Budapest and Patsy Cline
Well, woke up a little late this morning...either because of the after effects of the 'Train from Hell' or just the fact that I'm alone now and don't seem to have that extra push. Anyway, was up by 7, showered and headed down to the Duma Room for breakfast. MY GOD...what a spread they put on for breakfast. There was scrambled eggs, over easy, bacon, sausage, baked tomatoes with cheese (delicious), fruit, bread, sweet rolls, jams and jellies, cereals, COFFEE, and goat cheese. It was delicious and in SUCH a nice setting.
Last night I had purchased my tour of the city on the bus so after breakfast I got the camera ready (missing my photographer) and actually found that extra battery!!! I gathered my stuff and headed out to the street car stop to catch #49 downtown where the bus was to depart at 10 am for the tour. I got there a little early and walked around the square to take some pictures, look at some of the shops (and people!!), and just get a general feel for the city. I can't speak for Frankfurt or Brussels yet, but I CAN say for the cities I've been to so far, if you visit only ONE city in Europe, make it Budapest. This has to be one of the most beautiful and friendly cities I've EVER visited.
The tour went by the Broadway of Europe, the Champs de Elysse of Budapest, the Castles, churches, parliment buildings, citadel, just sight after sight. And would you believe...well let me tell you first, the tour was in 12 languages over headsets with background music with photo stops at several places. Now I won't be able to upload the pictures because the wireless connection is rather expensive and the uploads take sometime to load, so you'll just get the text till I find free connections down the road, but damn...some sights to see. Just do a Googld for Budapest and see the history and sights this city has to offer.
....now - back to "And would you believe"..just as the bus crossed the Danube of course the background music was "The Blue Danube Waltz"....enough to take your breath away.
We went up on the highest mountain top in the city, the site of the Citadel where their 'statue of Liberty' stands near a spot once occupied by the statue of Lenin. This is actually two cities...Buda on the hilly side and Pest on the flat side. They once said the ONLY good thing about the Pest side was that they had a great view of Buda!!!
The Danube is lined by bleacher seats...probably seat a million or more, just for shows they have on the river...fireworks, boat shows, etc. None of them happening while I'm here, but wish they were.
After the tour I stayed in the downtown area for lunch...of course I had Hungarian Gulash. My mom always made Gulash when I was a kid...telling us it was Hungarian...of course she'd never been to Hungary so I HAD to try it. Was nothing like hers (hers was great) but this was very good too...and of course a cold beer. After that I looked around some of the stores for special buys, then back to the trolly stop to catch #49 back to the hotel. It was then I ran into the little twin sister of Lil Girl...of course I had to stop the people and get a picture of her!!!!
Once back at the hotel I ran up to the room and decided to partake of the famous Spas in the hotell. They have one large pool at 36C, one at 38C, a VERY hot steam room, and a cool (8C) cool off pool. Was very relaxing and the hotel provides bathrobes and all for the spas and the beautiful outside pool that I have yet to take advantage of.
Back to the room to change and get ready to find a restaurant close by for dinner. I started out and it was raining, so decided to stop in the hotel bar for a drink to wait out the rain. Now can you believe this....I'm in a bar in Budapest, talking to a Hungarian bartender, listening to Patsy Cline on the juke box, and visiting with a guy from Denmark whose sister married a guy from San Antonio!!! What a great city!!!! I asked the bartender for a recommendation on a restaurant nearby and he sent me to Fatale, just across the bridge on the other side of the Danube..a 10 minute walk.
Well the rain was over, and I was out of here...heading for the recommended restaurant. I finally tracked it down. A cozy little place that sits in a basement, but very cozy. I asked the guy to recommend something 'Hungarian"...well you guessed it....Gulash again. But it was different, served with pasta of some sort and very good. But I tell you what...the plates I saw being served to the others.....WOW!!! I'm going back again tomorrow for the schnitzel and red cabbage. The plate the two guys next to me shared must have been stacked at least 1 foot high with pork, beef, chicken, sausage, potatoes, rice, eggs....it was HUGE...well they couldn't eat it either.
