#2972 vacation memories: day 1 and 2 Budapest (UPDATED)

 

next stop: Amsterdam then on to Budapest

I have spent the most marvelous half hour looking at photos from just the first couple days of the vacation. I smiled and giggled a little. I'm taking the time to put the pics in folders on my external hard drive as I go, and I think I'll be happy about it in the long run. 

I've been thinking about how I want to tell you about the trip. Of course I took pics of pretty buildings and some random stuff that maybe I thought would look cool and maybe art-y. You'll likely see some of that, and I also really hope I can describe the feelings and thoughts I was having as I whisked through those two weeks. 

Let's start at the very beginning / A very fine place to start (IYKYK)

Lizzie and I switched things up by flying out of SLC instead of LAX. I only saw one downside to this plan: I didn't get to see my mom like I do when we fly from LAX. Other than that, flying out of SLC was fantastic. We waltzed right in to check our bags. No line, no fuss. Security was super easy and we were very quickly sitting at one of the airport bars toasting our upcoming trip before boarding the plane. We chose to sit in the middle section so no one would have to climb over us or we wouldn't have to climb over anyone to go to the WC. Lizzie had the aisle (because I sleep, so I don't get up much), and on the outbound flight, no one was sitting next to me. It was great! I slept most of the eight hour and 45 minute flight because I can.

We arrived at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam in the early afternoon. We had a layover of about three hours, so we walked around a little to stretch our legs, then had a drink and a snack at a bar before boarding the flight for Budapest. I think there may have been a bus ride out to the airplane in Amsterdam, but I don't really remember. Maybe it was when we came back to Amsterdam from Prague? Those details are fuzzy.

After a bit of anxiety and miscommunication, we finally met up with our driver in Budapest. He immediately began talking about American politics and shared a bit about Hungarian politics, too. It seemed like a long way from the airport to the hotel, but maybe it was just that I was kind of uncomfortable with the conversation.

The hotel, K + K Opera Budapest, is in a terrific location within easy walking distance of some cool things.  Our room had been upgraded, so it was quite large by European standards. 

hello from my hotel room in Budapest

Before we left, Lizzie did some research and found an authentic Hungarian restaurant less than ten minutes walk from the hotel, so we decided to go there since we were pretty hungry. I'd eaten dinner on the plane, but slept through breakfast, and that beer and snack in Holland was long gone. 

The restaurant was cool. There wasn't space to sit outside, but the doors/walls were open so we had a half-in-half-out table situation. We ordered local beer and traditional Hungarian food. This is what I had:

veal paprikas with dumplings

I had the third item on the menu, the veal paprikas with dumplings. Let me just take a moment to tell you about this dish because it was truly so, so good. The veal was melt-in-your-mouth tender. The gravy had a smoky paprika flavor that was tamed by the creme fraiche drizzled on top. The dumplings were slightly chewy and absorbed the gravy when I mixed it all together. I know I was hungry, and I also know that the dish was delicious and I would have it again in a heartbeat. 

For dessert, we shared a traditional Hungarian treat:

lugas

It reminded me a a trifle. It was chunks of sponge cake, giant dollops of whipped cream, and generous globs of chocolate and caramel sauces. I'm glad we shared it, because it was big, and damn, it was good. Capped off with a wee espresso, what a gorgeous meal and wonderful welcome to Budapest. Lizzie dazzled the servers with a few Hungarian words. She and I had a hearty giggle over a photo I took that included her but looked like she'd been splinched, (Harry Potter reference!) I wondered if we were just a little goofy from the long travel day, but when I looked at the photo just now, I laughed out loud again. Out of respect for my sister, I won't post the pic. lol

After dinner, we walked around just a little. We were both pretty tired and ready to stretch out on a bed. On our way to the hotel, we walked into a big plaza in front of this building:

St. Stephens Basilica

This is St. Stephens Basilica, the cathedral of Budapest. It was Saturday night (Sept 6) and there were lots of people out and about in restaurants around the square and walking in streets. My initial impression of Budapest is that it is a very clean city, at least what little I'd seen so far. Usually in these big European cities, the buildings look a little grimy, there's garbage and dog poop on the sidewalks, and it's just kinda grungy. I didn't see any of that in the couple of hours that we spent out that night. I also felt very safe. I realize I was in a nice part of the city, but even when we walked a little closer to the river and there were more people, I felt fine. No weird vibes. 

In my last post, I mentioned that I was making a travel journal. I took a pic of the Day 1 and Day 2 pages, but it doesn't seem like it has gone into the cloud yet. I'll add it next time I write so you can see a bit of my creative madness. Stickers! Little doodles! Scribbles!

travel journal 

Up next: a morning stroll, embarkation on the Viking Aegir, and a drunken night cruise on the Danube.