Day 6 - More to see in this great city (Thursday 18th April 2024)

The morning was quite fresh again but the sky was clear. The wind this week has been mostly coming from the north-west, carrying a very icy chill with it. We’re in the lookout for a couple of beanies to try to keep the warmth in the scone. My leather, broad-brimmed akubra-style hat helps a lot but it’s not quite the appropriate fashion for this town and this time of year. Maybe that’s why the girls are always a few steps behind me?!

So we started the day with a visit to a store called Decathlon – an outdoors and sporting goods shop set up in an IKEA sort of way. Finding a beanie there was secondary as our mission was to find some thongs or flip-flops, if you please. We found the latter but not the former. Why would I be searching for thongs on a cold day in Budapest, I hear you say? All will be revealed later.

With great dismay we ducked into a nearby Starbucks. The dismay was not because we couldn’t find any beanies but because we were about to drink Starbucks coffee, if you can call it that. I remember the disappointment when we did the same in Postdamer Platz in Berlin in 2017. We only did that back then so we could use their facilities. This time it was actually for a coffee. Rest assured, it won’t happen again for another seven years. The coffee houses in Budapest are numerous and of very good quality. This Starbucks was just convenient.

Down Teréz Körút we walked looking for a Pharmacy so Emily could get something for the cold she had bought with her from Manchester. She’s been soldiering on so well under trying circumstances. With some assistance in her pocket we soon arrived at our first port of call for the day – the House of Terror at 60 Andrassy Ave. Those of you who know something about the Communist party control of Hungary might recognise the address. Others, like me, who did not, learned that it had been the headquarters of the AVH, the secret police arm of the ruling Hungarian Working People's Party in the People’s Republic of Hungary, a puppet government of the USSR. The AVH was modelled on and strongly influenced by the Soviet KGB. The brutality that occurred in that building and the fear and, as the name suggests, the terror that was struck into the hearts of the Hungarian people is something most of us can not begin to imagine. The final part of the 2.5hr tour which visited the cellars below the building where torture, depravity and murder took place. What we learned beggars belief. Folks, the things we protected Westerners see in movies and read in books are not the product of someone’s over-active imagination. Those things actually happen to real people and in the very recent past.

As well as the atrocities of the AVH, the exhibition painted a broad picture of life in general for the Hungarian people in the decades since the end of WWI up until that great day when “the wall” was breached and the Iron Curtain came down. Pardon me for sermonising, but for all those back home who complain about their lot, educate yourselves about how life was for people in countries like Hungary – a life they didn’t get to choose. Then sit back and compare that life with yours. I reckon I know which one you’d choose given the chance.

Time for a bit of light-hardheartedness. Time to put those thongs to good use. Turning left out of the House of Terror we headed to the far end of Andrassy Ave (not in our thongs!) where it meets Budapest’s City Park. A large and lovely park indeed with green lawns, huge mature trees (all in leaf now because we’re well into Spring), lakes and ponds, monuments and palaces and the famous Széchenyi Thermal Baths. Through the impressive entrance gate we marched and soon found the imposing building that houses the baths. Much of Hungary sits in the Carpathian Basin where the earth’s crust is quite thin. Consequently, the area is littered with hot springs bubbling up from the earth’s core. Public baths such as this one have been a feature of the lives of Budapest’s residents since the days when the Ottoman Turks ruled the land. The ornate Széchenyi baths were built in 1913. They’re the most well-known (and the most touristy, I suppose) but there’s a dozen others to choose from if you’re ever in Budapest and want to get some aquatic relaxation.

It’s BYO togs, towel, swimming cap (if you want to do laps) and, you guessed it, thongs! Thongs are mandatory footwear once inside the bathing facilities. Your entry ticket (27 Euros) provides access to all the pools and saunas and a private locker in the segregated, but open, changing areas. There a two very, very large pools separated by a large lap pool in the centre courtyard of the Baths. This is an outdoor aquatic experience, by the way, so a bit chilly when getting into the 30C water and really chilly when getting out! We lounged around in the first pool for 20 minutes letting the minerals do their job when Emily spied the second pool. Out we got and down there we headed with yours truly trying to look tough and not a bit cold. The water in Pool two is 38C and boy was it nice! Just like jumping into a warm bed on a freezing night. There we stayed for a further 30 minutes, I reckon, just watching the world float by!

