30 May 2023 – Second day in Budapest and more wandering amongst the classic architecture and open air shopping, with a natural pull toward a familiar sight.
The James Joyce now makes it 8 countries where we have had a pint of the black in an Irish pub – and still a couple more stops on this trip…
Back to the walking – again the architecture is amazing here…this is some shots of the Opera House – could only peek in on the lobby…
That was along the way to our scheduled pub crawl, as was a cool outdoor mall area full of bars and restaurants called the Gozsdu udvar- we chose the Spiler, for some more Hungarian goulash and beer…
Then to the peak of the evening – guided pub crawl around Pest, where we hit several night spots, free shot at each, brief entertainment when necessary, and met some fellow travelers in from Germany.
29 May 2023 – Sleep it seems will be welcome during this trip, if shorter than we’d like. It’s worth burning the midnight oil though – we can sleep when we get back home.
Quick tram ride to the station and then it’s goodbye Bratislava – our visit was short but excellent. Train back to Budapest for a three night stay. Spotted this humble abode high on a hill.
Airbnb for this stay – great price for a spot not far from the station but in some busy city bustle and not far from the historic area and the river. As everywhere here, beer is cheep..
Once settled in, a short walk through streets lined with large stone buildings and scattered churches brings us to Soviet War Memorial park – commemorating Russian military that served in WWII. Somewhat ironically it is flanked on one side by Ronald Reagan and the other by George HW Bush…
Fast forward to 2023, and you get a DJ spinning EDM with in front of the obelisk, and a significant crowd enjoying food and drink stalls. Turns out today, which for us at home is Memorial Day, here is also a national holiday for Whit Monday.
Just a couple of blocks away, our dinner reservation was at one of the best traditional Hungarian restaurants in Budapest – the Hungarikum Bisztró – a top rated place with multiple sites. I don’t usually post pictures of food, but the appetizer with hot pepper assortment and the hearty beef and pork entrees were worth capturing. Of course there was also beer – local Dreher light and dark – after a schnapps aperitif to kick off the meal.
Wandered around after dinner toward the river and the massive Parliament building – more on that tomorrow – then back toward our apartment where we spotted one of the only other bars still open on this holiday – Barcraft, a gaming bar that I know some of my peeps would love. We had a different local brew, and a challenging game of scrabble
Closed them up and then back across the street to sleep – see you tomorrow Budapest!
28 May 2023 – After much needed and rejuvenating sleep in Budapest, district this morning to the train station and a 2.5hr ride to Bratislava. Budapest we will be back!
Breakfast of ChampionsSlovakia border – like going into Wisconsin?
Our hotel – pretty cool in the main downtown historic district
We spent a couple hours to try and get a bit of local color and flavor – passing the Presidential Palace on the way to a very hip local micro – and a tasting flight.
Then a short walk through the Presidential garden to the Bratislava Flagship Restaurant – the flagship! – for some traditional Slovakian halušky and pierogi and of course another beer.
Now city tram to the National Stadium – and Depeche Mode! 20k+ and a fantastic show!
Trams stop in this city after 11…so 2 mile walk back to hotel, passing some cool architecture, but we did find a couple of open bars, including the famous(?) Goblins Pub, for a couple of Guinness nightcaps…
27 May 2023 – After what ends up as 36 hours travel time after leaving home at 5:30a Friday, checked into our hotel in Budapest at 10:30p local time – that’s CET (6 hrs ahead of Atlanta). The day was not just all beer drinking, walking and napping though – even if Friday was 12000 steps and then another 7000 Saturday in Gatwick. We did encounter this guy, headed to Budapest with a dozen buddies for his bachelor party (“stag do” they call it in the UK):
Michael has one hell of a weekend ahead…
Arriving in Budapest airport, I also was able to do something I never thought I would – withdraw 100,000 from an ATM!
26 May 2023 – After multiple postponements – the ‘2020’ Europe Genealogy trip is on! In 2019 we started planning this trip, primarily to visit Czechia and my ancestral homelands – after all we have done Ireland 9 times and K’s heritage has been well covered. But Covid and the ensuing global madness pushed this to 2021, then 2022, and finally once more…
But at last we embark on quite a journey – Czechia is the centerpiece, but we will also enjoy a few other stops, and the Depeche Mode European tour as well (twice!). We have kicked off – first leg (of 3) to Budapest is behind us – and posting this from JFK and a 12 hr layover – $12 beers will make this day as expensive as any to come…
