Leaving Vienna was bittersweet! We had a super early train from Vienna to Budapest ( I woke up at 4am). Let me tell you this: getting on a train while carrying a 50 pound bag is not as easy as it sounds ;p Took some team effort to get charu's and my suitcase on the train. The train ride was about 2.5 hrs most of which was spent talking about family, sleeping and watching the girl next to us do her makeup, nails and hair ( I know, she was way worse than me and was cheetaah-coordinated).
We were off the train and on the station platform in Budapest and it reminded me a lot of India. It was hot, humid, and the taxi guys were on the platform trying to get passengers faster than their fellow cabbies. The ride to the hotel was short but scary (we hung on to dear life).
In my earlier post I had mentioned my cousin's awesomeness. We got upgraded to a suite overlooking the Danube complete with a bottle of wine. I don't know about you guys, but in my opinion that's a vacation right there! I feel like we've been spoiled these past few days with tasty nom noms and delish wine. The best part: we get access to the rooftop executive lounge with Panasonic views of the city, an open bar and delish food. ( FYI, this post is brought to you by some very tempting Merlot). There's a good chance that I think this post is interesting for that very reason.
So day one, we climbed the st. Istavan Basilica ( we tend to climb a lot) and did a 3 hour free tour of the city( seem to do a lot of that as well!). The guide was Hungarian and very very proud of his culture. He was also full of business ideas that we could employ to make some money and kinda pay for our trip,; it mostly involved writing books, taking pictures and challenging locals on their urban legend skills of Hungary.
Couple of interesting things I learned!
1.Hungarian men were wussy and are controlled by the women. Although, if you can get the women liquored up, even the ugliest Hungarian dude would seem like a charming prince
2. They are super hospitable and pretty much let every invader stay for as long as they pleased.
3. Believe in Luck. There are statues all over the city that are supposed to bring luck to students and lovers. This includes whispering between the legs of the little prince and rubbing a horse's balls.
4. They have tons of thermal baths and no trip to Budapest is complete without a visit to the baths.
5. Hungarian men are "friendly". Hmm maybe, it was just us!
The high as far as I remember was 97 degrees and super humid too. So the roasting was in full session. Let's just say that I have some very interesting tan lines.
We ended the day with a Hungarian Dance Rhapsody and a dinner cruise. Hungarian dancing is mostly done in groups and involves a lot of jumping ( very folksy). After a thoroughly enjoyable dance concert( or dancert) we were taken to our ship for the cruise. Now, if you thought Budapest in the day was pretty you are in for a delight when you see the city in the night. So gorgeous! Although the food and wine did have a sleepifying effort on all of us towards the end of the night.
So day two I was fully prepared with an umbrella and a stole in case I had to mummify myself from the sun. Turns out, it wasn't necessary. The weather was pretty nice albeit a little bit too humid for me( Cali has clearly spoiled me). We visited "the hospital in the rock", the functioning nuclear bomb protected underground hospital during the world war. It was operational up until a few decades ago. The exhibition was pretty vivid complete with dummies to recreate the scenes. It also had some of the original equipment, surgical instruments and medical supplies.
Like I said before, a trip to Budapest is not complete without a trip to one of its numerous baths. Szechenyi, one of the larger ones was recommended to us. It was like Vegas except the architecture was amazing and the water thermal. I think I might have been cured of ailments I didn't know I had! Charu tried out the sauna and is a changed person. It was also really good for people watching; European and English kids( prolly just outta school or college), young couples, old couples, people playing chess in the water. You get the idea, if you don't ,check out the pics on fb.
And so here I am spending my last few hours in Budapest, blogging, sipping on a glass of wine and enjoying the sweet view from the roof.
Tom we head to Berlin. Our last stop on this trip.
Until next time
Much Love,
Sonali
We were off the train and on the station platform in Budapest and it reminded me a lot of India. It was hot, humid, and the taxi guys were on the platform trying to get passengers faster than their fellow cabbies. The ride to the hotel was short but scary (we hung on to dear life).
In my earlier post I had mentioned my cousin's awesomeness. We got upgraded to a suite overlooking the Danube complete with a bottle of wine. I don't know about you guys, but in my opinion that's a vacation right there! I feel like we've been spoiled these past few days with tasty nom noms and delish wine. The best part: we get access to the rooftop executive lounge with Panasonic views of the city, an open bar and delish food. ( FYI, this post is brought to you by some very tempting Merlot). There's a good chance that I think this post is interesting for that very reason.
So day one, we climbed the st. Istavan Basilica ( we tend to climb a lot) and did a 3 hour free tour of the city( seem to do a lot of that as well!). The guide was Hungarian and very very proud of his culture. He was also full of business ideas that we could employ to make some money and kinda pay for our trip,; it mostly involved writing books, taking pictures and challenging locals on their urban legend skills of Hungary.
Couple of interesting things I learned!
1.Hungarian men were wussy and are controlled by the women. Although, if you can get the women liquored up, even the ugliest Hungarian dude would seem like a charming prince
2. They are super hospitable and pretty much let every invader stay for as long as they pleased.
3. Believe in Luck. There are statues all over the city that are supposed to bring luck to students and lovers. This includes whispering between the legs of the little prince and rubbing a horse's balls.
4. They have tons of thermal baths and no trip to Budapest is complete without a visit to the baths.
5. Hungarian men are "friendly". Hmm maybe, it was just us!
The high as far as I remember was 97 degrees and super humid too. So the roasting was in full session. Let's just say that I have some very interesting tan lines.
We ended the day with a Hungarian Dance Rhapsody and a dinner cruise. Hungarian dancing is mostly done in groups and involves a lot of jumping ( very folksy). After a thoroughly enjoyable dance concert( or dancert) we were taken to our ship for the cruise. Now, if you thought Budapest in the day was pretty you are in for a delight when you see the city in the night. So gorgeous! Although the food and wine did have a sleepifying effort on all of us towards the end of the night.
So day two I was fully prepared with an umbrella and a stole in case I had to mummify myself from the sun. Turns out, it wasn't necessary. The weather was pretty nice albeit a little bit too humid for me( Cali has clearly spoiled me). We visited "the hospital in the rock", the functioning nuclear bomb protected underground hospital during the world war. It was operational up until a few decades ago. The exhibition was pretty vivid complete with dummies to recreate the scenes. It also had some of the original equipment, surgical instruments and medical supplies.
Like I said before, a trip to Budapest is not complete without a trip to one of its numerous baths. Szechenyi, one of the larger ones was recommended to us. It was like Vegas except the architecture was amazing and the water thermal. I think I might have been cured of ailments I didn't know I had! Charu tried out the sauna and is a changed person. It was also really good for people watching; European and English kids( prolly just outta school or college), young couples, old couples, people playing chess in the water. You get the idea, if you don't ,check out the pics on fb.
And so here I am spending my last few hours in Budapest, blogging, sipping on a glass of wine and enjoying the sweet view from the roof.
Tom we head to Berlin. Our last stop on this trip.
Until next time
Much Love,
Sonali
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