On Friday afternoon we left beautiful sunny Dublin (no that is not a typo) for wondrous Budapest, arriving around 7PM. On the flight over we were surrounded by a group of young Irish women going to Budapest for a weekend 'hen party' (bachelorette party), and another group of young Irish men going to Budapest apparently for a weekend of general partying. With cheap airfares throughout Europe, this seems to be the 'in' thing to do. Luckily, it appeared that the two groups did not run into each other. ;^)
After checking into the hotel, we immediately headed for dinner at a charming and historic restaurant. As we dined we were serenaded by a traditional Hungarian gypsy band. From that point on, it was clear to everyone that we were no longer in Ireland ... that, along with the fact that all of the signs and billboards were completely incomprehensible!
First night dinner in BudapestOn Saturday morning we were given a tour of the magnificent Parliament building, which sits on the Danube River and is featured in almost all photographs of Budapest. Later in the morning, as the sun finally came out from behind the clouds, we boarded the bus for a comprehensive guided tour of Budapest. As you can see, we got some terrific photos.
Budapest, overlooking the Danube River
The rest of the day was devoted to general walking about, shopping and eating. Several of us sat in an outdoor cafe on the pedestrian 'Vaci Utca' (Vaci Street), and ate traditional Hungarian goulash along with traditional Hungarian pizzas ... well, the pizzas were perhaps a little less traditional .... but they did have paprika on them! I will tell you this: there is nothing more sublime that sitting on a pedestrian thoroughfare in an outdoor cafe on a beautiful day. It is the definitive 'European Experience'.
At the crack of dawn on Sunday morning (6AM), we caught the city bus to the train station, where we boarded the train for the 3-hour journey to Vienna.
Habsburg Palace, Vienna
We arrived in the incredible city of Vienna in mid-morning, and immediately boarded the subway to the center of town. There we were greeted by our guide Hebe ('Heebie'), a transplanted Scottish woman who has lived in Vienna for over 25 years. Hebe is a former schoolteacher, and I'll tell you, she was quite the taskmaster. We pounded the streets at a fast pace in the hot sun for the next 2 1/2 hours, seeing a number of famous sights in very short order: St. Stephen's Cathedral (340 steps to the top; several of us made the climb!), the Habsburg Palace, the Spanish Riding School (home of the Lippizaner Stallions), and a number of other spots, including several of Mozart's hangouts.
After Hebe released us from our death march ... I'm kidding ... she was a very good guide, and very informative ... Anyway, after our death march we stopped at an outdoor cafe right in the middle of the central Vienna for a bona fide Viennese lunch, which included wiener schnitzel, apple streudel, and sachertorte. After lunch we all scattered around Vienna, some visiting the St. Stephen's cathedral (and the 340 steps), others checking out the museums, and still others doing a little shopping ... although unfortunately most of the stores were closed on Sunday.
At about 7:30PM we took the subway back to the train station ('Westbaunhof'), and from there we caught the train back to Budapest. Incidentally the train was heading on to Bucharest Romania, so it would not have been a good idea to fall asleep and miss getting off the train!
We have a busy week ahead of us. Tomorrow morning we head to Central European University for lectures, followed by a trip to the Szichenyi Spa in the afternoon (Budapest is very famous for its thermal springs and spas). Tomorrow evening we will experience a boat cruise on the beautiful blue Danube River. To be perfectly honest, the river is not particularly blue, but on a nice evening we can certainly imagine it as such.
More later!
