Skip to main content

Bel's Eastern Europe 1 - Buda.Pest

Did you know that Budapest, the capital of Hungary, is made up of both Buda and Pest, separated by the Danube River? I didn't know that before going. Actually I didn't know what to expect from my first eastern Europe city break. I soon found out too, that this is the homeland of Franz Liszt and Béla Bartók. My piano teacher would be so excited I imagine. This country used to be part of the grand Ottoman empire (today's Turkey), and then it came under communism rule till 1989. Budapest also boasts of having 2 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Ok enough of history and facts...

It was a short 2 day trip (I have to admit I cannot do weekend trips like this anymore. It is so rushing, and the travelling to and fro from the airport is too tiring. I was so zombiefied back at work on Monday.)

We decided to splurge on our hotel stay since it's just one night, and QKL said Hilton on Buda side of the river is next to a famous church (shares the same courtyard) and in the Fisherman's Bastion (with a panoramic view of the city) so we booked a night there. Boy we soon realised our hotel is thus high up on a hill (Buda is hilly). The more modern side is on Pest and we kinda regretted not choosing staying on Pest. Anyways, I know shouldn't complain coz it's Hilton!


We realised that a lot of names there starts with a "Sze" like their Szechenyi bridge. Sounds like a Chinese name rite? And even so... it sounds awfully familiar... like the name of our friend Sze Chien!! We kept laughing coz his name seems to pop up everywhere and so I concluded - Sze Chien has a Hungarian name. That's why. He must be from some Hungarian lineage.


Nice and sunny Saturday but do not be deceived. For it was freezing cold. Some pictures to share from Pest. Tried the authentic Hungarian Goulash soup (a very oily version of Minestrone soup to me)


Sunday was forecasted to have light snow and so in the morning we peered out from our window and saw very light fluffy snow outside. It's the kind that didn't settle on the ground so we didn't think much of it. After breakfast, we decided our itinerary for the day - take the cogwheel train, go up Gellert Hill, walk along the river Danube again. It was freeeezing. And then it snowed really heavily up on Gellert Hill. For the whole walk down, I couldn't feel my toes at all, I thought they were gonna drop off anytime soon. Suddenly the cold we feel in London pales in comparison. It's March and no sign of Spring in Budapest.


For once, I couldn't wait to go back to London for the warmer temperatures.

Other than the cold weather, I must say that the beauty of Budapest caught me by surprise, esp the night view of the chain bridge and of the illuminated Buda Castle. It was truly beautiful, something to remember Budapest for.

More photos
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2052902&id=1094966172&l=00543556b4
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jubilee Weekend | Afternoon Tea Party

http://www.thediamondjubilee.org/ Today is the end of the Jubilee celebrations and how better to end it off than to have an afternoon tea party in the company of friends, while watching the celebrations on our TV.  It has been quite an emotional afternoon, in the good sense of course.  I don't think I've ever seen Queen Elizabeth on TV (and heard the national anthem God Save the Queen) more than these 3 days combined, but this Jubilee weekend has made me grew to love and admire this lady.  She is 86 and reminds me so much of my own granny, and her strength is amazing.  Imagine being sworn in as queen at the age of 26.  (I mean, what was I doing when I was 26?)  On Sunday when she and Prince Philip went onboard the Spirit of Chartwell boat to watch the River Pageant, it was cold and windy but they stood throughout the 3 hours event.  It was said she was offered some hot tea and a seat, which she both said no to.  I love my grandma but I have to say I don't think
2 comments
I wanna read more!

Sleep, baby sleep

I had an idea to blog about Isabelle's sleep behaviour the other day.  Before having Isabelle, I had not the slightest idea how big the sleep topic is for a baby, and now a toddler.  I merely assumed that babies will sleep, no matter what, right?  Because they are tired right?  No, of course not.  Isabelle showed me how much she could and can fight sleep even when she is tired.  As a new mum, I did not know how to read her sleepy signs, and more often than not, she would be overtired by the time I catch her signs and by then she is cranky and crying.  Oh the tears.  From Isabelle and mummy. The early months Sleep has always been an issue for me when Isabelle was born.  She cried non stop every evening for hours on end, and we had no idea what to do with her.  Colic was the word most used on such babies, and everyone comforted us that this difficult phase would be over within 3 months.  I still remembered uttering "3 months?!" under my breath.  Not 3 weeks?  
2 comments
I wanna read more!

Murder Mystery Dinner Party

Two Saturdays ago we were invited to the Kim's for a themed dinner, specifically a Murder Mystery dinner party.  What is that, you might ask.  It was our first time attending such a dinner too, and so how it works is: a group of people attend a dinner party.  Each is assigned a role and will be given a script to read that night.  The aim of the party is to identify a murderer in the midst of us by the end of the night.  The hosts would work off a dinner game set (they got it off Amazon) and it comes with proper invites, setting/ scene, table name cards, scripts and even a suggested menu.  Clearly RX is an Agatha Christie fan. Two weeks beforehand, we received our invites in the postbox, telling us what roles we each have been assigned and the suggested attire (and props if necessary).  Interesting yes? The dinner was to start at 7pm and we were to have 8 people that night.  It's all very mysterious… Our invitation cards assigned K the role of Monsieur Bertrand, a f
Post a Comment
I wanna read more!