Travel Log: Budapest, Hungary

  You may have seen on my Instagram that I recently visited Germany's Pfalz wine region, famous for its Riesling Trocken (dry Riesling), with a full week's itinerary planned by our dear friend for our group of 22 people. After our week in this stunning wine region, my husband and I decided to visit two new-to-us cities to complete our European adventure: Prague and Budapest. You can find my Prague travel logs here, and today I am sharing how we spent a quick two day intro visit to Budapest. This city has history dating back to early Celtic and Roman times when military camps were built on the Danube River. The cities of Buda and Pest were established on opposite sites of the river in the 12th century, and eventually officially united as one city in 1873. Please continue on to see highlights of our first visit to Budapest. 

We booked a short Ryanair flight from Prague to Budapest on a Monday morning--the most basic of basic airlines but the only direct flight option. The flight took off and landed on time, but it took almost an hour to get our checked bags (annoying to say the least, but we chalked it up to not having enough ground crew and it met my low expectations for the airline). We arrived at our hotel, the historic Four Seasons Gresham Palace, in time to have lunch and explore the Pest side of the city. The Four Seasons Gresham Palace is located right next to a pedestrian street that runs up to St Stephen's Basilica, is lined with restaurants and is a close walk to the beautiful Andrassy Avenue (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) with its high end shops and the Hungarian State Opera House. We enjoyed exploring on a beautiful, hot, sunny afternoon and my favorite shops were Zsolnay (delicate porcelain pieces) and Ghraoui Chocolate (we purchased chocolates as gifts for friends and family). 

The Four Seasons Gresham Palace was originally built in 1904-1906 by the Gresham Life Assurance Company of London as luxury residences, offices and retail shops. After being severely damaged in WW2 and a period of disrepair, the building was restored with the help of the the local government and the National Office of Culture Heritage and converted into this luxury hotel as of June 2004. The view from our room was of the Danube River and the Szechenyi Chain Bridge with its formidable lion sculptures.

We walked to dinner near our hotel and went for a lovely evening walk across the Szechenyi Chain Bridge afterward. It was a vibrant atmosphere with boats cruising on the river, music, and many people out enjoying a warm evening along the river. 

Our second day (and only full day), we thought about going out to the thermal baths but since we visited in late July it was so hot that we opted against it. I will certainly visit the thermal baths if we return in the winter, but this time around we booked a river cruise to learn a bit more history and see both sides of the city from the water. The cruise dock was approximately a ten minute walk from our hotel, the cruise itself was about an hour long, and I really enjoyed it!

We booked a lovely dinner at Babel our second (and final) evening in the city. This restaurant has one Michelin star and their eight course tasting menu was both delicate and delicious--such a treat. The courses included their "Casino Egg" with sturgeon caviar, venison with morel and berries (and brioche in the background), and a raspberry dessert with pine cone and violet. On our way in and out, we saw the "Moon Budapest" exhibit, which is a 3D printed replica of the moon that hangs in the alley in front of the restaurant. I am not sure how long this moon replica will be there, but it was a very unique thing to see!

I very much enjoyed our first visit to Budapest and would love to return during a cooler month to visit the famous thermal baths and explore more of the area. If you have visited this city, what was your favorite moment or thing to do? Please don't hesitate to leave me a comment below to let me know. Thank you for visiting my blog today and I hope you have a fabulous week!