Travelling by train to Prague

We were out the door of our hotel at 8 am. The cost per room of 115 Euros for the night was inflated by another 25 Euros occupancy tax. We had been going to walk with our luggage to the station, but decided to get a taxi as the bags were heavy. The hotel had a taxi that could take the 4 of us for 10 Euro so we were happy with that. We were approached at the station by porters and refused their help. But in the end another one looked at our tickets and then ushered us into a Business Lounge, presumably because we had First Class tickets. We wouldn't have known about it otherwise. There were free drinks and snacks there (we had turned down the 28 Euro per person breakfast offer of the hotel!).

We were escorted to the train by our porter, who took all the very heavy suitcases, insisted on heaving them onto the train, lugging them to our compartment, and hefting them by himself up onto the luggage racks above our seats - then he demanded a large tip! We were in a compartment with 6 seats, no one else with us, with room to stretch out - so that was good. Jan and I later looked at the second class carriage situation (that we'd originally been booked into, before changing to the first class carriage we decided on just before we left home). It was ok, but a lot more crowded, much less leg-room and smaller seats, plus we wouldn't have been seated anywhere near together. We were glad we'd paid the extra.

There was a dining car, where we could sit at a table if we wanted to. I could have had a GF omelette if I wanted but settled for one of my GF muesli bars while we all had a coffee and the others bought long rolls filled with ham and cheese that were brought around to our carriage - no food included on these first class fares! This train and the facilities/services was no comparison to the one for our trip to Amsterdam.

The area just out of Budapest was very scruffy and had enormous amounts of graffiti, but before long we were out in the beautiful countryside and saw the Danube that we'd been sailing along. Some of the journey was back part of the way we'd come on the boat, getting to Bratislava just after midday, and apparently there was a stop at Vienna but we somehow missed that. On the train journey, we passed through 4 countries - Hungary, Slovakia, Austria and the Czech Republic. It was very pictureque and pleasant, though David started to feel a bit queasy with motion sickness towards the end.

On the way we checked out some of Rick Steves' tips and warnings about getting taxis in Prague. Scary stuff! We arrived in Prague on time at 4:18 pm (having left Budapest at 9:25 am) and followed Rick's advice of where to find an ATM at the railway station (David withdrew 5000 Koruna, because Euro is not the currency here - that equates to about NZ$336). We avoided the taxis there because of Rick's warning, but couldn't find one across the road where he suggested we look. We did, however know which two taxi companies he recommended (saying the others operated like Mafia, and Marion had warned us too), and luckily saw a good taxi coming our way. Jan flagged it down. I asked how much to take us to our hotel, and that matched with what Rick recommended as a price (300 Kc). He did struggle to get all 4 big suitcases in the back and almost gave up, but we managed, and were happy for him to make the price 350 Kc because of the big load with four passengers. His car struggled over the bumpy roads, up towards the Castle District where we were staying. The traffic was horrendous and the trip took half an hour. He was very nice and pointed out a few sights, so we ended up paying him a well-deserved 400 Kc.

Our hotel rooms are unusual, ours is smaller and in the newer part of the hotel, the Barrows' is bigger and in the older part. They're on the ground floor and we're on the first, with a nice view of the street, and double-shutters that will hopefully keep out the noise. We did have a few steps that David had to get our luggage up, and the lift is very small.



The hotel receptionist was lovely, and we found out that breakfast is included and the internet wireless is free. She recommended a lovely restaurant just along the road, where we again sat in the open air and had a really lovely meal. I handed over a gluten free Czech language card and everything was fine. It was a lovely, warm evening and had been a hot day.

Back at the hotel, we managed to Skype Andrew, and found that FaceTime works too! Tried to call Michelle but she was already at an 8:00 am lecture. No good calling Ross, he won't surface before midday. If you try to Skype or text us, please keep in mind that we're 10 hours behind you :-)

Budapest

This morning we left the boat. It was very sad saying goodbye to our waiter, Gabriel, and our Cruise Director, Marion.

Marion had booked a car to take us to our hotel at 9:30 am, but he was there an hour early and we realised that he had our luggage in the car and was prepared to wait for us till the allotted time! Marion helped us talk with him, and we paid the 20 Euro that had been arranged and he took our luggage to the hotel and checked it in for us, and we instead took the free shuttle ferry across the river to the Pest side and spent the morning looking around the shops. They didn't open till 10 am, so we had to fill in a bit of time first.