A quick change back at the lockers and we left feeling refreshed and re-invigorated ready for the second half of the day. Our mission was to visit a park on the outskirts of Pest to sort of put a metaphoric full-stop on what we’d learned at the House of Terror. With Emily’s exquisite organisational and navigational skills we took subway trains, trams and a bus to get to our destination 10kms out of town. When the Communist regime toppled so too did most of the statues they’d erected to themselves, but not all. Some forward thinking people saved a couple of dozen of them and relocated them to Memento Park. Certainly not to glorify the regime but to remind the people of what the regime thrust upon them. I think there is a certain irony that the park is located way out in the boondocks far away from the heart of what is modern Hungary and that it is rather unkempt and in a state of disrepair, much in need of some TLC. The stone path of socialism winds it’s way from glorious monument to glorious monument in a series of conjoining figures of eight until it reaches a tall brick wall. At the brick wall there is no way forward. The visitor has no option but to do an about face and turn back to the place from whence he came – that path is straight and direct. That’s the beautiful message in this park. Memento Park barely rates in the guide books because it’s not an easy journey to get their and it ain’t pretty when you arrive. But neither was the thing it represents.

By now it was almost 5:00pm with one more thing to do. Back into town we went. Even way out in the boonies we waited for no longer than five minutes for the next bus then two minutes for the next train.

Have I mentioned how brilliant the Budapest public transport system is? The subway is modern and efficient and trains come every 2-3 minutes. All the main streets are serviced by an equally efficient and effective tram and bus network – take your choice! Interestingly, the Budapest subway came into being at about the same time as the London underground in the mid-nineteenth century. The original stations and the very short trains that provide the transport in between have a wonderful 19^th century feel about them. The newer stations are modern and way deeper underground and move masses of people efficiently. We loaded the BudapestGO app on our phones and purchased tickets via the app when we needed them. The ticket for today’s adventures was a 24hr travel card purchased for about AUD$8.00, while sitting on a park bench outside the Széchenyi baths, two minutes before we need them. We can use that ticket on any of the aforementioned transport systems until 3:00pm tomorrow - and we will.

Back in town I fired up Google and began to search for night cruises on the Danube. Believe me, there is no shortage of choice. The only possible issue was whether or not we could book one at this late hour – 90 minutes before our preferred time of 7:30pm. Strike one, on my first attempt. Home run on my second attempt. We even had time to stop for a beer at a micro-brewery located underground near St. Steven’s Basilica on our way down to the dock. When the boat cast-off dusk was well underway with night not yet here but fast approaching. All the cruise boats follow the same route up the river (thankfully!), starting at the docks near the Elisabeth Bridge, sailing past the Houses of Parliament, chucking a u-ey, sailing down way past the docks and then back home. It all takes about 60 minutes which is quite long enough especially for the silly people who choose to sit on the open-air top deck, like the Smiths. Man was it cold up there. Even the red wine in hand was like drinking a Shiraz straight out of the fridge. Despite the “hardship”, the cruise was a fun thing to do with my girls. As darkness fell, the river, the bridges and the city lit up as expected and the spectacle did not disappoint.

It had been another long, but fun, interesting and informative day. For the final act, Emily led us to a Middle-eastern style cafe (a small Budapest-born chain, called hummusbar) where we enjoyed a lovely, tasty and nourishing bit of “fast food” for dinner. Emily took a short walk home and we wound our way through the streets and lanes back to our hotel 15 minutes walk away.

 

Day 5 - Walking in the sunshine (Wednesday 17th April 2024)

What a difference a little sunshine makes! The sunshine and no rain presents this lovely city in a very different light. I guess the same could said for any and every city.

Last night Emily booked walking tour of Budapest. The tour is “free”. Just “donate” to the tour leader what you think it’s worth. A large group gathered at the statue of Queen Elisabeth of Hungary, known as “Sisi”. She is a much loved person amongst the Hungarian population having adopted the country as her preferred place of residence and then playing a part in the elevation of Hungary to a position of influence in the Austro-Hungarian empire in the mid-nineteeth century.

