Budapest, Bratislava & Vienna (Xmas!)

Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna - it was indeed the most wonderful time of the year!

Left: At Budapest Christmas markets
Right top: Presidential Palace at Bratislava
Right bottom: Ambling around Vienna

When some wise old person said make hay when the sun shines! Ha ha! Words have never been truer in the cold cold days in Eastern Europe, where the few hours of sunshine were more than welcome. 

Moving back to a mundane evening in September and in a complete rush of madness we planned a week in Eastern Europe and were to fly out just 20 days after returning from a 15 days long trip in Chile. The main hope was to see the famous Christmas markets. And with that I found myself stuffing our four carry-on bags with thick socks, sweaters and all the warm clothes I could find to combat the freezing temperatures coming up. 

Day 0 - Rain rain go away (like really)!

It was the day we drove from San Diego to Los Angeles for our flight and boy did it rain or what. It was like the skies were weeping, moping, everything at the same time. In all the madness we drove our rental over and soon were at the American Airlines kiosk for confirming our details. 

Jolly at Jolly Apartment!😀

Day 1 - Merry Christmas! 

To optimize ticket costs, we flew out on Christmas eve and for my two ‘nice’ kids, Santa made his reindeer dash up in the air while the kids slept on the flight from LA to London (honestly, I think it was an easier delivery - sky to sky)!! :) Amongst whoops of glee and joy, we transited through Heathrow, London and soon were on our flight to Budapest.

Fun fact - Budapest is actually made of two cities, Buda and Pest each flung on two sides on the pretty river Danube. 

It was early evening when we reached Budapest, but it was already dark outside and we took a Bolt Taxi to our Airbnb, Jolly apartment (a one room apartment which sleeps four with a kitchen) - our abode for the next few days to come. The apartment being very well located in the Jaszai Meri ter area, a stone's throw from tram & bus lines, and a walking distance from the Parliament and the Liberty Bridge. 

Information - best to avoid hailing a cab from the curb. Uber works or the local app is Bolt is preferred and works really well. Bolt has plenty of taxis plying both in Buda and Pest. 

Thrill in our bones, we turned our necks around to soak in the beauty of Budapest as we crossed a beautifully lit Christmas market and the giant ferris wheel there. We had flown in on Christmas day and anticipating that we won't find much open, we had carried some instant noodles which made a warm welcoming dinner on our first night in Budapest. With that we picked 'our sides of the bed' and were slumbering before long. Of course, jetlag played it little games, but long long ago we had learnt to combat it (see Greece blog). 

Day 2: Ho-ho-hop to Christmas Markets

Boxing day and my beloved DH thought like in the States, life (restaurants, cafes) would all be open and functional. Quite a shock when we walked a fair few blocks around to find everything closed. Luckily a small grocery store was open, and we picked some nicknacks, paired those with the pancake mix we'd carried from home and finally brunched at our Airbnb. 

Truly a 'merry' Christmas

Bellies full and souls happier now, we set out again to visit St. Stephen Basilica in Buda. And lo and behold, in front of it dotted the square the prettiest of all Christmas market, something DH had been going gaga about. Each shop was like a picture postcard selling wares of all kinds - quills, music boxes, soaps, handmade choclates and cheese, Christmas ornaments of all kinds and what nots. Aromas of mulled wine, eggnog with whiskey, hot chocolate mixed with wafts of sausages and Hungarian specialty Langoshes (pizza like, just the base is fried) made our noses twitch! 😂

Information - Christmas markets do tend to be rather expensive. Also, paying in cash might get you an occasional discount.

We each let our inner shopper loose as we trotted from shop to shop and pocketed stamps with ornate letters, a music box, pencils, magnets and a Christmas ornament version of a saint. Hungry or not, the aromas around got the better of us and before long we were all munching pork with potatoes and a mile long hotdog with Hungarian sausage, washing it all down with mulled wine.  

