I’m writing this on the outbound flight to Budapest. Assuming we will land safely, it will be country 39 which means I have finally caught up to my age and well on track for my 40 b4 40 challenge that ends in November. This trip is somewhat unusual. I haven’t prepared at all. I haven’t looked at any tips/articles/advice before the day of departure when I thought, ‘oh crap. I should at least know where I’m going.’ I’m not alone. Adam is with me. In fact it is his friend’s wedding tomorrow in Budapest and the true reason we are going to country 39. And what an excuse!
I am, however, sat alone. We’ve been on that many flights now that I don’t feel the fare to choose your seats is worth it. I guess if it was long haul it might be different. We didn’t even board together. We needed a bit of space for wedding attire so his boarding pass included a 10Kg cabin case and you get priority boarding with it. As we weren’t sat together, I told him to take advantage. I’m in row three and he eight. Around five mins after boarding and sitting down it was clear boarding was complete but there were loads of free seats around so my neighbour moved a row and there are still free seats in front of me. I text Adam and told him. I even rang him but no response. I could see him talking with all of his energy to someone next to him. You can’t say I didn’t try. I hope he’s not got stinky row mates. I’ve had loads of room.
It was a good time to test my new little flight hack. All Ryanair flights have a little hook on the tray table fastener. I brought a small drawstring bag to hook on this with all my flight essentials (earphones, medication, sweets, tissues, charger) contained within. Not sure if it’s allowed to dangle during takeoff but you can put it on your knee until it’s safe to suspend.
I spent the duration of the flight listening to crap my Spotify had saved in the offline backup which I never knew existed until today. I tried to read some pdf articles I panicked and downloaded this morning but the (likely) neurodivergent flower that I am couldn’t hold my attention so I’ve still no idea what I’m heading to. I was more fixated on my stupid small ears rejecting my earphones and the noise cancelling not working due to lack of a seal. I do have REALLY small ears. Ask Adam, he takes the piss out of them all the time.
We arrived safely and passport control was nice and easy. We decided to get the bus into town and drop our stuff off at the hotel and then go eat something. The bus was efficient but the seats were very small and it wasn’t the most comfortable of rides. It was then a very short walk to Hotel Chloé, which on the outside was very unassuming but was a lovely little hotel. We would definitely recommend. The staff were super friendly, it was clean and comfortable.
We dropped stuff off and then headed back out. We were right on the river front and so walked there first while learning that in Hungary you really need to wait for the green man at traffic lights. I nearly lost Adam to a tram. The river front was really our first glimpse of the beauty that Budapest held. The architecture, the statue on the hill, the cleanliness.
We then sat down for a quick meal. We thought we’d go for a stroll down the main avenue which was just like any other tourist destination main street but again the architecture really stood out. That and a few stuffed wolves including a big animatronic one in a window display. I guess Hungary likes the wolf.
Gelato was had and then it was almost time to check into the hotel. Given we were both knackered, we decided to get some drinks/snacks and then check in and have a nap. I’d seen a Tesco on the map and so suggested there. On the way we stumbled across the Central Market Hall which was amazing! Traditional street food and the place was so vast. We walked around taking pics of there and then headed to Tesco. I wish we hadn’t.
I tried to use the self service. How hard could it be? Famous last words. I thought I was doing ok until the assistant came over and snatched the stuff out of my hand muttering at me in Hungarian. I think I’d put the plastic bag through as like a penny sweet or something. You could see it was an honest mistake. I was having enough difficulty scanning stuff in a different language, let alone trying to execute a penny sweet scam for plastic bags.
We checked in and got to the room. I should mention there was a bottle of champagne and Ferrero Rocher on the desk with a little card to congratulate us on our wedding anniversary. We aren’t even married. Maybe I put it on the check in form and forgot about it. Either way I like a little Rocher and so I wasn’t going to point out their error. I ate those and then napped for a couple of hours before we decided to go out to try to find a burger. We weren’t successful but we did find a kebab shop that spoke no English, so you know, winner winner, not sure what’s on my kebab dinner.
We walked down to a local bar and were the only folk in there. Turns out everyone was next door so we went there for one afterwards.
Knowing the wedding was the next day we decided to retire for the evening as Adam had to get up early for the ceremony.
It was a decent sleep but I did wake up later than I had intended. Adam had to be there at 1pm so I got up and went for another walk down the main street. I didn’t really have an aim other than eat ice cream and maybe something more substantial. That more substantial thing ended up being McDonald’s. It was easy and relatively cheap so I don’t regret it. I saw the big moon thing and then got my ice cream and went back to Chloé. I then got ready to join the wedding party for the evening boat party which conjured up memories of being young, in Magaluf and on the crazy boat parties. Ahhhh strippers. They do make me laugh. Especially that slippery fella.
No, this was completely different. Floating up and down the Danube gazing in awe at the most beautifully lit up city. In particular the Parliament Building which was unbelievably stunning. The entertainment was a drag act called Valerie who was an absolute darling. It was such a lovely evening. I’m sure the bride and groom were very happy with how it went. We decided not to go out after the boat and went back for a sleep.