 

When all the expected guests had gathered at the meeting point we were split into two groups and off we went in different directions. Our leader was a local woman named Lara. She was energetic and cheerful. Having been doing this gig for 12 years she had the process down pat. The sun peaked through the clouds from time to time but the wind was still bitterly cold. My lightweight Macpac “puffer” jacket is doing a pretty good job. To her credit at every stop we made Lara found some sunshine to deliver her “lesson”. Over the next 2.5hrs we saw and learned about the important buildings, landmarks and events that took place in central Budapest, ranging from architectural perspectives to societal perspectives to political perspectives. I reckon I don’t really need to say this, but walking tours are the only way to get a good introduction to a new city.

 

The tour finished at the Hungarian parliament buildings, made in the likeness of the buildings of the English parliament in London but 2m longer! I gathered during our tour that Hungarians (well, Lara at least) take quite some pride in their country, their cities and their people being equal to or better than their contemporaries. It seems the first design requirement of the parliament building was that it had to be bigger than the English one! From here we wandered down to the Danube to get that iconic shot of said building, but it can’t really be done because you’re too close. We’ll get one from the river tomorrow.

Next on Emily’s free walking tour was a visit to the “castle district” on the Buda side of the river. To get there we walked across the famous Three Chain Bridge. Interestingly, the bridge is open only to pedestrians, two-wheeled vehicles, public buses and taxis. I must say it’s in very good nick. Can’t be too long ago that it received a fresh coat of paint. The “castle district” is dominated by Royal Palace which sits on the top of the escarpment that plunges sharply down to the Danube. The easiest way to get up the escarpment is by the ancient funicular, a short and very expensive (on a Euro/minute basis) but very handy option. At the top is the Royal Palace which has seen far better days. Indeed, it’s presently a hive of restoration activity having been neglected for such a long time after WWII and during the subsequent Soviet occupation. I’m sure that whenever it’s finished it will be another jewel in the Budapest crown but right now it’s essentially a construction site good mostly for the excellent views of the other side if the river back in Pest.

 

From here we visited the Matthias Church a few hundred meters along the ridge. It’s a lovely “little” church that has been standing on the site since the 11^th century although it doesn’t feel or look 1000 years old.

I suppose it has been rebuilt and renovated once or twice in that time! King and Queens have been coronated their and Popes have visited too so it’s pretty important to Budapest. Strangely, it’s not named after a saint, like just about every other Roman Catholic church I can think of, it’s formal name being the Church of the Assumption of the Buda Castle. We always like to spend 20 minutes just sitting in a quite place when walking around cities and town to have a rest and re-energise. You can’t beat the peace and quiet of a church for that!

It was getting towards the end of the day and the cold wind was still blowing strongly so we boarded the funicular for the journey back down to the river. From there we walked back to the Jewish quarter where Emily’s hostel is, dropped in on said establishment so she could offload some stuff and then proceeded 25m down her street to a really funky bar. Don’t know what it was called but it’s generic term is a “ruin” bar. It’s an old warehouse that’s been setup to look like an old warehouse but with a bar, more than one live music spot, old reborn chairs, tables and other furniture, real vegetation literally hanging from the rafters and colourful lighting all across multiple levels. We hand a couple of drinks and chatted with a lovely young chap from Basel in Switzerland for a while – we were sitting at “his” table, after-all – then proceeded to an Italian restaurant a few blocks away. As one would expect, the service and the food were both excellent as was the Chianti that accompanied the meal. We we in and out in an hour in between sittings which suited us and the establishment just fine. Out on the street we said goodnight to Emily and headed back for our hotel.

On the way home we wound our way down many streets and lanes past countless bars and restaurants that were still very much alive. At no time did we ever feel unsafe. Budapest has a really friendly, safe and comfortable vibe. We both really like it a lot.

Day 4 - Walking in the rain (Tuesday 16th April 2024)

I shut the lid on the computer when I’d wrapped up yesterday’s adventures at about 2:00pm and closed my eyes for a minute or two. At 6:00am this morning I woke up! Kerry was still sound asleep. She’s been that way since about midday yesterday. I could just hear the predicted rain beginning to fall outside the window so rolled over for another hour or so. By about 8:00am we were ready to tackle the day, starting with a coffee in the hotel lobby. Boy did it go down well!

