Friday, March 28, 2014

Feeling Green in Hungary (and not Hungry)

Why green? Well, within 12 hours of our arrival in Budapest for a long weekend, Scott came down with a violent stomach bug! Oh, no! Oh, yes.


Poor guy, he did not leave the hotel (bath)room for the next day and a half! So sad. Actually, I think I gave him the virus (oops), and I got it from Beau, because I was sick with exactly the same thing 48 hours earlier. And likewise, Beau had been 'off' 48 hours before me. Way to take a whole family DOWN FOR THE COUNT!


It was pretty miserable for all of us. Scott was out of town for work when I was in the throes of it so it was rough being sick and alone with the baby. Then it was equally bad for Scott because getting sick in a hotel is just no fun. The only saving grace was that we had unlimited ginger ale, sprite and water from the "executive lounge," thanks to Scott's Marriott "status." I was able to take advantage of the lounge at all hours because not only did we have stomach problems, we also had some baby jet lag issues. It was quite handy when Beau woke up ready to rock 'n roll at 4 am. 

B and Me on a gorgeous first day in Budapest atop Castle Hill overlooking the Danube River and the famous Chain Bridge. Thank you, Mimi, for the great knit hat!
From what we did experience, I can say that Budapest is beautiful and the people are super friendly. It felt quite similar to Prague in that the city is built right along a river with two developed sides ("Buda" and "Pest") that are connected by a big pedestrian-friendly bridge, but more sprawling because there are some hills that add to the overall city circumference. Prague was spared from WWII bombings whereas Budapest was not, so a lot of the "old" buildings in Budapest are actually restored versions of the originals. 


St. Stephen's Basilica
Our hotel was in a fantastic location, with panoramic views in all directions and within 5 minutes of a very nice pedestrian shopping street and lots of restaurants. As I mentioned, we had access to the very well-appointed executive lounge, which in addition to the free water and soda, offered great views,  breakfast, happy hour and snacks all day! All those perks turned out to be a blessing because we spent so much time in the hotel and the free beverages kept everyone hydrated and slightly less miserable.
Here are some photos from the lounge balcony:
Looking in one direction from the lounge (Chain Bridge).
Looking in the opposite direction (Elizabeth Bridge). So pretty!

When we arrived, it was beautiful outside, only mid-afternoon and Scott was still feeling fine, so we did get to do a little sightseeing. 


My usual shot of Scott with the stroller.
at the base of St. Stephen's Basilica
After a stroll around the hotel area, we decided to walk across the Chain Bridge. Directly on the other side of the bridge there is an old steam-powered funicular from 1870 that takes you to the top of Castle Hill where there are the best views of the "Pest" side of town. It was a gorgeous day and I'm so so glad we decided to take this walk because it ended up being our best and only sightseeing opportunity!

Scott on the Pest side of the Chain Bridge
Funicular (toward the top of the photo you can see the two train cars on the track, one going up and one going down).

Ticket stubs from the funicular
Pretty view of Pest from Buda Castle.
 Beautiful Hungarian Parliament Building
You know, it's tougher than it looks to get a good selfie.
Proof of how nice the people were in Budapest? A woman saw us taking our selfie (above) and promptly offered to take the picture for us! Much better. 
Scott and Beau squinting into the vitamin D.

By Monday afternoon, Scott was feeling a little better and we managed to take a river boat cruise on the Danube and a light snack.


Always smiling, this kid!


Elizabeth Bridge

Parliament
And finally, Daddy's feeling better!

And as I mentioned earlier, I spent A LOT of time in the hotel lounge because it was a comfortable change of scenery and there was free food :). I was even there at night because Scott and Beau were sacked out in our room and I was a little stir-crazy. Here are some cool shots taken at night:
Chain Bridge and festive river boat
Buda Castle lit up at night
Sparkling Elizabeth Bridge with Liberty Statue atop Gellert Hill in the distant background.
So it was certainly not our best long weekend getaway to-date, but at least we left Moscow's cold weather for a few days. Budapest remains on the list of cities we want to visit!
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1 comment:

  1. spacegeek33March 28, 2014 at 5:36 PM

    A fair amount of Scott photos given how sick he was! And honestly Im less interested in the scenery photos than the ones of all of you!! :-) That illness merry-go-round stays with you for years unfortunately. Part of the "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" philosophy--sigh. Love you SO much!

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