Left: Bird's eye view of Budapest
Right: On top of the Basilica

Being a special day the Basilica was closed to the public until 1:00 p.m. and so a little after 1, we made our way back up the steps with the crowds to visit the Hall of the Basilica. Being a special day, it was free for all to enter. A wonder of history, this basilica was built about a 1000 years ago after the first King of Hungary, King Stephen; though this site was first reserved for animals fights but over the years and with public fund-raising today's church came into being. And as promised, it was majestic with a very high ceiling with every inch covered with scenes from the Bible, marble pillars and a calm quietness. We sat down as crowds around moved in every direction marveling.   

Left: St. Stephen Basilica
Right: Manger with dolls

Back outside, we made our way to the ticket office (next to the Starbucks on the next street) as we planned to go to the top of the dome as well. Choosing the elevator over the winding stairs up, we got off at the first elevator stop and walked onto a display of all kinds of interpretations of the manger/birth of Jesus. Dolls, buttons, woodwork, ornate paintings, Christmas ornaments - each depiction as unique as the next. 

With that we went up a crazy number of metallic stairs which took us finally to the very top and to the thin balcony around the top on the dome. A bird's eye view welcomed us as the beautiful city of Budapest spread around us in all directions. And what a view it was - Christmas markets, leading to the streets of Buda, leading to the Danube with its bridges and finally Pest beyond. It was lovely! While coming down we chose the winding stairs which twirled and twirled all the way back. 

Chain Bridge

Next, we walked across to the Szechenyi Chain Bridge - one of the eight bridges connecting Buda to Pest. It was fairly cold (around -1C) by the time we got there and all balaclavas, gloves deployed we walked all the way across to Pest and back. Despite the freezing temperatures, the bridge was milling with people - bless the brave humankind! 😆 We strolled a little along the Danube itself before making it back to the Yellow Tram Line 2 and rode all the way back to the final stop, Jaszai Meri ter and walked back the 2 minutes to our apartment. Dinner was from a local Turkish eatery - Felafel Plate and chicken and rice. Budapest (and I believe most parts of Europe) are dotted with these Doner Kebab places and offer cheaper, yummy and quick solution for meals. With that we called it a night to a very happy day!

Day 3 - 10 miles through the Quant Bratislava

Choo-Choo on Euro City

Eagerness buzzing breakfast was homemade pancakes, as we all made our way to the Nyugati Train Station in Budapest to board our 8:12 a.m. train to Bratislava. Coming from the States, it wasn't every day that we went aboard the choo-choo-train. Our tickets didn't come with reservations but lucky for us we found ourselves seated in the right section. Reading, chatting, laughing and nibbling butter toasts with ham (Abesh lived on his protein bars) we chugged along. Leafless trees and the cold Hungarian countryside waved back at us and before long we were in Slovakia where the landscape was much greener with an occasional beautiful architecture. 

Information - if your tickets don't have automatically assigned seat numbers look where the seat numbers are written and grab a seat which says e.g., 'XYZ - ABC' as those are anyway reserved for passengers to ABC (in our case, ABC was Bratislava). We learnt this from our ticket checker. Also, each country as its own ticket checker who check your tickets so be prepared to share them a few times over. 

Left: Michael's Gate
Right: Statue of Cumil

We reached Bratislava a little after 10 and with started our 10 miles walk around the city. We walked along buildings which held sad scars from the wars of the past and soon were at the gates of the Bratislava Presidential Palace. A few clicks and we continued our walk to the Old Town where a family of locals were singing with a cute kid almost screaming along while playing a small guitar. Our first halt was at the Micheal's gate, a more than 700 years old gate and the only surviving one too. Of course, it has been reconstructed and painted a fair few times over and there it stood towering above the Old Town. We ambled along the cobbled streets looking at the little stores, beautifully carved buildings from centuries ago and the whimsical statues. We stopped for a click at the Statue of Cumil, showcasing a man coming out of a manhole, demonstrating political changes and the fun temperament of the city.  

Left: Halusky (Slovak national dish)
Bottom right: Traditional bean and meat soup

Tummies rumbling and letting Rupkatha take the lead, we made our way to a restaurant called Grand Mother's to try local specials. Rupatha ordered their traditional chicken soup, I their traditional bean with smoked meat soup and DH and Abesh shared the beef goulash. DH also ordered a Halusky (gnocchi like dumplings served with sheep cheese, bacon and sauerkraut) - also the national dish of Slovakia. The latter was delicious no doubt, just lots of flour and cheese.