I discovered yesterday that the Type C European plug adaptor I had bought with me was not going to work in this hotel as all the power sockets were for Type F plugs. The pins are the same but the socket is round and deeply recessed. My adaptor is square. Yes, I was literally trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. Consequently, our first mission for the day was to find an adaptor that would work. The lovely girl in the hotel Reception directed us to a store about 15 minutes walk away near the station so off we went. The rain started coming down much harder when we stepped into the street so objective No. 2 was to get an umbrella. Well before we’d reached our target store we popped into a little grocery store hoping to shorten our walk in the rain. They didn’t have any but the cashier pointed us to a “two dollar” shop across the street. The lovely Vietnamese owner had everything we needed and was very helpful. While we were in his store he was doing a roaring trade in umbrellas! By now the weather was atrocious!

While we were travelling over the last two days we’d been in contact with Emily, when comms permitted. She let us know that she’d booked a flight to Budapest for this morning! What a terrific surprise! Her flight was due in at about 9:00am-ish so we agreed to meet her at the hostel she’d booked, a couple of kilometres from where we’d bought our umbrellas. In the rain and cold we set off at a leisurely pace to meet up with her - we had plenty of time up our sleeve. The walk along Terez Krt., Erzsebet Krt. and Rakoczi ut. was really nice, despite the rain. This area of Pest is full of broad boulevards like these, lined with trees in wide foot-paths and home to many, many retail and commercial businesses. I observed that there are barber shops aplenty. Clearly it’s very important for Budapest men to be always well groomed.

We reached Emily’s hostel in Kazinczy utca but she was still coming in from the airport so we found a lovely, warm cafe nearby in which to wait. As we hadn’t had anything to eat for 24hrs we tucked into a lovely Hungarian goulash stew, washed down with a coffee or two. The little cafe was so warm and the waitress was so obliging, happy for us to sit there out of the cold while we waited for Emily. She arrived, had a bite to eat and then we headed out into the rain.\

 

Our first port of call was the Nagycsarnok Market, a huge covered market down near the Danube River on the Pest side. It’s a beautiful old building acreoss three levels. The ground floor is given over mostly to fresh produce with many meat and fruit/vegetable store plying their trade. Kerry bought some fresh fruit for tomorrow’s breakfast (always thinking ahead) and we tasted and bought various slices of Hungarian salami, because we’re in Hungary! I found it quite oily but tasty nevertheless. Level 2, up some ancient, broad stairs was where all the other market items such as fabrics, leathers and some handicrafts were. But really it was mostly full of trashy tourist souvenirs. We bought a magnet for the fridge, as is our custom. Rest assured, by the end of this trip we’re gonna need a bigger fridge! The lower floor had an Aldi supermarket and a sprinkling of other stores that sold fish and pickled vegetables but it was mostly deserted and in dire need of some rejuvenation.

 

Just a few steps from the market is the Danube River, our first sighting of it on this trip. As a spectacle, the weather was doing the river no favours. The part of the river where we joined it is where the tour boats dock (and there’s dozens and dozens of them tied up to the shore). A busy road and an elevated tram run alongside so not a very pretty sight at all. Downstream we walked for 30 minutes and nothing improved so we took the first pedestrian crossing over the road and under the tram and found ourselves in the heart of the well-to-do commercial part of the city. What a stark contrast that three minute route diversion created. Now out of the cold wind we sought a place to warm up. Emily found a cafe called My Little Melbourne Coffee just off Deak Ferenec (a major retail and transport hub in Pest). Yesterday’s bus from the airport terminated there. Strangely, there was nothing “Melbourne” about the place save for the “Aussie Cappuccino” on the menu. But it was warm inside and the tea Kerry and I had was real tea, served in a real pot! Our new “tour director” organised the next two days over her “Aussie Cappuccino” and then we headed for home. By now it was heading for 5:00pm.

