Outside the St. Stephen’s Basilica
View from the Fisherman’s Bastion
I spent my 31st Birthday in Budapest, Hungary! I went there with my aunt and we had a wonderful time there. It was only for 3 days but it was glorious. I loved Budapest and I’d love to go back!
I’ve planned this trip for a while. I booked the tickets several months back with Ryan Air because its the cheapest I can get. I was a bit nervous flying with Ryan Air because of the negative press that I’ve been hearing about them, but it wasn’t too bad. As long as you follow the rules, it went smoothly for us. Anyway, we arrived in Budapest on the 8th of November. The airport is almost an hour drive towards the city centre. If you are planning to go to Budapest, I suggest that you get a hotel in the City Centre, because almost all of the tourist spots are close to the City Centre. Don’t fret, the hotel accommodation are not too expensive than other European countries. The only cash I exchanged to Hungarian Forints (HUF) is around 83 pounds, I used that for food, transportation and souvenirs. I didn’t buy much stuff (I only brought a small handbag), we walked a lot, but I spent most of my cash on food, LOL. I used my credit card for the air fare and hotel, it was more or less 300 pounds for two people. When I went to Paris, I spent roughly 500 pounds in total for one person.
Night cruise at the Danube river
We checked in on our hotel at around 5PM and then we went out to have a boat ride at the Danube. It was cold but I had so much fun. My camera phone didn’t really capture the beauty of the Danube River at night, trust me, its an amazing experience, the view was awesome.
St. Stephen Basilica
The next day, we took advantage of the hotel’s breakfast buffet. I loved the food you guys! I highly recommend City Panzio Pilvax Hotel. The rooms are clean and their food is excellent. As soon as we finished eating, we started walking towards St. Stephen’s Basilica. It was only 12 minutes walk from our hotel. The Basilica is breath taking. It was small but we spent a lot of time there, we took loads of pictures outside the Basilica and inside it. We even went back after lunch to buy our souvenirs there.
The Buda-Castle Funicular
Our next stops was the Buda- Castle. It was only 23 minutes walk from our hotel. We crossed the Chain Bridge by foot and it offered a great view of the Danube River during the day. We took so many photos! We decided to use the Budavari Siklo to go up the Buda-Castle. At this point we already walked a lot and I wasn’t willing to walk any further. Also, we thought it was worth trying the Buda-Castle Funicular, and it was! Again, the view is magnificent, it’s definitely a must try in Budapest.
I find the Buda-Castle beautiful because of the architecture and its amazing views. The Fisherman’s Bastion is close by too, so we walked a bit to get there. That was exhausting but definitely worth it. At this point, our phone batteries were running out. We had to go back to our hotel and we had to do that before our GPS dies. However, I suggested that we should drop by the Hungarian Parliament first, which is not too far from the Chain bridge.The Parliament is also a must see site in Budapest. After almost draining our phones for taking too many photographs, we decided to walk back to the hotel. We then found ourselves near the Basilica, we had lunch at a affordable Asian restaurant where we celebrated my 31st birthday. Geez, I’m really old.
After resting and charging our phones full in our hotel, we decided to check out the Hungarian State Opera. We had a difficult time locating the entrance because they were renovating it. Anyway, we did find our way in, but, the last mini concert and tour for the day already started, so, we just bought some souvenirs from the shop and took some pictures. The interior of the Opera House is grand, I’m sorry that I missed the show. When I go back to Budapest, I’ll make sure that I will get the full experience- mini concert and tour!
After the Opera House, we walked through the Andrassy Ut, it’s the Hungarian Version of Oxford Street in London or the Champs Elysees of Paris. We didn’t shop though. It was the easiest way to get to the Hosok Tere (Heroes Square). I think people will appreciate the place even more during the day, It still looks grand at night though. On the way back to our hotel, we passed by a small cafe that sells chimney cakes. Before going to Budapest, I’ve researched the “must-try” local foods and the chimney cake is the first on my list. I ordered the plain ones with just sugar in it, and I loved it.
My aunt was very observant when we were walking down the street, she’s the one who recognized the House of Terror. It’s also located in Andrassy Ut. It was already closed when we passed by, but, you will still see the Iron Curtain, a segment of the Berlin wall and the Wall of Heroes outside the museum.
I’ve been eyeing the cafes and bakeries while we were walking in Andrassy Ut, so, on our way back, we stopped at one of the cafes to buy some cinnamon bread, my aunt bought it for my little cousin who loves it. I bought a packet of coffee beans for my cousin Alan. I bought it for the cool packaging, LOL.
Our night isn’t over yet! One of the food in the “must-try” local food is the Goulash. It’s a beef stew with loads of paprika. Plenty of restaurants sells them, both the soup and the stew. I wanted to try the soup initially, but after a day of too much walking, I opted for the stew. We found a restaurant in Oktober 6 ut, I dont remember the name of the restaurant, to be honest. I think it is one of the posh ones because they charged us a service fee, plus the servers were very well dressed. haha. The stew was okay, I was expecting it to be spicy, but it wasn’t. My aunt didn’t like it, she thought it was a bit bland.
We also took some pictures at the Budapest Eye. It’s the same ferris wheel that was once in Paris. While walking back to our hotel, we noticed the crowd walking towards the Budapest Fashion Street. Naturally, we followed them. It honestly looked like the Oxford Street in London. At the end of the street, there was a Christmas Fair! A Christmas Fair in November! It was awesome. I really loved it there. I wished I didn’t stuff myself with goulash. There was so many food and trinkets that you can but at the Christmas Fair. It’s definitely a must see place in Budapest. After strolling in the Christmas Fair, we finally got back to our hotel and slept.
The next day is our flight back to London. We still had time to explore a few more places before leaving, so, I suggested we visit the Great Market Hall. My goal was to buy Langos there and some souvenir items, but, we went there at 7 AM and they were still setting up. We were too early. My aunt did buy some souvenirs, I bought some bread from one of the bakeries inside the market. I was truly amazed by the cleanliness of the Great Market Hall. It’s the cleanest market I’ve ever seen, and it doesn’t smell at all. Anyway, since I failed to buy some Langos in the Market, we had breakfast in Starbucks. We went back to our hotel and checked out a few minutes later.
Since it was still early, we decided to walk around a bit more, then I found out that the Christmas fair is open during the day too. So, we spent some time shopping for souvenirs, I just bought a sticker for my journal. My aunt bought a shirt, some more funnel cake which she brought back home to the UK. I honestly don’t know how she made all her purchases fit on her one shoulder bag. I was completely holding back on buying stuff because of the new bag policy of Ryan Air. I strictly followed the rules and I made sure my aunt measure her bag, LOL. Anyway, I had my first Langos that morning. It wasn’t what I was expecting, but it was good.
After eating,we finally left the city centre. We took the 100E bus back to the airport. It was almost an hour drive, but we still arrived two hours early. We had our lunch at the airport and did more shopping. Ryan Air allows one duty free shopping bag per person.
I had such a great time in Budapest. I would love to come back, preferably at the same season next year. The Christmas Fair was a treat. I wasn’t expecting that considering it was just the second week of November, but it was a nice surprise.
I hope you have a great day ahead!
Novel
my point of view 
Recent Comments