Budapest – our second stopover on the way to Pav’s hometown in Czech Republic, and Jess’s first ever European city.
Wow! What a magical place rich in history, architectural porn and to-die-for foods. Not to be visited without a cruise or walk along the Danube at sunset or night!
Here’s a little video of our special memories from Budapest… (watch in HD)
We were lucky enough to score a great little apartment on the popular Vaci Street through Airbnb for $48 per night. After a short stroll from our apartment, we had an early dinner of traditional Hungarian goulash with gnocchi and stuffed cabbage with klobász sausage, washed down with half litre beers (the standard size here) and strong Pálinka shots.
Being light-weights with our alcohol, we had completely outdone ourselves and wandered back to our apartment to pass out in a food and alcohol coma for the next 12 hours straight. On the plus side, we were up super early the next day and pumped for a huge day of exploring.
Day two saw us covering all the main attractions, including Great Market Hall, the Széchenyi “Chain” Bridge (the first bridge to the link Buda and Pest), Fisherman’s Bastion, Buda’s Castle District, Gellért Thermal Baths, HÅ‘sök tere (Heroes’ Square), Budapest City Park and a sunset cruise along the Danube River – all highly recommended.
The following morning (and our last few hours in Budapest), we grabbed the obligatory pastry breakfast from the popular European bakery franchise Fornetti, and jumped on the Metro to get to our bus for Brno, Pav’s hometown in Czech Republic. Thanks to the cost-effective bus line, RegioJet, the 5 hour bus trip only cost us $15 per person, with a bonus coffee or tea, on-board entertainment and Wi-Fi thrown in!