Well finished the meal and strolled down the street there...oh yeah, little Gelato shop and they had Nutella Gelato!!! Damn it was GREAT!!!! Shopped a bit in a little store down the street, then strolled across the Danube back to the Hotel and here I sit...bringing you all up to date. I will get on line in a minute and try to get this posted;..sorry bout the pics, but stay tuned for tomorrow's events.
Last night I had purchased my tour of the city on the bus so after breakfast I got the camera ready (missing my photographer) and actually found that extra battery!!! I gathered my stuff and headed out to the street car stop to catch #49 downtown where the bus was to depart at 10 am for the tour. I got there a little early and walked around the square to take some pictures, look at some of the shops (and people!!), and just get a general feel for the city. I can't speak for Frankfurt or Brussels yet, but I CAN say for the cities I've been to so far, if you visit only ONE city in Europe, make it Budapest. This has to be one of the most beautiful and friendly cities I've EVER visited.
The tour went by the Broadway of Europe, the Champs de Elysse of Budapest, the Castles, churches, parliment buildings, citadel, just sight after sight. And would you believe...well let me tell you first, the tour was in 12 languages over headsets with background music with photo stops at several places. Now I won't be able to upload the pictures because the wireless connection is rather expensive and the uploads take sometime to load, so you'll just get the text till I find free connections down the road, but damn...some sights to see. Just do a Googld for Budapest and see the history and sights this city has to offer.
....now - back to "And would you believe"..just as the bus crossed the Danube of course the background music was "The Blue Danube Waltz"....enough to take your breath away.
We went up on the highest mountain top in the city, the site of the Citadel where their 'statue of Liberty' stands near a spot once occupied by the statue of Lenin. This is actually two cities...Buda on the hilly side and Pest on the flat side. They once said the ONLY good thing about the Pest side was that they had a great view of Buda!!!
The Danube is lined by bleacher seats...probably seat a million or more, just for shows they have on the river...fireworks, boat shows, etc. None of them happening while I'm here, but wish they were.
After the tour I stayed in the downtown area for lunch...of course I had Hungarian Gulash. My mom always made Gulash when I was a kid...telling us it was Hungarian...of course she'd never been to Hungary so I HAD to try it. Was nothing like hers (hers was great) but this was very good too...and of course a cold beer. After that I looked around some of the stores for special buys, then back to the trolly stop to catch #49 back to the hotel. It was then I ran into the little twin sister of Lil Girl...of course I had to stop the people and get a picture of her!!!!
Once back at the hotel I ran up to the room and decided to partake of the famous Spas in the hotell. They have one large pool at 36C, one at 38C, a VERY hot steam room, and a cool (8C) cool off pool. Was very relaxing and the hotel provides bathrobes and all for the spas and the beautiful outside pool that I have yet to take advantage of.
Back to the room to change and get ready to find a restaurant close by for dinner. I started out and it was raining, so decided to stop in the hotel bar for a drink to wait out the rain. Now can you believe this....I'm in a bar in Budapest, talking to a Hungarian bartender, listening to Patsy Cline on the juke box, and visiting with a guy from Denmark whose sister married a guy from San Antonio!!! What a great city!!!! I asked the bartender for a recommendation on a restaurant nearby and he sent me to Fatale, just across the bridge on the other side of the Danube..a 10 minute walk.
Well the rain was over, and I was out of here...heading for the recommended restaurant. I finally tracked it down. A cozy little place that sits in a basement, but very cozy. I asked the guy to recommend something 'Hungarian"...well you guessed it....Gulash again. But it was different, served with pasta of some sort and very good. But I tell you what...the plates I saw being served to the others.....WOW!!! I'm going back again tomorrow for the schnitzel and red cabbage. The plate the two guys next to me shared must have been stacked at least 1 foot high with pork, beef, chicken, sausage, potatoes, rice, eggs....it was HUGE...well they couldn't eat it either.
Well finished the meal and strolled down the street there...oh yeah, little Gelato shop and they had Nutella Gelato!!! Damn it was GREAT!!!! Shopped a bit in a little store down the street, then strolled across the Danube back to the Hotel and here I sit...bringing you all up to date. I will get on line in a minute and try to get this posted;..sorry bout the pics, but stay tuned for tomorrow's events.
posted by dfwjeep42 | 2:57 PM
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