was presented with a buffet of their version of a ‘full breakfast’. It was mainly cold dishes with breads, cheeses and cured meats. It also offered steamed/sautéed vegetables, potatoes and scrambled eggs.

Travelling on a budget we lived on ’30 pence a slice’ pizza from a local hole in the wall. It’s always been a joke that I have a nose for food and that the bestie and family will wait for my nose to give the okay. We had been walking around trying to find something to eat for lunch. I recall my bestie being so impatient that she bought a chicken burger that she later regretted. My nose soon sniffed out this little place in the wall and she had to have two lunches as she couldn’t let it pass her her by.

Being so cheap we had lunch here daily, so then only had one meal to splash out on.

Funnel cake – A must! my favourite was the cinnamon. But make sure you don’t buy it from a tourist location i.e. a museum. You will get stung. Spend no more than £2.

Spoon the Boat – This lovely restaurant on the river is a moored boat. It was a sunny day and with the glass walls and white and silver finish, it was a perfect place to have lunch. Great fish options.

The Budapest Card gave, I believe, a 20% discount also so this made it even better.

Meat Boutique – This is were I enjoyed for my birthday meal. A small, but amazing restaurant over the water in Buda. A tram takes you directly there from the hotel.

Again, this was another place that my nose stiffed. This was somewhere that, being a vegetarian, I would never usually look at. Both the bestie and I were unbelievably happy we did. Pan seared Salmon accompanied by a paired wine, magnifico.

The owner was very friendly and was sitting at the table next to us, unknowingly, the whole night. He even offered to take us out for further drinks but being the first night we were already shattered. We will be back to take you up on that offer.

Robinson – Timeless Kitchen – Located on a small island in a beautiful park in Budapest this restaurant has been visited by celebrities such as #Schwarzenegger, #Stallone and #David Bowie. Naturally we had to go and see what all the fuss was about.

It wasn’t far from the hotel approx. 25 mins on a very traditional wooden train/underground, but who knew it would really be in the middle of a park. If the bestie had known, there would not have been a chance that we would have gone so late.

The views and water feature of the restaurant in the moonlight and spotlights were fantastic and once we finally worked out how to get to the entrance (I’m pretty sure we jumped over something we shouldn’t have) the adventure had been worth it.

An open kitchen with attentive staff and food that melted in the mouth. Compliments to the chef – my favourite meal in Budapest.

At the end we stopped in Heroes Square (Hosek Tere), the largest and most impressive square of the city. It was beautiful at night and surprisingly we were the only ones! A mini photo shoot subsequently followed. Great end to the night.

Places of interest/activities

Again, having the Budapest card dictated what we did and where we went. We visited as many of the museums as we could and completed both the walking tours. We were also given tickets for entry to the Gellert Baths by a fellow tourist who had run out of time. They had an outdoor wave pool that we loved and that ruined my friend’s hairstyle, but she said it was worth it.

Lots to do but doesn’t need a week. 5 days were more than enough.