Budapest – Around the World in 99 Days

This visit to Budapest has been astronomically different to our last visit.

In November 1993 we caught a bus from Istanbul to Budapest. The snow had only started when we left Istanbul, but several hours in it was a full blown snowstorm. It was a hair-raising trip through Bulgaria and Romania, snowing the entire way. There were moments when enormous trucks were sliding sideways down icy hillsides towards us; at one point Don told me to hold onto my bag and when he said run, I should run. What was meant to take 20 hours took 48 hours.

There was only one other English speaking passenger, and I was one of only two women on that bus. There was no such thing as non-smoking, a haze of permanent acrid smoke filled the air. After maybe eight hours, despite his protests that we were in the middle of nowhere, we had the driver make a toilet stop. Somehow we convinced him through gestures that the whole world is a toilet. Hours later at a border crossing I gave the other woman some money when the guards refused her currency and weren’t going to let her pass.

We were the only people to get off the bus in Budapest so they dropped us in a random location. We stepped off the bus into a metre of snow, with no idea of where we were. Somehow we found a tram into the city centre. We had no Hungarian currency so we couldn’t buy a ticket. Then we trudged through the snow to the cheap university accommodation, following the tiny map in our Rough Guide to Europe. It was bitterly, bitterly cold.

At the university they told us there was no heating but they’d give us some extra blankets. We turned around, fought our way back through the snow and caught the very next train to Vienna.

Fast forward 30 years to this visit. Three days compared to three hours – Budapest, what a spectacular city.

We walked the streets and saw the magnificent buildings, squares and statues. Heroes’ Square, the Hungarian State Opera building, Central Market Hall, St Stephen’s Basilica, the heartbreaking Shoes on the Danube Bank memorial, the incredible Hungarian Parliament Building.

We went on a food tour; hot langos, delicious raspberry strudel, pastries and chimney cake, tasty sausages, stew and a straight shot of pálinka that nearly took my head off.

We walked across Széchenyi Chain Bridge and caught the cable car to Buda Castle and Fisherman’s Bastion. And of course we surprised Ruth at the Christmas markets and celebrated her birthday with the most wonderful meal at local restaurant Pörc & Prézli.

Budapest, all is forgiven; we love you! You’re still pretty chilly, but no need for extra blankets.

Budapest

When we let Tim and Ruth know we were coming to the UK for a visit, and that we’d also be taking the opportunity to go back to Europe for the Christmas markets, Tim immediately messaged me.

You see, Tim had a cunning plan.

‘Don’t talk about the Christmas markets!’ he wrote, ‘Ruth will want to go too, and I’ve booked a surprise European Winter Wonderland Christmas market cruise for her birthday.’

‘We’ll be in Budapest for her actual birthday,’ he went on, ‘perhaps you could surprise her and be there too?’

That sounded like a great idea! And so we were unwittingly drawn into this cunning plan. Actually unwitting is not true; I love a cunning plan, so I was on board from the get go.

Tim kept his cunning plan a tightly guarded secret; and we had to keep it a secret as well. Which is bloody hard when you’re going on holidays and everybody wants to know where you’re going. Including Ruth. So I invented a fake itinerary for the last leg of our trip, placing us as far from Budapest as I possibly could – in Spain.

Thus everybody in the UK thought we were going to Spain.

And everybody in Australia knew we weren’t.

Every social occasion we’ve had in the UK we’ve crossed our fingers hoping nobody would ask us where else we’d be going while we’re over. When they did, we would mutter something about Spain and rapidly change the subject. Honestly, holidays are meant to be relaxing!

When we set off for Heathrow over a week ago, Ruth waved us farewell and wished us a great holiday in Spain. We flew directly to Munich, where we began our travels eastwards towards Budapest.

We also went into immediate social media lockdown. It was old school travelling – when nobody knew where you were, what you were eating, how bloody cold you were or how dodgy your youth hostel was.

We have been to Munich, where we toured the Residence, found the medieval Christmas markets, explored the incredible science museum, climbed the tower and had tasty bratwurst and glühwein every night.

Meanwhile the first part of Tim’s cunning plan was revealed to Ruth, as a few days after we left they jetted off to Hungary and boarded their river cruise. I know this because they posted on Facebook, like normal people.

We were then on to Salzburg, where the sun was shining and the sky was a brilliant blue. We walked beside the crystal river, ate giant pretzels, caught the funicular up to the castle and meandered the pretty streets.

Meanwhile Ruth was asking Tim if he knew why we’ve been so quiet on social media, and why there are no updates on our Spain trip.

We’ve gone from altstadt to altstadt – one old European town to the next. It has been beautifully cold, the Christmas markets have been dazzling and the buildings and ancient churches spectacular.

Meanwhile the four of us have been converging on one city.

And now here we all are in Budapest. Finally today, in front of the Christmas tree at St Stephen’s Basilica Christmas markets, we really did surprise Ruth on her birthday.

Happy birthday Ruth ❤️❤️

Anyway, must run, I have 137 photos to post.