Day 3 - Budapest

 29 December 2024

The late finish to last night and the beers consumed mean that I don't wake as early as usual. After a few attempts, I finally get up around 10:30 and spend the next half hour trying to book a ticket for the thermal baths and fail miserably. It is a lot of effort and cost just to have a warm bath, so I think I'll give it a miss this time, and save that for another visit when I'm better prepared. After a session of yoga, checking out the metro route for tomorrow and working out on a plan for today, I finally get out the door at 12:00.

First stop is Vajdahunyad Castle, A bracing 3 km stroll. The thermometer is struggling to get over freezing again so I'm glad it wrapped up well with long johns and Arctic socks. I pause on routes to enter the opera house where they are showing The nuts cracker. There is a fair amount of activity and I get the impression that there is going to be some sort of teaser show in the lobby. After a short time it becomes clear that I've got this wrong, so before leaving I decide to have a look whether it's worth getting a ticket to watch the show. I don't do inaccurates calculation but prices starts around 100,000 HUF, which is about £200. Decision made for me. I continue my journey to the castle.

The hot air balloon I saw, from a distance, yesterday is clearly visible behind the castle where I get confirmation that it is tethered and is a very short ride for a lot of money. To the front of the castle is an enormous skating rink which is absolutely packed with people; it is a splendid winter sight.

here is no obvious entrance to the castle and some of it seems to have been given way to an agricultural museum so I content myself with a walk around the park lands around in the castle which is really pretty. 

A Christmas market has been set up in the grounds and I find a wonderful Hungarian sausage sandwich which has melted cheese as a base which is warmed up in a wood-fired oven before loading with salad and sausage and garlic sauce and it is gorgeous. One stall down. I find a hot wine vendor. The difference with this one is that they add rum to their wine and that is absolutely wonderful. So wonderful, in fact, that I head back for another.

With my belly full of warmth, I decide to head to St. Stephen's Basilica or Szent Istvan as they pronounce it here. On the way I passed through Heroes Square which is quite impressive and stop to take the usual tourist photos. I turn to look down the Andrássy Utca, which is sort of a Paris type boulev


ard, and the setting son through the mist makes for an impressive photo.

I arrive at the Basilica and find a queue building up to enter. I find a notice far in to the queue that says tickets must be purchased in advance from the ticket office, which of course is nowhere near where I'm currently standing. I turn around and head to the ticket office to find an equally long queue. It is Sunday after all I suppose. So I give up my intent of visiting this attraction today and do what every sane bloke would do and head for the pub. I will visit the Basilica tomorrow, but for now I am settled in the Shadow BÁR where they have IPA on offer. I am happy.

My search for somewhere suitable to dine tonight. Takes quite a while and I end up choosing the Thai restaurant next door! The Thai Spicy 9 Original is very nice and the staff are pleasant and not overly attentive. I choose tom yum soup for starters and a yellow curry for main course. It's a wise choice taking the yellow curry as it is not so hot as the red or green. The tom yum soup is very spicy and I soak up three napkins mopping my head. This is something that's always happens when I eat spicy food and was great source of amusement for waiters in a Thai restaurants I used to go to many years ago.

I have to vacate the apartment by 10:00 in the morning so I do the sensible thing and just have one more beer before heading back. I choose a large glass of popcorn IPA in the Beer House, which is very nice as is the ambiance of the bar. It is noticeable that darts is very popular in Hungary as it seems to be on TVs in every bar I've been in so far.

Restricting myself to one beer after dinner I then head back to the apartment and I'm ready for a deep sleep by 11:00.