Autumn in Budapest

Budapest 13-16 November 2009

Having to use up some Alitalia travel vouchers, we looked for the best deal in a capital we hadn't yet visited. The choice fell on Budapest. Alitalia flight from Fiumicino round trip €85.00 for adults and €65.00 for children. The group is made up of 6 adults and 2 children. On the internet we booked the Hotel Mercure Korona (€289.00: 2 triples and one double for 3 nights without breakfast. The hotel is very large, the rooms spacious, the porters are very friendly and speak several languages (some even Italian); the sore point is the cleanliness: we found dirt under the beds and so it stayed for all three days of our stay, and the cleaning of the bathrooms also left something to be desired.

Friday 13 November 2009

Departure from Pompei at dawn, arrival at Fiumicino at 8:30. We leave the cars at the ParkandFly car park (€30.00 for 4 days) 2 km from the terminal, a shuttle takes us to departures, quick check-in, punctual flight and in an hour and a half we're in Budapest. First thought is to change money: changing money at the airport isn't advisable, better to withdraw from the ATM; in the centre, instead, we found the exchange offices more convenient (the best was €1 = 266 huf). In many shops, stalls and restaurants you can also pay in Euros, generally at a rate of €1 = 250 huf. To reach the city centre there are several options: Taxi, Bus + Metro, Shuttle. We opted for the latter also because the more people there are, the less you pay (6 adults and 2 girls round trip €70) and in half an hour we're at the hotel.

At 16:30 it's already dark, we start our tour heading towards the Danube, crossing it on the beautiful Liberty Bridge. We had already seen the Danube in Vienna but here it has a different effect: it crosses the centre of the city, in fact it divides it in two. The humidity as well as the tiredness are starting to make themselves felt, we walk along a stretch of Vaci Utca, have the girls eat dinner and return to the hotel. Swim in the pool, dinner and off to bed.

Saturday 14 November 2009

We ask about the various types of tickets and I discover there's a Family Ticket (2 adults and 2 children) at 2200 huf = about €8 valid for 48h, while the others bought the carnet of 10 tickets also because the centre is very easy to get around on foot. The morning programme includes a visit to Buda Hill but, once we reach the Danube, we find ourselves faced with an unusual sight: Buda couldn't be seen, and more than on the bank of a river it seemed like being on a seafront, the bridges disappearing into the clouds. We decide to stay in Pest and visit the beautiful Parliament, the Italian-language tour is at 11:30 and is free for citizens of the European community. There's only an hour to go but there's no queue, we quickly get the tickets and punctually go inside guided by a friendly guide.

The visit lasts about half an hour, crossing part of the building including the central hall of the crown and a room for parliamentary work; it's also interesting because the guide retraces the whole of Hungarian history up to the present day. Outside it's still damp, the fog has thinned but it's still cold, we decide to continue visiting indoor places and so with tram no. 2, which runs along the Danube, we return to the Chain Bridge and enter the Great Covered Market where on the ground floor the colourful stalls offer foodstuffs (fruit, spices, cured meats), while on the upper floor mostly souvenirs.

On the upper floor it's also possible to have lunch at one of the counters offering hot meals to eat at the counter (if you can find a place) or at the self-service restaurant where you can sit down and for €32 (you can pay in Euros) we ate meat Goulash, vegetable goulash, legume goulash and a huge schnitzel with a side, bread and soft drinks (water costs more than coke or orangeade). The market today closes at 15:00, on other days at 19:00, while on Sundays it's closed. In the afternoon, a visit to the imposing St. Stephen's Basilica. It's 18:00 and already dark, we reach Nyugati station, built at the beginning of the century by Eiffel (the one of the tower!) and the nearby West-End shopping centre where, we learned, there's an ice rink; so while Martina and I had fun on the ice, the rest of the group took the opportunity to go shopping.

Sunday 15 November 2009

A beautiful day, almost spring-like. Morning dedicated to Buda Hill. From Liberty Bridge, tram 19 took us to the Chain Bridge and from there a characteristic Funicular (tickets paid separately) took us up to the Royal Palace (the route is short and you can also do it on foot). On foot we reached the centre of the hill with St. Matthias Church (on Sundays visitable only between 13:00 and 15:30) and the beautiful Fishermen's Bastion. We spend Sunday afternoon in the park: we buy "bread and something to go with it" and reach the city's "Wood", long a place of rest and entertainment for all ages. In the park we find the zoo, the funfair, a permanent circus, a boating lake, an ice rink under construction and the thermal baths with outdoor pools even in winter.

It's a distinctive sight to see people in swimsuits sitting at the poolside as if it were summer, while we were dressed in jackets and hats: since the thermal waters are warm, the heat means that even at the poolside the temperature is such that you can comfortably stay in a swimsuit. We continue the tour at Heroes' Square, which closes the park to the west, here tower the Millennium Monument and the tomb of the Unknown Soldier protected by the Archangel Gabriel placed on a very tall column. We spend the evening in the centre: along the Danube, its beautiful bridges and the illuminated Buda Hill. It's 19:00 but it seems like 22:00, we've walked and seen so much, the weather has been kind, for a Sunday in mid-November it couldn't have gone better.

Monday 16 November 2009

Tonight we go home, we have an appointment with the Shuttle at 16:30. Once the suitcases are packed and left in storage at the hotel, we decide to walk to the largest Synagogue in Europe. The entrance (1600 HUF + 300 if you want the guide) also includes a visit to a museum with a collection of Jewish objects from Roman times to the present day. The weather is bad, though it's not raining, and it's very cold; we decide to spend the last hours at the covered market for some last purchases and to have lunch again at the self-service restaurant because everyone liked it, it's very clean and the girls ate with gusto, and there's also always live musical accompaniment. At 16:30, right on time, the shuttle arrived and in 40 minutes we're at the airport; quick check-in and so far all ok but at Fiumicino there's a strike, we arrive in Rome 2 hours late.

When we get home it's the dead of night, tomorrow morning it's off to school and work. Arrivederci Budapest.

Gennaro