Left: world war scarred buildings
Right top & bottom: Bratislava Palace

Walking some more on the cobbled streets and we were once again crossing some war-scarred buildings as we made our way to the Bratislavasky Hrad, the Bratislava Castle. The building one visits today started in the 9th century A.D. as the castle stands overlooking the reiver Danube; however, the site itself has remained inhabited since 3500 B.C. with some of the ruins still there. The children played at the little park there as DH and I walked along the walls looking down at the pretty Bratislava below us. It was somewhere in the sub-zero temperatures by then and we decided to walk the 30 minutes back to the station to wait for our next train.

Dinner was Doner kebabs from a hole-in-the-wall place at the Station itself with some very interesting coffees from the Nestle vending machine. DH braved the Latte with Irish Cream, and I experimented with some alcohol flavored Cappuccino, while the kids enjoyed their hot chocolates. Soon we were all seated in our 'regional' train and made the quick hour's journey to Vienna, Austria. Our abode was the Hotel Gabrial - a decent, family friendly hotel with a big breakfast. 

Left: Votive Church
Top right: Gardens at the Schonbrunn Palace
Bottom right: Stained glass at Votive Church

Day 4 - Yet another 10-er in the Wonderful Wien 

Our day began with drinking strong cups of coffee and storming through the breakfast, before taking a bus and a metro all the way to the Schonbrunn Palace, a colossal UNESCO world heritage site with close to 1500 rooms. Unfortunately, the tickets were all sold out for the day (history loving Rupkatha almost cried) but came to our saving was the beautiful bubbling Christmas market on the Palace grounds. The kids cheered up as they went on the little Ferris Wheels a few times over and disappointments lay forgotten thereon. We walked around Palace Grounds and came across a rather interesting garden filled with huge metallic flowers - whimsical artists I must say! 

Now our day in Vienna was the coldest we faced in our trip, and it was like a -3C as we walked around. Next, we visited the Votivkirche (Votive Church). Built in the 1800s as a token of thanks for a failed assassination of the then Emperor F Joseph I, it stands in its tall grandeur, intricate carvings, ornate stained-glass paintings and perfect symmetry of the two towers. 

Top: Maria Theresa Monument
Bottom: Belvedere Palace

It was very cold, and moods a little deflated when DH had the brilliant idea of taking us all the good ol' McDonalds for comfort food and most of all a much-needed heated environment for some time. Coffees, burgers, salads wolfed down and now much more cheerful, we were once again out on the streets of Vienna. We walked around the famous Ringstrabe street crossing the Parliament building, the Burgtor (the Palace gates) and the Maria Theresa Monument. Vienna is brimming with history, and we did feel the pinch of not knowing it well or at all (and vowed to take a guided tour the next time we're here 😉).

Everywhere we looked, beautiful buildings dotted the skyline as we made our way to the final place - Belvedere Palace where we were to visit the Lower House museum. Built in the 1600s as a summer palace for the then Prince Eugene of Savoy, the palace, grand gardens and the intricate sculptures of mythological figures attract tourists from all over the world today. A cheery Christmas market adorned the grounds there as well. We lost time as thanks to the lack of signs we stood in the queue for entering the Upper House but luckily made it to the Lower House eventually. DH and the kids visited the museum and reviewed that it was just about okay and nothing extraordinary. We strolled around the Christmas market a bit, noticing that unlike the markets in Budapest which sold more of wares, the ones in Vienna had more of food and drinks stalls (can't blame them at a feel-like -4C almost).  

Vienna Central Station

Shopped a few nick-nacks from a store opposite the Belvedere Palace, we hopped onto the tram one last time and made it to the Vienna Central Train Station. Succumbing to inner callings we went for comfort foods and dinner was chicken noodles, tofu fired rice, sushi, curry wurst and a sandwich with the fattest ham slice I've ever seen (the last two being Vienna local grubs). All this from different outlets at the food court there! 

