Budapest Part Three

Hi,

For the last full day we headed out of Budapest, to the area known as 'The Danube Bend'. We went by bus to Esztergom from the bus station. We were planning to come back by boat from Szentendre later, but that plan was well and truly scuppered. More on that tale of woe later. We did consider a boat trip there and back, but as our money was getting low decided to use the low-cost bus option. The bus station in Esztergom is a lot closer to the centre of the city than the rail station, so if you have mobility issues the bus is the way to go. The superb website link below describes the various modes of transport to the Danube Bend towns and cities, with travel times and costs involved.

http://www.budapestbylocals.com/budapest-day-trips.h

http://www.budapestbylocals.com/budapest-hungary-travel.html

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Hungary/Komarom_Esztergom_Megye/Esztergom-435386/TravelGuide-Esztergom.html

Esztergom has architecture befitting a former Hungarian Capital City, which it was for three hundred years between the 13th and 16th centuries. The literally outstanding sight of Esztergom is the enormous Basilica, seen from everywhere in the city due to its dominating position atop Castle Hill. It was weird seeing a Basilica surrounded by military fortifications, but we presume it was a necessary marriage of ecclesiastical and military needs at a time when conflict with rival tribes was a constant threat.

http://www.bazilika-esztergom.hu/index.php?oldal=117

This view was taken from Maria Valeria Bridge.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esztergom_Basilica
Interior.


There are quite a few buildings that have ornate frontages in Esztergom.
Széchenyi Square, rebuilt and renovated in 2006.
http://
Also renovated in 2006 was the 'Old Seminary'.


The former synagogue.

Watertown.

There are some baroque churches to visit in this small city too.
St. Peter's & St. Paul's church.

And a church in Watertown, plus a few more examples.

When you have finished walking round the streets of Esztergom, just head towards the Danube river to the Maria Valeria Bridge.
Image from Wikimedia Commons user Nyar94
http://

Walk across the Bridge and halfway across is the border between Hungary and Slovakia. It is marked by a plate with car registration country identifier letters 'SR' for Slovakia, and 'MK' for Hungary. The Hungarian letter should be a 'H', but 'MK' stands for Magyar Koztarsasag or 'Republic of Hungary' in English, as shown below. This was a really easy way to tick another country off the 'to do' list. There are conflicting reports as to whether you need a passport to enter Slovakia or not, we say play safe and take it anyway.
Yvette with Esztergom Basilica in the background at the border, I wish I had told her to go to her right for a better composition of the photograph.

Mark in Hungary, sorry about the image quality Yvette was 'fighting' the twin foes of sunlight and shade.

Yvette in Slovakia, well nearly, it was the only way to get her and the sign in shot.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A1ria_Val%C3%A9ria_Bridge

Sturovo was a sleepy town in Slovakia that appeared to have not much to recommend a trip to it, other than crossing Slovakia off the countries done list. After walking around for a while, it soon dawned on us that the sooner Mark had drunk his beer that confirmed in his weird mind that he had visited Slovakia the better. There was not much to see, but hopefully that will change as the locals were very pleased to receive tourists from Hungary. There is a pedestrianized square, and that appeared to be that. If anyone knows different, we would love to be proved wrong.
Photo by Wikimedia Commons user' Husond'.
http://
A quick walk back over the bridge and a bus ride later we entered the city of Szentendre, another riverside location that is quite close to Budapest. We headed for the main square, Fö tér.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Szentendre

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Hungary/Budapest_Fovaros/Budapest-436839/Things_To_Do-Budapest-Szentendre-BR-1.html

Image of below by Thaler Tamas.
http://
If you like museums then this is the day trip for you, as there are a wide variety of museums to visit. If forced to pick just one, it would have to be the Hungarian Open Air Museum. This museum showcases differing styles of Hungarian houses through the centuries.

