Budapesting: Part 1

The write-up of my fabulous mini-break in Budapest is long overdue: I have been somewhat weighed down with marathon preparations (which I will hopefully write a post about this coming week!) so I have barely cast my mind to my travel plans. There's lots of good stuff to come, though: I'm headed to Las Vegas next month!

But first, Budapest...

Now that the tempestuous years of my adolescence are over, my mother and I have a great relationship - I am very lucky. I respect and look up to my mum immeasurably, even though we are very different people; I am glad to have her in my life.

So when she pitched the idea of a mini-break in a European city, I of course jumped into action, booking the air bnb and planning our days! We went away together to Barcelona a few years ago, and it was one of the best holidays of my life; most of what I remember was sitting out on various terraces (we went in October, but the weather was still blissfully, envelopingly warm) eating delicious tapas and drinking Sangria. I was keen for a part 2 of our Thelma-and-Louise-esque adventures! 

Just as when we went to Tenerife, my mum prefers a much more laid back, pampering style of holiday, whilst I find half the fun in planning adventures and ticking off landmarks; so although I loosely plotted our route through the city, I was periodically reminded that, as it was our Mother’s Day weekend trip, we would mostly just be going off my mother’s whims!

I met Mum at a hotel near Gatwick, the night before our flight, powering straight from work, every sinew buzzing with excitement. 

The good thing about living and working in London is that you’ll meet people from all over the place, and I was lucky enough to have friends from that part of Hungary who gave me lots of tips and tricks for Skint Budapesting! Despite her insistence that we were going to play it fast and loose with the planning, Mum had bought a Lonely Planet guide, and marked a few of the restaurants, landmarks and ruin bars on the map! By the time we got to the airport, we were already desperately impatient to touch down! 

After making it through the anxiety-inducing stare-down that is Gatwick security, we had a few hours to kill in departures, so we went for brunch the same place we had gone pre-Tenerife - Armadillo.

Armadillo is a wonderful little spot overlooking the sprawling departures shopping area of the North terminal. Serving up Mexican-style dishes and super-friendly service: I would recommend the English muffins with avocado and pico de gallo, and the eponymous Armadillo juice, a delicious mix of citrus fruits. 

Off we go!

We flew with EasyJet - a flight that would have been a lot smoother without the incredibly drunk, sweary and raucous stag do party seated all around us! 

We flew over the city of Budapest before circling back round to land at the airport, some way out from the city.

Even draped in grey, the silver spires of the Danube and the solemn green of the twisting Danube took on a glittering majesty, and Mum squeezed my hand excitedly.

The Danube from the air

By the time we arrived at our air bnb, it was late evening, and we were too exhausted to do much - not exclusively because we had climbed six sets of stairs, without realising that there was a lift that would take us and our luggage to our floor! 

We soon settled into our little flat, checking out the cool contemporary decor, and the view of the streets and river from our balcony! The tall, ornate buildings, dropping sheerly to the cobbled streets down below, reminded me acutely of Paris, and the streets leading down to the Seine.

The view from our room

Even though it was already dusk, we decided to go for a wander along the riverbank. Our apartment was on the Pest side of the river, so we were first struck by the incredible illuminated Buda bank: with the glittering Buda Castle and grand suspension bridges. We walked past Gellert hill, an unfathomably tall black shadow against the charcoal sky, topped by the bright Liberty statue.

Night time adventures!

We also stopped off at a mini-supermarket to stock up on a couple of air bnb essentials: Water, wine, brioche, yoghurt, orange juice and toilet roll! A great tip for Skint travelling, wherever you go, is to buy a couple of basics to cover at least one meal a day - then you won't feel guilty about splurging on dinner!

When we got back to the room, the jet lag and the long walk hit us all at once, and we happily collapsed into bed. Our mattress wasn't exactly the most luxurious, in fact it was pretty thin - I had a definite Princess-and-the-pea moment that first night! But we had read quite a few reviews, and apparently the Spartan-style matress is part of the authentic Hungarian experience, so we went with it! 

Cloudy morning

After a chill breakfast on the balcony, we headed out for our first full day of exploring the city. The early-morning clouds made for a beautiful view from the Elizabeth bridge, as we crossed over from Pest to Buda. We could see our target for the day: the elegant dome of Buda palace, atop Castle Hill. 

Climbing the hill

We found an escalator, shielded from the wind by a bronze barrier, that we later found in our Lonely Planet guide suggested as "the route the locals use" - a great SKINT BUDAPESTING TIP! Especially if you're not that fussed about paying for the funicular railway! One reason this was a great discovery was that it was ever so quiet, but as soon as we reached the top of the hill, we found ourselves surrounded by tour groups. Different languages were being shouted, umbrellas and flags toted as homing-beacons - it felt like the Hungarian equivalent of Trafalgar Square! At least we knew we were in the right place: this was where the sights were at.

Castle Hill Adventures

The views from the top of the hill were spectacular (although rivaled by Gellert Hill the next day - SPOILERS!) but the charm of the district lays in its architecture; from the baroque dome to the colourful, cobbled streets.

Being the beginning of March, we had planned to visit either the National Gallery, or the Museum, which both lay within the castle complex. However, we were beyond blessed with the weather; The clouds soon broke apart to reveal a crisp, cold sunshine.

We stopped for a quick coffee, then got exploring - the highlight of the district, for us, was the Fisherman's Bastion, with its beautiful decorative church, and stone towers straight out of a fantasy novel!

Fisherman's Bastion

We then headed away from the river, and explored the winding streets. SKINT TIP: If the weather is nice, there's nothing stopping you from doing this all day - take a a picnic and eat it outside the Museum of Military History, as there's a pleasant green space overlooking the ruins of an old chapel, and Chinese cannons dating back centuries! 

Streets of Castle Hill

It's also worth stopping to browse around the numerous markets on the hill. They sell everything from paprika (powdered gold!) to ornate lace creations. As it was winter, perhaps, they also sold many Budapest-themed scarves and hats, and if I hadn't been SKINT Budapesting I would've absolutely splurged on a full set of woolies!

After we had explored as much of the Castle district as possible, we headed back down the hill - stopping to admire the funicular railway from the bridge halfway down.

The Funicular

We crossed the Chain Bridge, back over to the Pest side of the city, and went in search of food. Our coffee buzz had worn off by this point, and we were getting peckish!

I am lucky, where I live and work, to have friends from all over the globe, and more than one from that particular part of Europe! So Mum and I had marked a few restaurants on the map that we had checked out in advance.

Crossing the Chain Bridge

The one closest to us was called Vak Varju, and was recommended by my friend Hana (credit where credit's due!!) As this would be our first big meal out, we wanted to go somewhere where we could sample authentic Hungarian food in a friendly atmosphere, and Vak Varju definitely delivered! We had thick, filling, paprika-heavy goulash, with bread, and mulled wine in giant mugs.

Vak Varju

We headed back to our apartment - but on the way we passed more iconic Budapest sights, like the State Opera House and St Stephen's Basilica. The latter made an imposing silhouette against the light evening sky. We walked back along the river, as the setting sun began to wash everything with pale gold.

Beautiful Buildings and Bridges

When we got back to the apartment, we were so tired from a full day of walking that it was all we could do to curl up with Netflix's 'Grace & Frankie'  and get an early night, ready for more adventures tomorrow!

Part two coming soon!!

Char

xxx