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Old 05-02-2019, 02:19 PM   #41
Engine09
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Sitting at the gate now about to board, also hitting Krakow, Prague, Vienna and Lviv on this trip but will have almost 2 days in Budapest.

Lot of great info in this thread already but I'll post my findings!
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Old 05-02-2019, 02:20 PM   #42
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Sitting at the gate now about to board, also hitting Krakow, Prague, Vienna and Lviv on this trip but will have almost 2 days in Budapest.

Lot of great info in this thread already but I'll post my findings!
Prague is beautiful and you won't be disappointed there. I'm heading to Vienna ahead of Budapest, so let me know what you get to there as well!
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Old 05-06-2019, 01:39 PM   #43
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Quite proud that I navigated the rental car through Prague the other day with relative ease and then right into the heart of Budapest today. One hand on the wheel and the other holding my phone zooming in and out of Google Maps.

Auschwitz/Birkenau in the morning and Prague in the evening was an emotional shift. I feel like the only thing that could lift my spirits after that visit was seeing Prague for the first time.

Budapest looks incredible so far, it has the noise, action and grime of a big city with a classic old world feel. The bridges at night are beautiful, heading out tomorrow to hit most of what's mentioned here.
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Old 05-06-2019, 04:38 PM   #44
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I may be too late, but visit the Parliament and the ruin bars and the spas.
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Old 05-07-2019, 09:57 AM   #45
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can't remember the name, but go to the dance club in Pest and say hi to the cage dancer Olga for me. haven't seen her since 1995...... good times.
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Old 05-11-2019, 02:21 AM   #46
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After extensive research and spending time in 5 countries I can say confidently and without hesitation that Poland has the most beautiful women. It became, very clear. More natural beauty, less dependence on smoke and mirrors. They seem more kind and warmhearted.

Slovakian women are a bit severe, some very beautiful but I can tell they can get mean. Hell, some looked like vampires. Czech and Hungarian women have their own charm but if I don't lock down a good Canadian prairie girl then it's back to Krakow.

Only 1.5 days in Budapest, skimmed the usual stuff, honestly nothing much to add. Gellert Baths, Parliament, Buda Castle w/Funicular, Fisherman's Bastion, Chain Bridge, etc. Loved the big city feel, very glad we included it. My Dad is 71 and kept up with a lot of walking, not one complaint. Great trip we'll both never forget.
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Old 05-11-2019, 09:04 PM   #47
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Bourdain in Budapest right now on CNN.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6lxz0b

Check out the giant schnitzel! 09:30 . . .
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Old 05-27-2019, 03:30 PM   #48
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I thought I’d post a few thoughts as I just returned from Budapest. I was there for five days and pretty much hit everything. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it really is a great city! A few comments on the main things:

- The castle is pretty cool. We went through the National Gallery there (there are two museums) and it was nice. They have a Bauhaus exhibition right now, and I’d like art and specifically that kind of art it was really cool. If art isn’t your thing, the other museum is probably more your thing. Nice views up there though.

- I found Fisherman’s Bastion and that area a waste of time. The best views are all ones you have to pay for, and I’m too cheap. In all honesty, Budapest is so beautiful, you can’t take a bad photo and I’m not paying to take one more. It’s a pure tourist trap. The church up there (St.Matthias) is probably beautiful inside as well, but I didn’t want to pay to go in yet another big beautiful church. My thriftiness probably means I shouldn’t comment on these two things though!

- We went to both the Széchenyi and Gellért Baths, and if you only do one I would say Széchenyi is better. While Gellért has the sauna/cold pool, and there are both indoor and outdoor pools, Széchenyi was just bigger pools and deeper. I just preferred there to Gellért, but it’s a bit of splitting hairs as they’re both great!

- One of the main highlights was the nighttime cruise. It was cheap (I think like $28CAD) and totally worth it. The buildings are all lit up as well as the bridges and it’s just beautiful.

-Also worth a walk is the Gellért Hill. Again, beautiful views and totally worthwhile!

- The House of Terror was a huge disappointment. First, the line to get in was about half an hour. Once you get in, maybe you need the audio guide, but there is really not much in the way of explanations. Then you have a lot of videos, all playing at once, and while they’re horrific, you just can’t stand there and watch them all. There are pages of writing in each room to read and while I did that, I felt that rooms weren’t a good reflection of what those pages were telling you. Don’t get me wrong; there are some terrifying and incredibly sad things in this facility, but it just wasn’t worth all the effort. It’s so close to being an unbelievably good place, but they need an editor and some better organization. I didn’t get into that side of things, but it’s a complete mess at some points both in terms of getting in and in terms of going through the museum.

- I also spent some time at the Ecseri flea market. This is the largest flea market in Central Europe, and if you like looking at junk, this is your place! I did find it a little unnerving that there was so much Nazi paraphernalia for sale. There are a lot of communist things as well, and I did debate buying a few but thought better of that. I really have no use for these things and at the same time, I have a hard time with people profiting from a couple of horrible regimes. Anyway, I wouldn’t be in a rush to go here as it’s out of the way and not really necessary.

There are so many things I haven’t touched on here. Great food, great beer and such a fantastic variety of places. The ruins pubs, fancy cocktail bars and both traditional and other restaurants make it a great place to visit. I would definitely go back!
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Old 05-27-2019, 04:58 PM   #49
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Awesome. Thanks for the write up Slava. We will be there in a month and looking at a few night river tours as well. Which one did you go with?? Also found a neat vampire tour or so, but not sure about it. Lol.
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Old 05-27-2019, 05:31 PM   #50
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Awesome. Thanks for the write up Slava. We will be there in a month and looking at a few night river tours as well. Which one did you go with?? Also found a neat vampire tour or so, but not sure about it. Lol.
I did the one through Portum Lines and to be honest some of the others looked nicer. But really, all I did is sit at the front and take dozens of photos. It was about an hour. There were some that had dinner and all that, but I just went with a super basic one.

One thing though, there are cans waiting for you when you get off and they’re totally gouging tourists! I was offered a ride for 7000 Forints which is about $28-30 CAD, and completely insane. Download the Bolt app which is still cabs, but they haven’t got Uber. That app was good. And I would also download Lime as they have electric scooters through them there.

And one other thing; you’ll want Forints. Be careful on where you get them though because there are a few “no commission” places and instead of a commission they kill you on the spread. Same with these ATMs you’ll see all over. Go to a legit bank and you’ll get a reasonable rate though, or buy ahead at Calforex or somewhere.
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Old 05-29-2019, 08:35 AM   #51
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I did the one through Portum Lines and to be honest some of the others looked nicer. But really, all I did is sit at the front and take dozens of photos. It was about an hour. There were some that had dinner and all that, but I just went with a super basic one.

One thing though, there are cans waiting for you when you get off and they’re totally gouging tourists! I was offered a ride for 7000 Forints which is about $28-30 CAD, and completely insane. Download the Bolt app which is still cabs, but they haven’t got Uber. That app was good. And I would also download Lime as they have electric scooters through them there.

And one other thing; you’ll want Forints. Be careful on where you get them though because there are a few “no commission” places and instead of a commission they kill you on the spread. Same with these ATMs you’ll see all over. Go to a legit bank and you’ll get a reasonable rate though, or buy ahead at Calforex or somewhere.
Thanks for the info!! Especially the part about needing Forints, lol. I totally thought Budapest was strictly on the Euro. I kinda like the idea of riding Lime bikes all over so will get that for sure.
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