Day 4 - Budapest

 30 December 2024

Kitti has advised me of a luggage storage facility not too far from the apartment which will save me lugging my backpack around Budapest all day. I take the full time to 10:00 to get myself ready to check out and then hit the streets for Budapest for the last day. Plan for the day is to visit the Basilica (eventually) and also Margaret Island (Magrit-Sziget) which I am told is very nice. Before I leave I book my Basilica tickets from Get Your Guide app, then I am out the door.

First of all I have to leave my bag. The luggage storage place is a bit tricky to find and I end up practically having to climb through some scaffolding to find it and it seems I'm the only customer. I hope they have a lot more. I'd hate to think a service like that would be missed out, especially. I see so many people dragging suitcases around around Budapest in here and enjoy yourself. Now I am free of luggage. Decide it's time for breakfast. I find the very pleasant RedN' cafe and have some scrambled eggs and ham and a nice cup of tea there. It's -2° C, but somehow it seems like a good idea to sit outside

Just breaking up the page!!

With my stomach now satisfied for the time being. I make my way to the Basilica office to collect my tickets. Have been told that this is a simple bypass thing where you join a separate line for online voucher exchange. However, it's told bedlam this morning and nobody seems to know which queue to be in. The online queue doesn't seem to be moving at all with nobody going in but lots of people coming out and we get the impression that the the girl who eventually does the voucher exchange hasn't been there for some time. But in due course vouchers are exchanged and I can now move on in and bother God for an hour or so. As with all religious buildings of this type, the Basilica is very grand, very decorative and just demonstrates how much wealth the Catholic church has to be able to be able to afford things like this. 

I have gone for the all-in ticket which is a few pounds extra but gets access to the treasury and also the rooftop. But it's not quite the rooftop but the rooftop terrace which gives you splendid views across City 360° f really quite spectacular.

My intent is to head straight across the river back to Buda and the other historical buildings I didn't see the other day. However, I'm lured by my new favourite drink mulled wine with rum so I lay out another few thousand HUFs and sit down for 15 minutes to let that warm me up.

The fisherman's bastion and ramparts are quite a cute piece of architecture. I'm not quite sure the reason but it's 1200 HUF to walk the ramparts which, for my money, just gives you 20 ft higher to see the views. You can walk alongside the ramparts and see the views equally well and not pay anything.

The church of Matthias another splendid building, but I decided God's had enough of me for one day. So I set off to explore the streets of Buda and hopefully find a decent pub. Interestingly, I find that Jamie Oliver has an Italian restaurant here, Which obviously has a cue to get in but the prices seem reasonably enough but I have a reservation elsewhere for later on so I'm not going to try it out. I'm sure J will understand.

Venturing further Buda repair feel itself to me as we just out of the hill that I'm standing on and then back down to lower ground again where the the district sprawls out a lot further than prepared to travel today. From the vantage point I have Buda does seem to be the poor relation to pest and definitely has a cold war look about it. That could be totally wrong but it does look a lot more grim from up here.

My search for a nearby pub comes up short and Google isn't offering any clues so I decided to head back to the decadent Pest (see what I did there?) with the intention of stopping at the last attraction on my list which is Margaret's Island (Margit-Sziget). En route I find the very cosy Polo Pub Angol Sörözö and pop in for some warmth and gassy Czech lager.

The very cosy Polo Pub Angol Sörözö

Margit-Sziget is a very peaceful oasis dividing the 2 regions of Budapest. I imagine that, in summer, the place will be jumping with locals and tourists alike but, for now it is a December evening and is partially asleep. It is only as am typing this that I realise I didn't take any pics!!

I realise I have almost forgotten the tip to try the Ruin Pubs and make my way there at haste! I'm not sure what I was expecting but it turns out to be a sort of Diagon Alley for drinkers. The lighting is low and provided by Christmas lights and every square inch of wall space is covered in graffiti.

The choice of bar doesn't make any difference in terms of price as they are all the same, just the beers are different. I have a Christmas IPA from one bar and an IPA whose name escapes me, from another. I time these perfectly for my next leg, which is to pick up my pack.

As I enter the storage facility, my bag is the only one visible. So, unless others came after and left before me, I have been the sole customer. The guy has made €8 all day, he really needs to revisit his marketing strategy!!

All I need to do now is saunter about a mile to my dinner reservation at VakVarjú restaurant. I haven't been able to assimilate today as a Monday as everywhere has been so busy. The restaurant is no exception and the maître'd turns away a constant stream of walk ins. The service here is excellent, I am offered a drink almost immediately and left alone for a decent time to make my choices. It does start to get a bit of a lengthy wait until my waitress asks if my guest is running late. I sadly explain that I am a solo traveller and receive a pitying smile!

The food is very nice. Not mind blowing but well cooked and well presented, with the excellent service I have mentioned. I start with a beef consommé, which is loaded with chunks of lean beef plus a couple of meatballs. I follow up with Cajun chicken served with quinoa, yoghurt and pak choi. Pleased with my dining experience, I decide to forego dessert and finish off with a cognac. This is as much to convince the staff I'm not scum and am actually a cultured gent, as it is as a digestif. The bill comes as a surprise - food, large beer, cognac and tip comes to approximately £28. An absolute bargain for the quality of the experience. Highly recommended, but make sure to book.

I have managed to kill over an hour and a half but it is still too early to hit the bus station. The Beer House is pretty much next to the metro station so I decide to pop in for a large Popcorn IPA, watch some darts and charge my phone. Completion of all of this puts me right on a good schedule for my bus so I head out into the night once more.

Public transport around Budapest is very simple. There is a tap on method of ticket purchase and the metro service is clean and plentiful. On getting off the train, I start to get Google maps out to find my way to the bus station, but see a direction arrow to the very same and, at the top of a flight of stairs, there it is. I don't even have to step outside.

I find the stop for my bus and settle down for a wait of around half an hour. During this time I quaff a can of beer from the 3 cans remaining in my pack. I am very happy to board the bus and find my allocated seat is top deck one behind the front and is a single seat. I set the recliner to a suitable position and shut my eyes in readiness for the 7 and a bit hours journey back to Prague and the last day of my trip.