Blog ≫ 2025 ≫ Holiday 2025 - Budapest
Contemporary dictated notes, though they're a bit messier than the last one. Think I did this just before we left Budapest. We were there for two nights.
Budapest is really really hot at this time of year. I wasn't quite expecting that but it's been very welcome and very nice. Our first stop here was a nice place called Ruin Brew run by two Americans. We stopped because we needed a stop on the walk from where the airport bus dropped us. Let me go back a bit...
Our flight was fine. I think I already reported this 40-minute delay leaving, but only 5 minutes late coming in. Going through the airport was really quick. Really good even with our UK passports. Wife could have, but did not bring her other passport. Bus from the airport to let's say the city centre, and then we walked from there to our apartment, and Ruin Brew was on the way. We had beer, quite strong, quite expensive (this will become a theme) but nice. We also had chicken and chips and vegan chicken and chips to share. They gave us some recommendations there which turned out to be good too.
Our apartment is really good. Really big clean, new. Nothing to complain about, kitchen, lounge area, bathroom is good. Shower is good. Everything was good. I'm just out walking now looking for coffee. I've left the others in the apartment 1.
We looked up best things to do in Budapest, and most of them seem to be boat trips. But the city is famous for ruin bars, which seems to be a bar or collection of bars inside what was originally at abandoned building. I think went to what I think was the original one, that was really popular really really big, full of different bars. All in similar state. Wouldn't be everyone's taste but it's very cool. We liked it. I had a good beer there, some local fruit beer. Can't even remember what fruit it was now but it was good. Cherry surely 2.
On the morning of our second day here, so actually starting about midday I suppose, we had a Segway tour booked. We worked our way there on another bus. We've done well on the public transport itself. We've bought single tickets, about a quid a go. You validate them on the journey, but it doesn't seem to do anything in the bus, so all the busses have been free apart from ours initial one in from the airport. The tubes are fine too, but the ticket validation works there, and we did get checked once.
Segway tour Was brilliant. Took us to places we knew we should see but we probably wouldn't have made to on our own like Buda Castle and we got some extra time in Buda castle to have a look around. The boys are pretty tired with always walking, especially thing two. But we adults had done Segway a few times, but the boys hadn't done, but they managed really well. Could control them fine, managed everything. It's great, who went on proper roads up and down hills, loved it.
Right now I've walked to a park, towards a park but I'm not sure I'm going to walk in the park. Has this has been a further than I thought? I've walked abotu a kilometre and I'm supposed to be fetching coffee and taking it back. I was looking for one particular place 3. It had good reviews. I'll see how it goes. I have some cash to spend, where I got cash out to give the give it a tip to the Segway guy.
One of the tips we got in the first bar is that we should go to a water park, a particular water park on the island in the Danube. We plan to go to a an outdoor spa pool anyway because they're quite famous in Budapest. But in the bar they said kids aren't welcome at all of them, but this one on Margaret Island they are, and it'll be good, and it'll be a good way to stay cool. So I knew we were doing this in the afternoon, but I didn't quite occur to me that it was that same afternoon. So when we got to the Segway place I realised I'd left my swimming trunks back at the apartment. So after the Segway they settled down to have some lunch somewhere, and I went back to the apartment to get my trunks. I could move a lot quicker than I could with them in tow. But still I got the bus back to the apartment, but then the bus hadn't really saved a lot so I walked back to meet them again with my trunks. Also with my speciality "Dock and Bay" travel towel.
The water park was really good. I'm not sure how much we paid for this. Probably quite a lot because we must have bought on all day ticket even though we were only there a few hours. There's lots of different pools. There were indoor pools which we didn't go in, various outdoor pools, water slides. There was a fun pool, a beach pool, little kids, pool lane swimming, everything. So first we left the kids in the fun pool and went to get our cocktails. I wanted to do that as soon as I knew there was a cocktail bar overlooking the pool. Cocktails not great actually, but the novelty was. So then we went back to the pools and a splash. They had a lazy River which is usually my favourite, but I kept missing the timing of it, it was only jet powered at certain times. We did go on the water slides. Some that were too big for me to go on, too fast, too scary. The boys loved them though. And they had a slide with two man rubber rings, that was good. The whole place was a really nice sort of lido. Really good.