The next morning I had booked us in to the Mini Pig Cafe. You know I love me some animal experiences. Oh my god they were the cutest little squealers. They’d sit happily on your knee enjoying a little tickle and belly rub. Once this experience was over we did actually find the missing burger from the night before at The Burgery which was really nice.
Next on the agenda was a rooftop bar called Sky Bar which was nice to see the views of the city. After this, we headed to the House of Terror museum. They had asked if we wanted audio guides. I was cocky and was like nah we don’t need them. And now I know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about Hungary’s recent history.
We didn’t do much else that evening and had another packed day ahead so early night it was.
First thing Sunday morning was The Cat Museum, which was honestly a cat cafe with the odd fact on the wall! That being said the cats were lovely. Except Maki who should be called Smaki after what she did to Adam.
We then got our chill on at the Széchenyi thermal baths. I was expecting it to be a lovely old building but I didn’t expect it to be so enormous. You go in and there’s a large outdoor pool in the middle, which was rammed because the weather was nice, and then signs for the indoor pools. So we took our chances in those and there was one or two pools/saunas in each room and the rooms just kept going and going and going. 19 pools and 10 saunas in total. Amazing.
We then went from one labyrinth to another via Hero’s square which was a hinge of huge statues. No idea who they were.
Anyway we arrived at Szimpla Kert ruin bar. Now I’ve never heard of ruin bars before but there are a few in Budapest. They are literally bars in old abandoned buildings. The one we went to was supposed to be the biggest and it was huge. There was room after room after room. My only criticism would be that it felt a bit like you were being told this place was cool rather than just letting you decide for yourself.
I wanted ice cream and so we ducked into a chimney cake shop called Downtown Chimney Budapest. It was only small and we experienced more of the less than warm attitude of the Hungarian folk in the form of the old woman running the shop. At first she was just a bit snappy but we thought it was just a generalisation and she was probably fine. I then accidentally dropped a tiny bit of ice cream on my T-shirt, which was black, and asked Adam to ask for a tissue. He said he didn’t want to but he did anyway. He shouldn’t have. She sharply pointed to her hand as she had a cake in it and barked ‘wait’ at him. Then she started talking in Hungarian with some other customers who were looking at us. Slagging off the customers? Subtle. She then threw a tissue at Adam and asked if he had a problem. We yes actually your attitude is disgusting. Anyway she then started ranting and raving at us in Hungarian and pointed at the chair where I had dropped a few sugar crumbs. What the actual hell? I brushed away the crumbs and then she was gesturing to the floor and still in a fume. I was like do not have chairs in your shop if you don’t want people to eat there. I told her she was the rudest woman I’d ever met and that she should look forward to the trip advisor review and then finally shouting I didn’t care about her floor before leaving and getting a quick pic of the place to make sure I reviewed the right one. I didn’t need the picture though. Turns out everyone who reviewed there in the last week said EXACTLY the same thing. And only three of the accounts were me and one was Adam. The rest were genuine. I have so many words about this woman but I shall not tarnish my own website by writing them here. I spent most of the day getting angry and vowing to go back and throw an open bag of sugar on her floor and asking how she liked that. Adam pointed out that would probably be illegal so I just did it in my head. Many, many times.
We went back to the hotel for a quick change and then back out to Poplare restaurant to meet the new Bride and Groom and a couple of their friends. It was really lovely, both the food and the interior. They then suggested going to Szimpla. We were like yeah sure it was ok today. Not as busy as we expected. They said it was different at night. But how different can the same venue be? Well, the cockiness was wiped away again when I realised it wasn’t even recognisable from the place we had seen in the afternoon. It was ram packed. Wall to wall. All the seats taken, obvious drug dealers hanging about, and different bars/rooms with different DJs playing very different music.
After we walked out we noticed the area didn’t feel as safe at night. People were creeping about who looked rather unsavoury. We decided to bail again but it was still around 1am so I still struggled to get up in the morning. I just about made it down for 11am.
We went for brunch on the other side of the river at Lu Lu Brunch which was genuinely lovely. Adam wanted to look at the Basilica so we headed there before back to the airport. I didn’t go in but he vows it was the most beautiful church he had ever seen inside. I don’t disbelieve it, it is very Budaful here and has definitely left me Hungary for more. Even if I come back only to commit sugar crimes.
🧳UNPACKED
- Budapest should be on everyone’s list
- It is a big city. I thought four days was going to result in in me being bored but we didn’t even end up seeing the main architectural sight! We didn’t get to the castle, funicular, parliament building on land. Plan accordingly.
- Night time river cruise was my highlight and surprisingly as I don’t normally enjoy over planned and pushed activities.
- Get the audio guide at the House of Terro
- If going to the baths take flip flops, and a towel because they are mandatory and expensive at the venue
- Hungarian folk don’t really enjoy small talk.
- Don’t eat at Downtown Chimney Cakes
- Don’t get crumbs on the floor!
📦 PACK HERE
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