Information - the station (like most big stations in Europe) has many entrances. The one the tram dropped us at was just a place which led to all the platforms alright. We had to come out, turn right and walk for 2 minutes before we got to the main place with all the shops and restaurants and the food court. 

With that we boarded our train to journey the 3 hours back to Budapest. Some more reading, chatting and laughing ourselves silly over mindless card games - life was warm and beautiful on the cold evening! 

Fun fact - our seats were reserved in the Family section (of course). There was also a compartment called the silent zone with sour and forlorn looking people. Things we humans come up with! 😂

Day 5 - Some Oops, and yet Some More Miles! 

Left: Buda castle
Top right: Just Tram'ming'
Top bottom: Shoes on the Danube Bank

Poor Abesh succumbed to all the walking, cold, time change and something unknown and was completely under the weather. So of course, Abesh and I stayed in while Rupkatha and DH went out to explore Budapest some more and walked another whooping 8 miles. A gleeful Rupkatha was also awarded with her favorite Chimney cake for all her hard work and vigor. 

They hiked all the way up to the Buda Castle, the Fisherman Bastain and visited probably the saddest place in Budapest - Shoes on the Danube Bank, where 60 pairs of iron shoes represent and pay homage to those killed next to the Danube in the world war holocaust. 😔

They went up and down the Yellow Tram Line 2 that plies up and down next to the Danube. Before long they were back at our Airbnb, and I bundled Abesh up with layers after layers as we went out for our next adventure - a river cruise on Danube. 

Top: Lit Budapest from the Cruise
Bottom: Hungarian Dinner

We had chosen Danube Legenda to be our ride for the hour-long cruise. Of course, the evening and night skyline are very popular, so we chose a 4:20 p.m. to get some glimpses while light still lingered and soon gave away to a beautifully lit Budapest all around us. Sipping our welcome drinks (Dh and I chose Hungarian red wine, Rupkatha iced tea and Abesh their apple juice), we listened to their audio guide (it was mostly the kids listening really intently) as DH and I scampered about to get the best clicks of the gorgeously lit Budapest all around. 

Before long the hour had passed by, and the beautiful moments had trickled by. Seeing Abesh still coping up, we decided to brave dinner at a Hungarian restaurant DH and I had noticed while walking earlier that evening. We trailed back and were soon being seated at upper floor at Lesco and what a fantastic dinner it was. Our table groaned under the goulashes of all sorts - pork, beef, veal and even deer, yet another local specialty - chicken paprikash (chicken cooked with pepper, though it wasn't spicy at all) and Hungarian Nokeldi (little gnocchi like dumplings); all washed down with their vanilla sponge cake with sour cherries, chocolate sauce and cream. If you're in the area, find this gem and grab a bite here if you can. 

With that we called it a night and were soon home! 

Left: Grand Central Market
Right: Grave of Szent Margit

Day 6: Indoors! 

Poor Abesh fell even more sick and poor Rupkatha finally set up the white flag after 3 straight days of walking - with that it was time for the kids and mommy to stay at home the whole day. But who can keep DH in! Soon he was out exploring Budapest yet some more and got us back lunch from yet another local Turkish eatery - more doner kebab and dolmas! 😀 

He visited the Margeret bridge and the Margeret Island and did speak highly of it as it was less touristy and seemed more for the locals with soccer fields and illuminated parks. He visited the Grave of Szent Margit and ruins from the Medieval times. He also trooped to the Grand Central Market where more Christmas shops welcomed him. And that was pretty much our day 6 in Budapest! 

Day 7: Bounce Back!

After a day of complete rest, both kids bounced back. DH had won the war of standing in line at the parliament despite the freezing cold of feel-like -6C and managed to get us tickets for a 11:30 a.m. tour at the National Parliament. 

Information: We found most places to be booked out of all tours and entrances tickets some being sold out as ahead as 4 weeks. I strongly recommend planning way ahead - which is hard I know but it's needed. Additionally, the Parliament in Budapest opens at 8:00 a.m. for a few minutes to sell a few lucky tickets for the day and that was our last bleak hope and DH managed those on his second attempt. 

