Parliament lit up at night in Budapest, Hungary
Day 27: Bumping into Budapest
Tuesday July 23 - Day 27 - 32 miles - Total 1063 miles
We started our day by being sneaky! Always a good way to start the day. We woke up at about 7am. The campsite restaurant/shop wasn't open (and didn't look like it would be opening anytime soon). So we went over to the hotel that owns the campground, to get some breakfast at the restaurant. When we got there, the breakfast buffet (for guests) was just opening. We walked in...we were greeted at the door... sat down... and had some breakfast... a cup of coffee... juice.. yogurt and some bread and cheese... and then we left... I mean... we were guests... kind of... Yay! Free breakfast!
With that done, we packed up and headed out towards Budapest.
Today should have been a nice short day today into Budapest. Only about 30 miles. But of course, the path was tough - lots of tree roots creeping through and bad asphalt, a thin layer of silt covering everything, narrow bits, and more bumps. We were still amazed that we could see the high water mark on the trees high above our heads. We stopped at the first ice cream vendor we came across for a break in the shade and off the bumps.
We lost the path near a couple of reservoirs. So we had to go cross country on some tractor trails and down the wrong side of a highway to get to where we intended to be. Then miraculously (after fearing death and dismemberment) we were back on the path (Eurovelo 6)... Where the hell did it go? We will never know... but we found it again.
Along the way, we encountered a few funny groups of cyclists. The first was a very English mother and son fighting on the bridge over a camera (weird to hear a London accent when you aren't expecting it). Then we came across a troop of elementary school kids in their hi-vis yellow jackets all on their bikes on path bookended by some frazzled looking teachers.
Finally, we got into Budapest and onto Buda side and followed the bike path along the river. We stopped to take photos of the parliament building which looks like a castle and the castle which looks like a parliament building. We stopped under some trees for shade, not knowing that they were the Killer Trees of Budapest!!!! That rain down clouds of yellow pollen and flower buds, covering the streets with their plant fertility and wreaking havoc on unsuspecting immune systems.
We made it to the Chain Bridge where we walked our bikes over to the Pest side of the city. The width of path and pedestrian volume made cycling over the bridge a bad idea. We followed our noses and Bruce's excellent sense of direction to Dorottya 11, the address on the booking form for the apartment we rented. There was renovation work going on in the courtyard, so we sat on the stairs, made some sandwiches, and gave George a call to figure out if we were in the right place. He came and got us by bike and took us to our apartment at Vaci 44. We are in a little apartment right on the main pedestrian way. Best of all it has a washing machine! (Note: we have now washed, dried, and repacked all of our clothes.)
George said that we could leave our bikes in the center courtyard of this apartment building (not under construction) but we didn't like that idea... so... again we tromped up 4 flights of stairs with our steel touring bikes. But at least they are safe.
After starting the first of many loads of laundry, we set off to do a bit of sightseeing. We walked to Grand Market Hall. It is actually very similar to the black market hall in Ulaanbaatar, except this one is much more tourist friendly. We had dinner at traditional hungarian place at the recommendation of George and bought 24hr passes for transit system so we can get around tomorrow. We found out only later that they aren't any good for funicular railway that takes you up to the Castle on the hill. We went up anyway. It was sunset as we went up so we watched as the lit up as the sun went down. We enjoyed view from Buda castle, seeing the chain bridge and parliament lit up under the full moon. We walked along the Fisherman's bastion, but it is no longer a full walk around since part of the way has been turned into a restaurant.....poor show.
We also happened upon the ugliest Hilton we have ever seen on top of the hill next to St. Matthias church...good job we aren't staying there!
A long walk down to the tram line, which (per usual on this trip) terminated early at a stop called Oktagon due to construction work. So we changed over to the Metro and got ourselves back to the apartment.
Put another load of laundry in and off to bed. It is HOT!
The World is Ours!
