For my first post of 2016 I'm getting around to posting about our Christmas holiday... 2 months late, oops! Our first destination was Budapest, Hungary. It was the second time we visited this city, and this time around I enjoyed it even more than the first. The first time we visited it was in January, and all the Christmas markets were shut down. This time around we got to enjoy the beautiful Christmas markets of Budapest, and I think they are among some of the best we've seen which was a bit surprising since we never heard much about them before, as they haven't been on the lists of top Christmas markets in Europe that I've read.
In Budapest we stayed at Hotel Gellert which was located on the "Buda" side of Budapest. You can reach it by crossing the Danube river from the Pest side on one of the bridges that goes over the river. The hotel was very close to the Liberty Bridge and directly adjacent to the tram and metro stops, so it was easy to go back and forth from Buda to Pest. We got upgraded to a huge suite with a balcony that had a great view of the Danube. The hotel also gave us a huge breakfast buffet. I would definitely recommend this place if you ever find yourself in Budapest! This historic hotel was also attached to the Gellert Baths, and we got one free entry to visit there. The Gellert Spa was much smaller than the Szechenyi Baths which we visited the last time we were in Budapest, but it was also very nice. It had tiled walls and fountains inside, with a few different hot and cold pools and a swimming pool which had waves in it as well. The hotel was also right on a street with lots of restaurants and bars.
The best thing in Budapest that we did was visit the Christmas market. There was a huge one at Vorosmarty Square which had tons of Hungarian food like chicken paprika, cabbage rolls, langos (fried bread), pork knee, mulled wine, and more!
In Budapest we did a free walking tour again since we were travelling with our friends MC and Scot who had never been there before. The tour took us to some of the best places in Budapest like Castle Hill and St. Stephen's Basilica. This time we went to the top of the basilica which had a great view of the city, but it was a lot of stairs! You could also take an elevator but with all the eating we were doing, we decided to huff it up the stairs!
We also visited the huge bath house Szechenyi again. I enjoy the warm pools which were around 37-40 degrees Celsius, but John was brave and tried several cold pools. I went in one which was 20 degrees and it was a huge shock. I didn't enjoy it but John did!
Right near Szechenyi at Heroes Square we discovered a massive skating rink. It is apparently the biggest outdoor skating rink in Europe. We tried to go there but the line was huge to rent skates, so we decided to have dinner first and then return later. We went to a traditional Hungarian restaurant called Bagolyvár and we ordered the set menu. I had pumpkin cream soup, turkey medallions with chestnut and quince, and a sponge cake for dessert. It was all very delicious! After dinner we went back to the skating rink and realized it had closed... oh well!
One new thing we did in Budapest this time was visit Országház, the Hungarian parliament building. You need to reserve tickets online which are a bit pricey compared to all the other tourist sites in the city, and the tour is only around 45 minutes, but it's a cool building and I'm glad that we went. We even got to see the crown jewels inside, but there were guards standing there and no photos allowed! After visiting the parliament we walked along the Danube and saw the memorial "Shoes on the Danube" which was quite beautiful but very sad, as it is a tribute to the Jews who were forced to strip naked, face the Danube, and die as a result of a firing squad in WWII, their shoes left on the bank and bodies swept away by the river.
One of my favourite places in Budapest which we visited last time and also this holiday was the ruin pubs called Szimpla Kert. Ruin pubs are all over the city and are basically bars that are in abandoned buildings. It seems like now Szimpla is a tourist attraction. There was actually a sign and a line of people waiting to get in, whereas three years ago the building was so nondescript. There was a tiny sign hanging there and it actually did look like an abandoned building still from the outside. You could have easily walked past it without knowing it was there. It was a bit disappointing that the place has become so popular and crowded, but I guess with the secret out more people can enjoy it. I found my favourite wine that we drank last time there. It's called Goncol and is quite sweet. We've looked all over the world for it and can only seem to find it at Szimpla Kert!
On one of our last days in Budapest, John and I visited the Central Market Hall which was a huge building full of souvenirs and food. It was great to walk around and check out all the vendors. I'd recommend going here if you're looking for souvenirs or something to do on a rainy day. While we were in Budapest it was foggy and misty weather for most of every day until the morning we left where the sun was out!