 

Back at our hotel we dropped our bags and headed down to Andrassy St to a Thai restaurant we walked by yesterday. The journey took us past the State Opera House where patrons dressed in their finest where congregating for tonight’s performance. Andrassy St is considered by some to be the Champs Elysee of Budapest. A bit of a stretch, bit a very nice street, nevertheless.

 

Our meal was very good with service and ambience to match. Back down on Andrassy St we parted ways with Emily, her hostel and our hotel being 10 minutes away in opposite directions. I wrote half today’s story and then the wearies got me again. Kerry was fast asleep by then. BTW, all my power problems have been resolved thanks to our Vietnamese friend. We’ve been saved from falling into the communications abyss. Oh, and just for some idea about today’s weather – mid-afternoon we maxed out at 7C. Two days ago it was 29C and sunny in Budapest!

Day 3 - Finally into Budapest (Monday 15th April 2024)

Ferenc Liszt International Airport appeared on the horizon on time at 7:00am. It’s not a patch on the one we just left, somewhat reminiscent of Melbourne Airport to look at and without the technology to speed up the customs processes. :( . But we got through, found our bags on the carousel and proceeded through the “Nothing To Declare” area along with two plane loads of others.

The Budapest transport authority has an app called Budapest GO which I had downloaded weeks earlier. Onto the app I had Ioaded tickets for the 100E Express bus to Deak Ferenc ter in the centre of town. I just scanned and validated the tickets on each phone with the young girl directing traffic and off we went…. into a traffic jam. The journey should have taken 15 minutes but took at least 45 minutes, I reckon. At least we had a seat. I have also loaded a 72-hr Travelcard on each of our phones. That’ll workout to be about AUD$8.00/der day for unlimited travel on the network.

With Maps.Me in hand we walked the 600m from the bus stop to the hotel. Checked-in, we dropped our bags in the room then went back to a cafe we had passed earlier for a late breakfast. The City Hotel Budapest is really well located not far from the Opera district of Budapest which holds many fine buildings (including the Opera House), a couple of grand boulevards, upmarket retail stores and oodles of places to eat offering all sorts of cuisines at a great range of prices. We didn’t approach our hotel from this angle in the first instance so got a very different perspective of it’s location. The room is comfortable and clean and a great price for the location. We chose it because it’s from where our tour with Intrepid Travel will start. It’ll do the job for the next six days.

From the time we left Bendigo at about 9:00am on Saturday morning to the time we finally checked-in to the hotel room in Budapest we'd been "on the move" for 57 hours. A BIG day in anyone's language.

Day 2 - Heading for Doha (Sunday 14th April 2024)

After a bit of a sleep-in we enjoyed breakfast in the Hotel restaurant (also quite cheap at $15/head) and then walked over to the Skybus terminal. We had plenty of time up our sleeve, arriving at the Departure lounge about 5hrs before the flight. No check-in luggage dramas this time like we had for last year’s trip to India. Everything went “smooth as” this time. We learned a good lesson from our India travelling companions about “travelling light” on the luggage front. When we saw how much they had bought with them, compared to what we had taken to India, we made a commitment there and then that we would follow suite on our next trip. Well, I’m very pleased to report that we have each just one 42l suitcase and one backpack. That’s it for eight weeks of travel. Kerry’s sister Annemarie confirmed it could be done when she and Garry travelled for about the same length of time through Europe 12 months ago. Emily provided guidance on the specific luggage we acquired. Called July Luggage, it’s designed and made by a small firm in Collingwood. She bought some a couple of years ago and swears by its quality and ability to handle some rough treatment. It is such a pleasure to have only a small suitcase to wheel around and just one other bag. I’m loving the decision already. The other significant change we made was to leave our well-travelled Sony DSLR behind in favour of a new Google Pixel phone, bought solely for its ability to take good photos. For us, we didn’t buy a phone that takes photos, we bought a camera that can make phone calls. Once again, we’ve been guided by the experience of others in that choice. When you’re travelling light, not having a DSLR and its charger and another lens or two makes a difference.

Kerry’s been swapping travelling stories with the 74yo lady in the next seat while I’ve been writing. She’s heading to Nepal to get close to Everest (in a helicopter). Good on her to be still so adventurous. It’s our ambition to be the same in ten years time.

