Our overnight train actually includes an alarm which is nice that
goes off at 30 minutes (I believe) before the expected arrival so that you can
get up and prepare for your day. You can however, request to turn it off. There
is one alarm per bunk, so even if you turn yours off, you need to make sure
that your cabin mates turn theirs off as well.
Budavar Pension was our hotel in Budapest and overall, I thought it was good. The location is very good and right by the Fisherman's Bastion and a short walk to the local train station which has a Spar supermarket. Viktor was a very good innkeeper and was very helpful. Breakfast was included and it was good enough for a B & B style hotel since their are only roughly 6 rooms. Our room was very large and had a great view of the parliament building. Viktor isn't always there, so you do need to coordinate when you arrive so that he is there. There is no tub here as well (maybe it isn't common in Europe), and there is also no lift/elevator, but Viktor did help bring our luggage up the stairs.
We arrived at 6:45am. I got us a bit lost once we headed outside
but unfortunately, nothing is open yet at the train station, so you need an
idea of which direction you need to go. After we found our way, we got to the
hotel and dropped off our bags and headed to the local McDonald’s for
breakfast. Their breakfast is the same as ours, however, we noticed that they
have some Mario toys for their Happy Meals and I guess we will be coming back a
few times. Tax is included in the price and it was only 45 Kč. Yes, that means
that a Happy Meal cost us roughly $2.50 CAD.
We walked the Old Town Square area in the morning and arrived at
the clock for the show that takes place at noon and this place was PACKED!
Insane amount of people compared to Munich and man, this was a disappointment.
It lasted for about one minute and nothing happens. There are some sounds,
someone hits a ball and it is over. There is no show like in Munich where
figurines move around. I wouldn’t waste my time to come and see this, but it is
up to you, if you happen to be here at that time, it is fine (much like we
were), but I would feel like I wasted my time if I went out of my way to see
it.
Astronomical clock. |
While wandering around, we walked past a protest. Yes, a protest,
well, actually, what we thought was a protest. Allison asked a police officer
what was happening since the protest had police officers escorting them and
apparently this happens all the time when their local soccer team is playing.
How ridiculous does that sound? There is a huge group just wandering the
streets and cheering for their team even though they weren’t playing until
later in the day.
Made it to the Charles Bridge and crossed it to get to the John
Lennon Pub for lunch. The Charles Bridge is a pretty big tourist landmark and
it is hard to miss if you are in the area. It is a bit dark and there are lots
of tourist stands on it (drawings, paintings, souvenir shops, etc). If you come
at the wrong time, it will be packed.
At the pub, we ordered the Farmer’s Kettle, pork ribs, tomato
salad, and the goulash with lemonades which were raspberry lemonades today.
They were a bit fizzy which was weird and not for me. We arrived at 12:15pm on
a Sunday and surprisingly it wasn’t busy, there were maybe three other tables.
Food was okay, I wouldn’t go out of the way to come eat here. Service was fine
and they spoke English. Entrees were roughly 250 Kč and cost us 1,053 Kč in
total.
After lunch, we saw the John Lennon Wall, took some pictures and
headed back to the hotel to rest a bit since we didn’t really sleep well on the
train. Ended up at U Kroka for dinner which is on the opposite side of the
tourist area and the entrees were really cheap at around 200 Kč a dish and they
were really big and filling. Beer still costs roughly the same as a regular
drink in this city/country, so I guess I’m drinking again! Ordered the roasted
pork, sliced duck breast, and rolled rabbit loin and tried the mixed beer which
turned out to be a dark beer on top of a light beer. Food was pretty good, I’d
suggest coming although it may be out of the way. Total was 876 Kč.
With dinner completed, we walked back to the main train station to
buy train tickets for Kutna Hora tomorrow and we headed back to the hotel and
called it a day.
Beer #14? |
Roast pork. |
Duck breast. |
Rabbit loin. |
National Museum at night. |
Tomorrow, we will visit Kutna Hora and explore the little town
there.
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