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g274914-d276839-Reviews-Hungarian_Open_Air_Museum_Szabadteri_Neprajzi_Muzeum-Szentendre_Pest_County_Centra.html

http://

Now that our sightseeing was at an end, our thoughts turn to the short return to Budapest. We assumed that a quick hop on the boat back would be a nice way to end the daytrip, so went to the boat pier. Then we found that the boat was not operating, like it does every Monday. So it was back to the bus for us, and with red faces at our own ignorance as well.

http://www.mahartpassnave.hu/webset32.cgi?MAHART@@EN@@115@@GOOGLEBOT

Tips for travel
A nice side trip in Budapest is to head to the Children's Railway in Buda. This can be combined with the 'Libegő' (chairlift)


http://visitbudapest.travel/activities/fun-things-to-do/childrens-railway/

http://www.gyermekvasut.hu/english/chrw_home.php

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g274887-d279012-Reviews-Children_s_Railway-Budapest_Central_Hungary.html

By Hu Totya on Wikimedia commons
http://
Beware a scam that usually involves single men being invited by a couple of women to a 'great' bar or restaurant. At the end of a boozy meal the bill arrives and it is as inflated as a politicians ego. We are surprised at how many are duped by this, but note that it is not confined to Budapest. This scam has been running for years in many European cities.

http://killingbatteries.com/2006/06/budapest-restaurant-scam-%E2%80%93-let%E2%80%99s-be-careful-out-there/

And Another Thing.... Returns (no booing!)
If we meet one more 'traveller' who states that only they are experiencing the 'real' (insert city/area/country here) we will punch them on to their arrogant derriere. The way these people look down their noses at 'tourists' is a sight to behold. Please don't bore us anymore with constant remarks of how the food you ate was 'authentic'. Eating food like sheep's eyes is just providing entertainment for the locals. What did you get the stupid 'traveller' to eat today? is probably the favourite past-time of bored locals fed up with arrogant foreigners. And if someone could explain the concept of 'keeping it real', I'd be happy to ignore it, like I always do anyway. A thought for the travellers who would die of embarrassment at being labelled a tourist. Everyone wants to have a good time on holiday, right? We are all individual, with individual holiday needs that are a wide spectrum of possibilities. If everyone wanted the same 'real' holiday, the overcrowding would ruin it. So tourists should be respected for the package holidays they take, they are keeping your holiday 'real', after all.

Thanks for reading.

Mark & Yvette

Mark's Midweek Magnet - Week 9

Hi,

A flat rubberised magnet this week. We especially like the way the dolphins look like they are breaking the surface of the sea, if the magnet is laid flat.



Dolphin Reef is to the South of Eilat on the coast road, route 90, just over half way between Eilat and the Israel - Egypt border. We took a taxi to the resort, and we agreed a fee before setting off for the resort. We recommend you do the same if travelling to Dolphin reef by taxi. There are tours from Eilat by coach, but we preferred the freedom to do our own thing. The staff called a taxi for us when we were ready to go.

http://a title="צילום:ד"ר אבישי טייכר [CC-BY-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3APikiWiki_Israel_8156_dolphin_reef_in_eilat.jpg">
A link to the virtual tourist reviews.

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Middle_East/Israel/Southern_District/Eilat-1709165/Things_To_Do-Eilat-Dolphin_Reef-BR-1.html#

The dolphins are in the sea, rather than a self contained pool, but are kept within the confines of the Dolphin Reef. The areas they have are quite large and there were areas for families with little ones, adult males who were not with the youngsters as well as an area for "teenagers" as we all know how troublesome they can be if left to their own devices! The dolphins appear to enjoy themselves, but we do understand that some people feel these wonderful mammals should be free to roam the open sea.

Dolphin Reef offers diving with dolphins for about £58.

http://www.dolphinreef.co.il/diving.aspx

Snorkeling with dolphins for around £50. Would of loved to do this, but Yvette can't swim and Mark at that time had open wounds on his legs.

http://www.dolphinreef.co.il/swimming.aspx

Or for £11 gain entry to the reef and just walk around the various pontoons and piers, which is what we did. There are feeding sessions where the dolphins perform a few tricks, very familiar to anyone who has been to an American Sea World Centre.