Tuesday July 23 - Day 27 - 32 miles - Total 1063 miles
We started our day by being sneaky! Always a good way to start the day. We woke up at about 7am. The campsite restaurant/shop wasn't open (and didn't look like it would be opening anytime soon). So we went over to the hotel that owns the campground, to get some breakfast at the restaurant. When we got there, the breakfast buffet (for guests) was just opening. We walked in...we were greeted at the door... sat down... and had some breakfast... a cup of coffee... juice.. yogurt and some bread and cheese... and then we left... I mean... we were guests... kind of... Yay! Free breakfast!
With that done, we packed up and headed out towards Budapest.
Today should have been a nice short day today into Budapest. Only about 30 miles. But of course, the path was tough - lots of tree roots creeping through and bad asphalt, a thin layer of silt covering everything, narrow bits, and more bumps. We were still amazed that we could see the high water mark on the trees high above our heads. We stopped at the first ice cream vendor we came across for a break in the shade and off the bumps.
We lost the path near a couple of reservoirs. So we had to go cross country on some tractor trails and down the wrong side of a highway to get to where we intended to be. Then miraculously (after fearing death and dismemberment) we were back on the path (Eurovelo 6)... Where the hell did it go? We will never know... but we found it again.
Along the way, we encountered a few funny groups of cyclists. The first was a very English mother and son fighting on the bridge over a camera (weird to hear a London accent when you aren't expecting it). Then we came across a troop of elementary school kids in their hi-vis yellow jackets all on their bikes on path bookended by some frazzled looking teachers.
Finally, we got into Budapest and onto Buda side and followed the bike path along the river. We stopped to take photos of the parliament building which looks like a castle and the castle which looks like a parliament building. We stopped under some trees for shade, not knowing that they were the Killer Trees of Budapest!!!! That rain down clouds of yellow pollen and flower buds, covering the streets with their plant fertility and wreaking havoc on unsuspecting immune systems.
We made it to the Chain Bridge where we walked our bikes over to the Pest side of the city. The width of path and pedestrian volume made cycling over the bridge a bad idea. We followed our noses and Bruce's excellent sense of direction to Dorottya 11, the address on the booking form for the apartment we rented. There was renovation work going on in the courtyard, so we sat on the stairs, made some sandwiches, and gave George a call to figure out if we were in the right place. He came and got us by bike and took us to our apartment at Vaci 44. We are in a little apartment right on the main pedestrian way. Best of all it has a washing machine! (Note: we have now washed, dried, and repacked all of our clothes.)
George said that we could leave our bikes in the center courtyard of this apartment building (not under construction) but we didn't like that idea... so... again we tromped up 4 flights of stairs with our steel touring bikes. But at least they are safe.
After starting the first of many loads of laundry, we set off to do a bit of sightseeing. We walked to Grand Market Hall. It is actually very similar to the black market hall in Ulaanbaatar, except this one is much more tourist friendly. We had dinner at traditional hungarian place at the recommendation of George and bought 24hr passes for transit system so we can get around tomorrow. We found out only later that they aren't any good for funicular railway that takes you up to the Castle on the hill. We went up anyway. It was sunset as we went up so we watched as the lit up as the sun went down. We enjoyed view from Buda castle, seeing the chain bridge and parliament lit up under the full moon. We walked along the Fisherman's bastion, but it is no longer a full walk around since part of the way has been turned into a restaurant.....poor show.
We also happened upon the ugliest Hilton we have ever seen on top of the hill next to St. Matthias church...good job we aren't staying there!
A long walk down to the tram line, which (per usual on this trip) terminated early at a stop called Oktagon due to construction work. So we changed over to the Metro and got ourselves back to the apartment.
Put another load of laundry in and off to bed. It is HOT!
The World is Ours!
Bruce at the Chain Bridge
Oh yeah... Lovas... just like in Boston!
Andrea at the Paprika (hot pepper) counter at the Market
RSS Feed