I put the blog down for a while to watch the movie “Oppenheimer” – the story about the chap who developed the first Atomic bomb. It won many awards during this year’s “award season”. That killed 3hrs 8mins of the flight – no pun intended. I’ll probably have to watch it again at some stage to appreciate the subtleties of the story. I continue to be frustrated that in these amazing, multi-million dollar flying machines the quality of the sound coming out the headphones is so shite! Why can’t I get even half decent audio in the 21^st century? It baffles me.

After 14 hours we arrived at Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar. Very tired. It was 10:30pm Qatar time so about 5:30am AEST. The walk from where the plane docked to the transfer gate is very, very long but a good walk was required after 14 hours of sitting. No dramas getting through security, just the usual bag check for mine which always caries a lot of strangely shaped odds and ends. In the centre of the massive International departure hall, Hamad International has a very large green space where one can go to while away the time between flights. The area somewhat resembles a jungle with a real tropical forest dissected by winding paths, little huts dotted here and there for people to escape into, park benches, fake lawn, a real waterfall and the recorded sound of forest birds calling from on high. The lighting is quite subdued making it all a very pleasant place to be. At the end of a given winding path you might find yourself walking from these pleasant forest surrounds directly into the harsh lighting and harsh reality of a departure lounge or the food hall. It’s a top job done by the airport to give the weary traveller some respite from the hardness of international travel.

 

The final leg of our flight to Budapest left at 2:25am Qatar time. This flight was about six hours, flying directly over all those Middle Eastern states who are having fun throwing rockets at each other presently. While checking in at Melbourne we learned that Iran had started to do just that at Israel in retaliation for a recent attack on an Iranian government building. I did notice on the in-flight screen that, thankfully, the route took quite a wide berth around the most troublesome spots closer to the Mediterranean Sea. Earlier in the day, Qantas had abandoned altogether their Perth-London flight over that area.

Day 1 - Down to Melbourne

Today turned out to be a day of transport challenges. Hopefully we got them all out of the way on Day One. Nothing too dramatic, to be honest. We had planned to catch the “Bus to Budapest” from down on Braedene Dve but, due to a lack of forward planning simple, we missed it by a few minutes and the next one wasn’t for another hour so straight onto the phone I went and a cab arrived about ten minutes later to take us to Bendigo station. We’ve been walking past the same bus stop every day for months – should’ve thought to stop and look at the timetable for Saturdays. Doh!

 

The trip to Southern Cross station in Melbourne was uneventful, save for the entertainment provided by a young mother trying to wrangle her kids. She did a great job. A quick detour to the Great Southern Hotel on Spencer St to check-in and drop-off our bags and we were back at the station looking for a train to Blackburn to visit Mum. The Great Southern is not flash by any means but it’s relatively cheap, it’s clean and has everything one needs for an overnight stay. Its location is perfect and in a great location – near the station which makes it close to the bus to the airport. We got to Flinders St station to find that there were no trains to Blackburn starting or ending there today – or the entire Glen Waverley line for that matter. Track maintenance or something. So we caught the No. 70 tram to Burnley and finally a train to Blackburn and a bus to Marama St. Mum was in good spirits and happy to see us before we headed off on this adventure.

A cab back to the station (it was getting too cold to stand up on Blackburn Rd waiting for a bus) and then back to Burnley and the No. 70 tram back to Flinders St. The plan was going well until we learned from a very helpful young girl that the lack of trams coming down Swan St was due to a broken down car blocking the track way back in Hawthorn. All trams were being diverted down Bridge Rd. So we started walking towards the city. By the time we’d arrived in the main Richmond Sth shopping precinct the trams has begun to run again. We waited at Stop No. 10 for the next one to come along. I looked up and found myself gazing across the road to 147 Swan St, the very same building I started work in 48 years ago! The very crowded tram took us to Spencer St and a quick walk up the hill found us back at the Great Southern. Thus ended a challenging day of travel on our public transport system – except for the 2.5 hrs spent at Mum’s we were on the go for about 10 hours, I reckon. Upon later reflection, there were no games at all at the MCG today so perhaps that’s why the authorities chose to shutdown the system on a beautiful, sunny autumn afternoon in the school holidays.