Our original plan was to stay in and around where the dolphins swam in the morning, have some lunch in the beach café and then go somewhere else in the afternoon. We enjoyed the dolphins so much that we stayed virtually all day. Especially when a coach group left just after lunch and the afternoon was spent relaxing on the pontoons watching the dolphins swimming about nearby. A laidback time to watch more feeding antics, with fish the main item on the menu.

The things these dolphins do for fish! A commentary is provided whilst the staff feed the dolphins, quite entertaining it was too.

So you have seen the dolphins being fed, so your thoughts turn to your lunch, well ours did. The Beach bar and restaurant of the resort reflects the laidback atmosphere of Dolphin Reef perfectly. Looking for a gastronomic delight? Look elsewhere for that. But if you want good basic food with a scenic view and no formality, then this place is just right. Follow the dolphins example and try the fish, fresh and nicely cooked. And a nice cold beer really hits the spot in the heat of the afternoon too.

http://www.dolphinreef.co.il/bar.aspx

We loved this place (can you tell? lol) A relaxing excursion close to Eilat, that we used to relax after a long day trip the day before to Petra.

Thanks for reading

Mark & Yvettelate.

Mark's Midweek Magnet - Week 8

Hi,

We do try and alternate between UK and foreign fridge magnets every Wednesday, where possible. We have to put Scotland and Wales in the 'foreign' category because we have twice as many UK magnets as foreign. This is to try and eke out as many foreign fridge magnet posts as possible. So last week's Edinburgh midweek magnet is foreign and this week will be another UK one. Confused? don't worry, we are too and we write this guff and nonsense.

On with the post. One thing we will say is there is one person responsible for this 'sheep' fridge magnet. Purchased by Yvette, because it looks like 'Shaun the sheep' from the Wallace and Gromit films. Yeah right.



Yet another plastic fridge magnet, this time from the frozen wastes of 'oop north. We have visited the Cumbrian County Town twice on our travels. The first visit was for a F.A. Cup third round tie against Arsenal in January 2001, which Arsenal won 1-0. Our only memory of the game is of Arsenal's new winter Brazilian signing 'Edu' coming on as a sub in the second half, and running the game. He also looked like the answer to our free kick and corner taking prayers too. Shame he had to go off after twenty minutes with a hamstring problem, because it was so cold.

Picture by Carlisle programmes
http://

If you look at the manager/coaches jacket, you will see at the top 'Stobart'. The sponsors of Carlisle United FC are the HGV hauliers Eddie Stobart. Yvette has fond memories of this trip, especially the game we play on long car journeys. Mark try's to spot Norbert Dentressangle HGV's and Yvette spots Eddie Stobart's. Fine, until we head North on the M6 and there's loads of 'Eddie's'. And then the piece de resistance, (Yvette) '' Oh I forgot to mention the Eddie Stobart main distribution centre is in Carlisle''  A drubbing of at least 60 to mid teens later in and around Carlisle and she gave up counting. Hmph, Mark wouldn't mind, but she joined the fan-club too.

To join the other saddohs... (only joking)

https://www.stobartclubandshop.co.uk/

Mark would have his revenge on the M2 in Kent and Northern France another time........
Photo from - https://www.flickr.com/people/25328551@N08  and I thought trainspotters were obsessive.



The second visit was courtesy of the famous 'Settle to Carlisle' railway. Mark and Yvette had gone on holiday with Yvette's parents to the Yorkshire dales. For a day trip they had decided to go on the Settle to Carlisle Railway, which was not far from the rented cottage.

http://www.settle-carlisle.co.uk/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Settle-Carlisle_Line

http://www.visitcumbria.com/carlset/

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186344-d212042-Reviews-Settle_Carlisle_Railway-Settle_Yorkshire_Dales_National_Park_North_Yorkshire_Engla.html

Ribblehead Viaduct by Michael Bryan
http://

Ribblehead viaduct is better viewed from Ribblehead station, rather than on a moving train. Try and pick a dry day if you can, it makes such a difference to the landscape. Our preferred season would be Autumn, for the glorious colours. Such a shame it is probably the wettest season in the rainiest area of England.

At the end of the line is Cumbria's only city, Carlisle.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlisle,_Cumbria

Try to make time to explore by a walking tour from the train station.

By Steven Duhig.

