The Grand Central European Road Tour, Part1 - Budapest.

in #travel7 years ago (edited)

Dear Steemit freinds,
My wife and I decided to book a tour through 4 different European countries in one week. We are flying in from Copenhagen and then embarking on a bus trip with 45 other totally unknown people through the heart of Europe. The schedule is: Budapest -> Vienna -> Bratislava -> Prag. It will not be a lazy laid back pool party. It is going to be hot. It is going to be humid. It's going to be great!

I have been in Vienna before, but only for a short stopover on my way to some other country. So it is with very high expectations this trip starts. Both with all the sights we will see and also who are the people that will travel with us on the bus for a week? Any assholes? New friends? will it only be old people or is it a mix? A lot of questions and no answers....

BUDAPEST, Capitol of hungary

IMG_20170707_214325.jpg
The parliament of Budapest. The third largest parliament in the world.

toBuda.PNG
Budapest used to be two cities before. The city of Buda and the city of Pest separated by the mighty Danube river. When they merged into one city 1873, it was named Budapest.

IMG_20170707_091506.jpg
To the right is Buda and to the left is Pest. This is the viewpoint from the Citadella, the fortress up on the hill overlooking the city. As usual, since the view is spectacular, this place is crowded with tourists, vendors, pickpockets and and busdrivers.

DSCF2006.jpg
A lady selling her stuff .

DSCF2008.jpg
You are kidding me! I just want one. Not the whole store...

IMG_20170707_105018.jpg
The hill we just took photos from is right up there behind the statue. In the water is a large flatboat hotel that travels up and down the large river in style between these countries.

The Grand Market

IMG_20170707_140327.jpg
What I miss in my own town is an old grand market. Filled with all sorts of delicatess foodware and locally manufactured stuff. In Budapest they have one, and it is gorgeous! The light sieves through small rooftop windows, dancing between the iron beams. Smells of all varieties change as you walk into different areas in the building. In one part you have fish, in another fruits and in a third smoked sausages...

IMG_20170707_101401.jpg

IMG_20170707_102639-01.jpg
Cooling of with a beer.

DSCF2044.jpg

IMG_20170707_102650.jpg
Or a smoothie.

IMG_20170707_103510.jpg

IMG_20170707_103522.jpg

DSCF2033.jpg
Hanging up a T-shirt for sale.

DSCF2038.jpg

DSCF2039.jpg
Candid camera caught in the act.

The tour continues

DSCF2045.jpg
The Hungarian Parliament building

DSCF2047.jpg
A cup of coffee in one of the numerous cafes that riddle the town.

DSCF2048.jpg

DSCF2049.jpg

The Gellert Thermal Bath

DSCF2050.jpg
There are several thermal baths in town. This is one of the most famous. Due to a lack of available time we decided to skip the actual bathing and just walk into the foaje and look at the architecture and the splendid surroundings.

DSCF2052.jpg

DSCF2053.jpg

A picture of the pool. Source
terme-bucarest.jpg

DSCF2057.jpg
We then walked over one of the many bridges that cross the river and found ourselves in the Pest part of the town.

DSCF2058.jpg
Flatboat hotels.

DSCF2061.jpg
Architechture. Everywhere you look.

DSCF2062.jpg
Some people does not look at buildings. They look on their smart phones. Chilling in the shadow for a while.

IMG_20170706_161418.jpg
The castle hill castle.

IMG_20170706_161652.jpg
Me overlooking the city.

IMG_20170706_162925.jpg
Having a beer - cold! at a cafe. It's really hot wandering around town like this.

IMG_20170707_113630.jpg
The heroes square. It is a copy of the Vienna version. Budapest was a part of the large Austria-Hungarian empire. So they was allowed to build a copy, as long as it was smaller in size. Which it is.

IMG_20170707_120726.jpg
These two wheelers are a frequent sight in every large town.

IMG_20170707_143116-01.jpg
They even have nice lids to the sewage system.

IMG_20170707_153722.jpg

The boat tour

A must. Take a tour on the river at evening. All the large buildings are spectacularly lighted. It is beautiful.
IMG_20170707_212611.jpg

IMG_20170707_213551.jpg

Budapest is cheap. The food is excellent, the beer is good and everything is affordable. I can highly recommend going here. Friendly people too.

Stay tuned for part 2.

If you like it - Upvote!
If you don't want to miss my coming blogs - Follow me!
If you want your friends to see it - Resteem it!
Namaste.

Sort:  

Wow! Looks like a fabulous first part of your trip. Thanks for sharing it with those of us who wish we were there! Steemed

Thank you.
I totally enjoyed these countries and will be back for sure.

Budpest is really beautiful. It has an unspoiled charm...

Yes. you are right. I will come back here for a longer stay. Had only two days.

The escalators are so deep! Love them. Good pictures. That's pretty much a scrapbook for Budapest!