We went our separate ways, but met up around 12:30 pm for a cool drink, not needing lunch after the big breakfast we'd had on the boat. David and Steve shared a gorgeous-looking club sandwich. Then we slowly made our way to the hotel on foot, with Steve doing the navigating as I was exhausted. It was a sweltering hot day, around 28, we think. My ankle (that I'd broken before Christmas) has been very swollen and quite sore at times, and my achilles tendon has been incredibly sore sometimes too. So, walking to the hotel in all that heat after walking around all morning was taking its toll. I've been making good use of my walking pole, especially where there are cobblestones or steps, and it gives good support. We arrived to find our bags were already in our spacious rooms in the elegant and up-market Corinthia Hotel that is the number 2 rated hotel on Trip Advisor for Budapest.

After an hour's rest, we wandered a little way along the street. The guys sat and had some lovely and very cheap beers in a sidewalk bar, and Jan and I headed to a coffee shop. Then we headed back to the hotel for a wonderful swim in their lovely 15 metre indoor pool in their luxurious spa area, followed by an amazing 20 minutes in a jacuzzi that gave my feet an incredible massage from its powerful jets of water.
















We headed out for dinner in an outside area of an adjoining restaurant. We were lucky to get a booking. The evening was perfect - warm, and no wind at all. The food was absolutely amazing, and very reasonable, and the service was outstanding. They were excellent in their understanding of gluten-free, too. The only thing to spoil it a little, was the woman at the adjacent table, who lit up a cigarette a few times. We certainly notice the huge number of smokers in Europe.

Tomorrow we catch the train for a 7.5 hour journey to Prague, where we will be staying 3 nights. We really love Budapest as a city.

Budapest

This morning we sailed into the Hungarian capital around 9 am. It certainly was a great photo opportunity from the sun deck. Budapest became a single city occupying both banks of the Danube with the amalgamation in 1873 of right-bank towns Buda and Obuda, with Pest on the left bank. Budapest has around 2 million people living there. Hungary has been a member of the EU since 2003, but does not yet officially have the Euro.

We had free time for the morning, with lunch back at the boat at 12 pm if we wanted it. So, we walked across the Elizabeth Bridge to a wonderful pedestrian shopping area on the Pest side. Everything was clean and tidy, there were lovely little Squares scattered about, and baskets of flowers hanging from the lamp posts. The prices looked quite good, too. We had a good walk around, and saw a few shops to go back to tomorrow when we have more time. We also walked to the Central Market, where there were lots of stalls selling fruit and vegetables, meat, fast food, and souvenirs. We were not tempted to buy anything. We walked back across the Liberty Bridge to our boat.

After lunch we had a 4 hour tour around the city, mostly by bus. We got to our first stop, where our cruise director and an ambulance had to be called to a lady who has that flu/virus that has been doing the rounds for the whole trip. She was taken to hospital but returned to the boat in the evening. Apparently someone on one of the other buses also needed to have a taxi called to take her back to the boat because she was ill. A doctor had apparently been at the boat last night. Sure hope we don't catch it!

First we visited the Castle district on the Buda side of the city and had absolutely wonderful views from the Fisherman's Bastion landmark. We also saw the Royal Palace and Mathias Church. The old Ministry of Defence building has been left in the state it was in after WWII, with bullet holes all over it.

An excellent stop on the Pest side was at Heroes Square, adjacent to a wonderful city park that we only drove past.


We drove past the zoo, the circus, and an amusement park, as well as some of the buildings housing thermal pools/spas. There were museums as well. We also passed the Parliament, and some interesting newer buildings including some university buildings (saw the Economics department). The streets were all clean and tidy and many were lined with trees. The older buildings looked tidy and I felt quite at home here. My favourite city so far, I think.

Another stop was the Opera House, where we were given a tour, sat in a box, heard stories about the Opera from a guide, and then were treated to a glass of champagne or orange juice while a couple of opera singers entertained us in the balcony/stairs area. The woman wasn't hitting her top notes too well, but then I'm getting too critical after sitting in on Michelle's singing lessons, but I know what Jean would have thought. :-) Anyway, it was all very nice, but we eventually headed back to the boat, exhausted.

From 6-7 pm there was a Gypsy group performing in the lounge, and I did see most of their entertainment - there were dancers and some great violin playing. David stayed in the cabin to make a start on the packing, as our bags have to be outside our cabin door by 8 am tomorrow, and a taxi will be taking us to our hotel at 9:30 am. We'll be having just the one extra night in Budapest after our cruise. It's been wonderful being able to unpack for the past 2 weeks, but now we'll be back to living out of our suitcases again.

After our last dinner on the boat, we went to the lounge or sun deck to watch the city lights as it got dark. The boat sailed up and down a couple of times, with music playing, and we all enjoyed the beautiful scenery. It was magic. This is a very beautiful city. I'll probably add some more photos here when I've downloaded them and have access to wireless internet again. I don't think our next hotel has that.