My first hot and sweaty day back on the tourist trail in Budapest. My every intention was to have an easy day and just to soak it all in and get my bearings. But of course this entailed a lot of walking and a lot of sweating!
I had a coffee and a croissant at the restaurant here and then set off. First thing I wanted to do was buy a public transport pass for 7 days. This was a complicated exercise but a man popped up to help me, an elderly man who looked like he was paid to help tourists but he didn’t speak English, so another lovely young man also popped up to help…so lovely really. So I got my pass and have been working out the trams and busses with limited success.
Off I went for a bit of a meander through the streets, poking my head into the touristy shops to get a feel (I’m afraid little to buy). I had some Bosnian Marks left over (about $40 worth, so it was worth trying to change them), I had no luck for ages in the many change places all over town. But luckily I eventually found a place to take them.
I then walked over the bridge to the Buda side but didn’t start climbing any hills, just turned around and walked back over the bridge and up to St Stephen’s Basilica, which I explored for a while. By this time it was well and truly afternoon and I decided I was hot and sweaty enough to retreat to the hotel for a break. I had soup and a glass of wine and came up to my room to cool off and do some washing and read until now.
I’m looking at Melbourne prices for a glass of wine here…a bit of a shock. I looked at booking on-line for a tour of Parliament House but the price for a non-EU citizen is double an EU citizen and is around $40 so I looked at reviews and have decided that the outside will do me.
There are large groups of tourists everywhere, there are Danube Cruise ships bringing in the masses, including many Australians…including those in corked hats drinking beer. They should have their citizenship removed and be sent back from where they came from!!! Someone tell Dutton.
Now it’s food time again and maybe an evening stroll, or maybe not, I’ll see how I feel.
Well food time took ages. I got talking to a lovely Danish couple which meant the time passed very quickly. Nice meal. I had duck but I confess it was a bit tough. It was also expensive. In terms of cost of living Hungary is something of a rude awakening. Time to rest now to be ready for whatever tomorrow brings.