The photo above shows how close the Citadel (on the right behind the seats) is to the train station. Cross the road and turn left into English Street at the traffic lights, information on infrequent tours in the newly renovated West Tower in the website below.

http://www.visitcumbria.com/car/carlisle-citadel/

Image by Kenneth Allen.
http://

Follow English Street, and turn left into Victoria Viaduct, (when there is a pedestrianised road ahead) go past Blackfriars Street and next right into West Walls. Below is a good website about the walls of Carlisle.

http://www.matthewpemmott.co.uk/2008/05/carlisle-city-walls-carlisle.html

Photo by Derek Harper.
http://

The start of this road is unpromising from a scenic walk point of view, but stick with it, later on it is better. Follow until the end of the road and the 900 years old Carlisle Castle can be seen over the main road. Turn right parallel with the main road and walk to the underpass to access the castle.

EDIT - Access to the Castle is now by way of an underpass adjacent to the Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, not a footbridge. So much for blogging a walk from memory.  We have also found a clear map with better descriptions than we could ever post.

http://www.historyextra.com/sites/default/files/visits/map/Carlisle%20map%20for%20web.pdf

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/carlisle-castle/

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/england/cumbria-and-the-lakes/carlisle/sights/castles-palaces-mansions/carlisle-castle

Picture from George Evans.
http://

After the castle go back over the footbridge and bear left into Abbey street. Walk along this street until you arrive at Paternoster Row, at this view.

http://a title="Simon Huguet [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAbbey_Gate%2C_Carlisle_Cathedral_-_geograph.org.uk_-_808152.jpg">

Proceed straight ahead under the arch, there you will enter the grounds of the Cathedral, known as the Cathedral Precinct.

http://www.carlislecathedral.org.uk/the_cathedral_precinct

http://www.carlislecathedral.org.uk/

http://

Interior, specifically the nave.
http://

Keep going in the direction you were going in before the Cathedral stop. At Castle Street turn right and after the Crown & Mitre Hotel you enter Market Cross, where you will also find the Tourist Information office.



Keeping the tourist office behind you, go down the broad pedestrianised road back to English Street, and along this Street back to Carlisle Citadel Station.
The journey rather than the destination is the key thing to remember here. The Settle to Carlisle line is one of the most scenic in England. A rather twee review can be seen below.

http://gouk.about.com/od/yorkshireandthenortheast/ss/Settle-Carlisle-Railway.htm

Sorry about rabbiting on, the midweek magnet posts are supposed to be short and to the point.

Thanks for reading,

Mark and Yvette

Budapest Part One

Hi,

Budapest in 2003 was a relatively unknown destination for a city break. Now it is quite popular, but still not as crowded as Prague or Krakow. To be quite honest, we don't remember how we got from Ferihegy (now known as Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport.) We think it was by local bus, but can't be sure. Details follow of how to get to the centre of Budapest at Nyugati train station by bus or train.

http://www.bud.hu/english/passengers/access_and_parking/by_train

http://www.bud.hu/english/passengers/access_and_parking/by_public_transportation

No idea what hotel either, sorry. The only detail we recall is that the hotel was at the top of a steep hill and the bus to the city centre was at the bottom of it. For breakfast we had Hungarian honey on rolls every day, it was so good. The hotel staff were very proud of their local produce and every guest was encouraged to try it. Budapest is really three cities in one, either side of the River Danube. Pest, Buda and Obuda were amalgamated in 1873 to form the new capital of Hungary. Budapest's history is explained below in chronological detail by Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest

After checking in to our mystery hotel, Mark said he would like to go for a stroll to stretch his legs. We caught the bus to Nyugati (West) rail station on the 'Pest' side of the river, to start our 'stroll'. From there we made our way Westwards towards the Parliament.

Parliament rear of the River Danube.


There is a metro station adjacent to Parliament, Kossuth Lajos Ter on line M2, destination Deli Palyaudvar, (heading West) if your hotel is more centrally located than ours was. As ever, click on
any image to enlarge
.
 