Left: Budapest Parliament
Top right: VR time!
Top bottom: Coffee with Wine :)

We were to check out that morning from our Airbnb and spend the last night at the hotel called, Hotel SUW Magazine (just 10 minutes from the Basilica). We dropped our suitcases at the hotel and took a Bolt taxi to the Parliament (of course you can walk or take the bus, but with one recovering kid we knew better than to push it). We were a little before time, sat at the Parliament Cafe and I absolutely must mention their coffee with wine with whipped salted buttery cream on top - it was unique, delicious and perfect for beating the cold! 

Soon we were dropping our coats at the concierge (thanks to Rupkatha for the great idea) and picking the audio guides as we joined our group to walk thru the Parliament. I don't have words to describe - it was majestic, kingly and as grand as it can get - it was art, sculpture, architecture, engineering at its very best! We walked past the stairs kept only for Presidents and kings, the Holy crown of Hungary and finally the grand room where sessions take place. Oohing and aahing we made it to the exhibition at the end! Rupkatha had noticed a VR ride at the entrance and we sported her. She was soon wearing a funny thing on her head and laughing away as the VR took her on a hot air balloon ride over the Parliament! 

At Fisherman Bastian

Lunch was at a restaurant opposite the Parliament, Pick Bistro and Langosh. Soon we were speeding through their smoked salmon Langosh, Hungarian special (bacon, sheep cheese and onion) Langosh and beef goulash soup. It was all delicious and these langoshes will remain a favorite for a long time to come. Abesh was much better after the hot meal, and so we walked over to the banks of Danube and crossed the Szechenyi Chain Bridge one more time. Not wanting to hike up, we hailed yet another Bolt Taxi and were soon at the Fisherman Bastian following Abesh's request. A part of the Buda castle, the Bastian itself is a UNESCO world heritage site and is more than 400 years old owing its interesting nomenclature to the fact that it was built for those living next to the river Danube. And it was a place from a fairytale, complete with towers and turrets where you could almost hear the neigh of knight's horse or the distant laughter of a princess. It was like traveling through time as we walked through the towers and turrets. 

Reminding of the modern day, there was a DJ (wearing a balaclava, which tickled the funny bone in Rupkatha 😀) playing loud dance music brewing the party for the 31st night. We made our way to the eating section of the Christmas market where more mulled wine and hot chocolates followed. Holding the warm cups in our hands and against our ice-cold cheeks, we let a Budapest evening enthrall once last time. 

Icing!

With that we were back at our hotel and marveled at all the lights as the taxi took us through the Pest, on the chain bridge and back to Buda. DH stepped out to visit the Christmas market at the Basilica one last time and got us back dinner of Hungarian sausages with rice and potatoes and a pistachio chimney cake. He was lucky to see light show against the Basilica as well. Just when we thought we'll call it a night, Rupkatha's wish came true and it started snowing! ❄❄ Within a few minutes the landscape was sprinkled with the softest purest whites and the kids were brimming with glee as they went out throwing snowballs at each other and touching the snowflakes with their tongues - what a wonderful end to our time here in Budapest, we literally got the white icing on the cake. 😍

Unfortunately, the hotel was a bit of disappointment - but we managed to get some sleep! 

Day 8: Curtain Fall!

We all woke up at 3:45 a.m. to be at the airport by 5:00 a.m. to catch our early morning flight. The airport was already busy with people flying back after the holidays. Breakfast was croissants and local Hungarian walnut bread DH has picked the night before. 

Of course, more than plenty remained to be explored not just in Budapest, Bratislava & Vienna but in Hungary, Slovakia and Austria too. Each with our plans to return one day, we bid adieu this time on! 

Some facts:

Currency: Euro (but prices are mostly written in Hungarian Forint, HUF)

Language: Hungarian, English 

Cash/card: it's almost 100% card (we did the entire trip cashless) but having some cash might be useful in the Christmas market bargain or at an occasional coin only paid restroom. 

Supermarket: Spar, Lidl, local grocery stores