I got our coffees and was walking back when wife called, did I know we had to be out of the apartment by 10am? And that's in five minutes? I was nearby and I was already packed so a quick flap helping everyone else and we were out only fifteen minutes late... Coffees were cold by the time we got to them.
We walked passed the New York cafe which is supposed to be fabulous, but there was a huge queue so we went somewhere nearby for brunch. Very nice but felt expensive. The others had some version of cooked breakfast and I had beetroot hummus and avocado on sourdough, and THREE drinks. 1. I wanted more juice, 2. I wanted to try espresso tonic, 3. T2's came with a coffee so I had that too. Espresso tonic is espresso, tonic water, and ice. Not sure if order that again, unless to show off.
Looks like a natural break in the dictation there, the next bit is me on a train, but I can go back to fill in some gaps.
The apartment really was good. We walked past some slightly edgy looking places getting close to it, the wife admitted later she was sure it was going to be a bad place (as I had chosen this one, over a hotel). But no, it was great. A normal modern block, with a key in a combination safe type thing that we had the code to. A big lounge kitchen type bit, bigger than our lounge, loads of room. Then a nice bathroom, good shower, two big bedrooms. The area was fine too, and there was a twenty-four hour shop on the opposite corner. We were on the third floor I think, and there was a balcony looking out over the street.
Here's a look inside the famous Ruin Bar, Szimpla Kert. This is just the internal courtyard, there are bars all round this. Probably best just this picture than the selfie I took at this same spot.
But here is an impression of what it's like inside:
I said I want a picture of me looking lost and confused in here, and I can't remember why right now. That beer must have been stronger than I thought.
Later we had dinner at Klauzal Cafe, a traditional Hungarian place (but probably mostly for tourists), it was lovely. I had a vegan version of their famous dish that is not goulash, one of the others had goulash (it was the best thing of the day apparently) and the other two had chicken things. Everyone was pretty adventurous with the food really.
The next morning I was up early and went for a run, I wanted to run across the bridge from the Pest side where we were staying to the Buda side and I did. We'd do that same trip again on the segways later. The segway trip really was good, the guide was very informative, and he made some extra time at the end for us to go and have a look round the castle.
I loved the swimming, we all did. The weather was so hot it really was good to cool off there. The water was so warm in all of the pools. We thought we'd be going to a traditional thermal spa type thing, but the people in the first bar said nah, not with kids you won't. This was much better. It was a reasonable distance away so we got the tube there. I have said before and I'll say it again, the public transport was great on this trip.
Later that evening we found a less traditional place that had craft beers and burgers and ran up a lovely bill. All just walking distance back to our apartment though. And then the next morning I went for a walk for coffee, and that's where we had the flustered packing, before heading to the station. It was a long walk really, but we did stop for brunch at this cafe.
You know I'm only going to write a lot of content about Budapest don't you? I will run out of enthusiasm now I am back. I haven't even written up the last day of Glastonbury yet, and I'm not sure I finished our trip to Singapore either...
Just passing Mosonmagyaróvár as I write this bit. We were at the station for our train to Vienna with a good hour to spare but we didn't know if there'd be special procedures for an international train. There are not. We found unreserved seats but still got moved twice by people who've made last minute reservations, gah. You can have your unreserved seat reserved from under you by someone on the platform who knows what they're doing. At least we've had the tickets checked now and I don't appear to have fouled this one up (apart from not reserving seats). Still plenty more chances 4.
A fine journey, only three hours or so, but the moving and the fear is being moved again meant it wasn't relaxing. Could be worse, it was crowded, people were standing. And now we're in Vienna!
We thought the trains would be fine, this was not our best experience, but it was not our worst experience. We know for next time we need to reserve seats, and we know that even though a seat appears unreserved that can change at the last minute. But also now I know how to reserve seats at the last minute. I will have my revenge.
Next time I'm going back travelling overnight on sleeper trains.
- So I must have been dictating this just as we were ready to leave Budapest
- Pretty sure now it was cherry, and the wife had a pale ale and the boys had soft drinks of course. And we sat at a table and played cards. If we were here late at night we'd apparently not be able to sit or even see the interior of the bar. So afternoon is a good time to come.
- It was called Horeb, it looked a bit different, was a bit off the beaten track. It was nice enough.
- It was fine after our second move.