Opposite the Parliament was the Ethnographic Museum. We could not visit the seat of Hungarian government, as we had not booked ahead.  And we gave the museum a miss, to continue on Mark's stroll
.
From the museum we headed towards to the Danube riverfront and views across to the 'Buda' side of the river. This image is of Buda Castle and in the foreground is the Calvinist Church
As we continued southwards towards the chain bridge there was a nice view of Buda Castle.
When we got to the Chain Bridge, we realised that we had booked the wrong hotel and should of stayed here. The Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace luxury hotel. Rooms 'from' 214 euros a night and a continental breakfast for 25 Euros, no thanks a bit out of our price range, we think.
http://www.grandluxuryhotels.com/hotel/four-seasons-hotel-gresham-palace-budapest?
cur=EUR#factsheet

We crossed from 'Pest' to 'Buda' using the Chain Bridge.

Image by Frank Schulenburg, Wikipedian living in Mill Valley, California.
http://
After crossing over the bridge, we turned right to head towards the bus station. From the 'Buda' side of the Danube can be viewed the mock-gothic splendour of the Parliament building, or it would be if the scaffolding was not obscuring the façade. Sorry for the blurry image.
How good the Parliament should look http://

And another blurry one from a different angle.
 
The view above was taken from the Calvinist Church.
 
We finished our stroll at the bus station and were quite tired by now from our long day of travelling, so decided to go back to the hotel and tackle what felt like the north face of the Eiger, after getting off the bus. (we did say we were tired!) We would suggest you do not follow our stroll as it was long trek in the end (I think Mark should replace the word stroll with route march) This website suggests itineraries for every kind of tourist in Budapest.

http://visitbudapest.travel/activities/budapest-top-10/

http://visitbudapest.travel/guide/budapest-attractions/

These have general advice and forums available to answer any more specific enquiries.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/hungary/budapest/things-to-do/top-things-to-do-in-Budapest

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Hungary/Budapest_Fovaros/Budapest-436839/TravelGuide-Budapest.html

An interior view of the Parliament, purely to break up lines of text.
http://

Double the tips double the fun, or not as the case may be.

Could be a subtle clue to the first tips content there, or it's so subtle no one will get it and think we are slightly mad. (what's new!) You wait at a the airport baggage carousel, mesmerised by one case going round and around, that always seems to be left from the preceding flight. When the bags finally arrive, have you ever had a situation where the bag you grab off the carousel was in fact someone else's? And they are turning their nose up and giving a look of of 'why did you try to nick my case, should I call the police?' The bag is identical to your own, apart from the fact it may be a little bit cleaner and less beaten up, shame these differences are not discernable from a few feet away. These embarrassing situations can be avoided by putting a coloured cable tie or two on the handle and snip off the excess plastic to just leave a loop. Or just buy one of those personalised suitcase straps for a few quid more instead.

http://www.cabletiesonline.co.uk/cable-ties-coloured/cable-ties-100mm-x-2-5mm-colour/prod_453.html

http://www.ebay.co.uk/bhp/personalised-luggage-straps

Tip two is take a few carrier bags and use them to separate dirty washing from any that is clean. If you have packed sensibly and have no clean clothes to put in the bags, then use as shoe bags or for any stuff from a sandy beach excursion. You know the sand grains will get everywhere!

And Another Thing....

Last weekend in the UK, the clocks have been put forward one hour for 'Daylight Saving Time'. I would like to permanently stay on BST and scrap daylight saving changes altogether. Why? In December when the weather is really overcast and raining, darkness seems to appear around 3 o'clock and hangs around until sunset at nearly four. If the UK were to be on permanent BST, then there would be an hours more light at a time of day when more people are out and about. And it may be a bit warmer in the afternoon than a chilly morning. Another benefit could be that tourist attractions could stay open a bit longer to make use of the extra light. I don't care if there are objections from the Scots, with a bit of luck the Independence vote will be a yes and they won't be able to vote on English issues, like we can't vote on theirs now. And Boris Johnson wrote about this very subject three years ago.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/borisjohnson/8859071/Daylight-saving-time-Dont-let-the-Scots-steal-this-hour-because-they-want-a-lie-in.html

Thanks for reading,

Mark & Yvette