Re-visiting Budapest gave me a whole new appreciation for the city. It is one of my favourites in Europe for sure. I hope to go back again some day!
In Budapest we stayed at Hotel Gellert which was located on the "Buda" side of Budapest. You can reach it by crossing the Danube river from the Pest side on one of the bridges that goes over the river. The hotel was very close to the Liberty Bridge and directly adjacent to the tram and metro stops, so it was easy to go back and forth from Buda to Pest. We got upgraded to a huge suite with a balcony that had a great view of the Danube. The hotel also gave us a huge breakfast buffet. I would definitely recommend this place if you ever find yourself in Budapest! This historic hotel was also attached to the Gellert Baths, and we got one free entry to visit there. The Gellert Spa was much smaller than the Szechenyi Baths which we visited the last time we were in Budapest, but it was also very nice. It had tiled walls and fountains inside, with a few different hot and cold pools and a swimming pool which had waves in it as well. The hotel was also right on a street with lots of restaurants and bars.
The best thing in Budapest that we did was visit the Christmas market. There was a huge one at Vorosmarty Square which had tons of Hungarian food like chicken paprika, cabbage rolls, langos (fried bread), pork knee, mulled wine, and more!
In Budapest we did a free walking tour again since we were travelling with our friends MC and Scot who had never been there before. The tour took us to some of the best places in Budapest like Castle Hill and St. Stephen's Basilica. This time we went to the top of the basilica which had a great view of the city, but it was a lot of stairs! You could also take an elevator but with all the eating we were doing, we decided to huff it up the stairs!
We also visited the huge bath house Szechenyi again. I enjoy the warm pools which were around 37-40 degrees Celsius, but John was brave and tried several cold pools. I went in one which was 20 degrees and it was a huge shock. I didn't enjoy it but John did!
Right near Szechenyi at Heroes Square we discovered a massive skating rink. It is apparently the biggest outdoor skating rink in Europe. We tried to go there but the line was huge to rent skates, so we decided to have dinner first and then return later. We went to a traditional Hungarian restaurant called Bagolyvár and we ordered the set menu. I had pumpkin cream soup, turkey medallions with chestnut and quince, and a sponge cake for dessert. It was all very delicious! After dinner we went back to the skating rink and realized it had closed... oh well!
One new thing we did in Budapest this time was visit Országház, the Hungarian parliament building. You need to reserve tickets online which are a bit pricey compared to all the other tourist sites in the city, and the tour is only around 45 minutes, but it's a cool building and I'm glad that we went. We even got to see the crown jewels inside, but there were guards standing there and no photos allowed! After visiting the parliament we walked along the Danube and saw the memorial "Shoes on the Danube" which was quite beautiful but very sad, as it is a tribute to the Jews who were forced to strip naked, face the Danube, and die as a result of a firing squad in WWII, their shoes left on the bank and bodies swept away by the river.
One of my favourite places in Budapest which we visited last time and also this holiday was the ruin pubs called Szimpla Kert. Ruin pubs are all over the city and are basically bars that are in abandoned buildings. It seems like now Szimpla is a tourist attraction. There was actually a sign and a line of people waiting to get in, whereas three years ago the building was so nondescript. There was a tiny sign hanging there and it actually did look like an abandoned building still from the outside. You could have easily walked past it without knowing it was there. It was a bit disappointing that the place has become so popular and crowded, but I guess with the secret out more people can enjoy it. I found my favourite wine that we drank last time there. It's called Goncol and is quite sweet. We've looked all over the world for it and can only seem to find it at Szimpla Kert!
On one of our last days in Budapest, John and I visited the Central Market Hall which was a huge building full of souvenirs and food. It was great to walk around and check out all the vendors. I'd recommend going here if you're looking for souvenirs or something to do on a rainy day. While we were in Budapest it was foggy and misty weather for most of every day until the morning we left where the sun was out!
Re-visiting Budapest gave me a whole new appreciation for the city. It is one of my favourites in Europe for sure. I hope to go back again some day!
