Budapest Christmas 2013

Day 1 - Sunday December 22nd

This year, Christmas will be spent in Budapest with Becky's family and friends. We are staying in a downtown apartment which we have yet to see. As usual, we are flying Easyjet from Luton having driven down to Airparks.

At the bag drop we had our Christmas crackers confiscated. It turns out that you can only take a maximum of 6 crackers in an unopened packet or box. We had a box of 8. Good job they were a special offer. Margaret bought a Christmas pudding at the airport.

The journey went well, however we did have a delay before setting off as I misplaced my car keys and spent the next 20 minutes trying to find them. Eventually I discovered they were in my hand luggage. Having unloaded all the cases and hunted under the seats and carpet, in vain, we were able to depart and pick up Esther. We arrived on time in Budapest and I enquired about transport to the city. It turns out that the shuttle bus is cheaper (but less regular) than the taxi if there are less than 2 people because they charge around 3,000 HuF per person. The taxi cost around 7,000 HuF. We arrived at the apartment to be met by Gergo who was extremely helpful and refunded us 60 euros because Esther is leaving early. He's a very nice man who works for Ryanair as cabin crew. He's training to be a pilot too. He gave us a thorough tour of the two-bedroomed apartment. In the dark it was difficult to see the location and setting within Budapest but the apartment, which is on the second floor, looks adequate for our needs - and there's wifi! Gergo also told us about places to visit in Budapest. Then Andrew and Becky arrived to welcome us. They will join us tomorrow when Matthew has been fed and take us out to lunch. Both Gergo and Andrew stressed that we must be cautious when walking around Budapest because of thieves. It has painted a rather negative picture in our minds and we need to take care over our cameras and iPads and phones. Still, is suppose it's no different in any capital city.

Day 2 - Monday December 23rd

I woke around 7am local time. The apartment was quiet and I made a coffee. Not the best of night's sleep but what do you expect in a new place. We went for a guided tour of Budapest under Becky's guidance. It was a cool and cloudy / misty day. We went around the Jewish quarter and saw the synagogue which is the largest in Europe. We did not go inside partly because we were too late to do justice to the expensive admission price. We had some food in Vorosmarty Square, including these enormous doughnut-style cylinders. In the evening we went to Indigo Indian restaurant with Andrew. The curries were really hot.

Day 3 - Tuesday December 24th

We walked to Oktagon to meet Andrew and Becky. Matthew had stayed at home. Then we went to Alexandra book shop and coffee house. It is an amazing building with a painted ceiling and an amazing selection of coffee and cake. After this we went to the Market Hall but found it closed already. We walked over Elizabeth bridge and visited the Cave Church. After this we took the tram to Vorosmarty Square and sat outside in the Christmas market eating lunch from the stalls. Then Andrew and Becky left and we walked home via St. Stephen's basilica. We went inside and watched the nativity play featuring many children dressed appropriately. Back at the apartment we rested and had a drink before preparing the stir fry.

Day 4 - Wednesday December 25th

Today we all went to Becky's family home. We got the tube to Hero's Square then the number 30 bus to their vicinity - no trouble at all especially as it's Christmas Day. We spent the day getting to know each other, eating lots of food and sharing lots of presents. My tummy was off - possibly because of something I ate or perhaps because I picked up a chill. However, it meant that eating was a struggle. Agnes had devised a game and I ran a Christmas quiz with Becky. We sang Silent Night in both English and Hungarian. I played Marci's guitar. Matthew enjoyed his first ever Christmas and joined in the joy of the day.

Day 5 - Thursday December 26th

We travelled up to Hero's Square to meet Andrew, Becky and Matthew. We straightaway went into the pizza place where we fed Matthew and had a coffee. It was not a very welcoming place with no high chair or coat stand. After that we went back to our apartment so that Matthew could have a crawl and play chess. In the afternoon I stayed home while the others went to the Szechenyl health spa near Hero's Square. I slept off my tummy bug. They really enjoyed it and used the many pools available. Andrew went too but Becky took Matthew back home to sleep. The evening was spent relaxing at the apartment.

Day 6 - Friday December 27th

Today we went to visit Mihaly, Monika and Vicki. We had a lovely lunch and afternoon and listened to Mihaly's favourite music - the Beatles. We had to leave around 4pm so that Esther could catch the shuttle bus back to the airport. It arrived promptly. In the evening we went with Andrew and Becky to cafe Vian near to the Oktagon for a drink and light snack.

Day 7 - Saturday December 28th

We met Andrew, Becky and Matthew at the Oktagon. Also we went to get a birthday card for Vera. Then we went to Deák square where we met Vera. We walked around the Jewish quarter trying to find the Ruin Pub. When we found it it was closed so we went to another one which was quite dark and deserted. We drank wine for a while. Vera had a bad cold. We then went to the Market Hall where we wandered around for a while. Vera then went home and we walked along Vaci Utca to a pancake place. We then split up. Margaret and I went back to the apartment to pack.

In the evening we went with Andrew, Becky and Agnes to the dance theatre. We took the tram and bus to the Hilton hotel and strode in as if we owned the place, only to use the loo. We then walked around the Fishermen's Bastion while waiting for the others. It brought back fond memories of last year's wedding. The dance theatre was excellent with amazing Hungarian costumes, excellent dancing and a small group of violins, clarinet and a kind of zither. We then walked back to the Hilton area and ended up in a small cafe for hot chocolate. We talked about our stay and planned what we would do on the next visit.

Day 8 - Sunday December 29th

This is departure day we tidied the apartment and Gergo arrived with Suszy promptly at 10am as he said he would. We thanked him for his excellent apartment and he not only carried our cases down the two flights of stairs, but he arranged for his father to drive us to Agnes' house where we spent the last morning with the family. We looked with amazement at the craftwork which Agnes has done over the years and watched the video footage which Lajos has taken of Matthew. A tearful goodbye and Andrew, Margaret and I left in a taxi for the airport.

At the airport we killed time with Andrew talking about the UN, Becky's future and their likely move to a new house in Geneva. We are looking forward to an extended stay in Geneva when the new baby arrives. We are hoping to take in some of the more glamourous parts of the country as well as helping out with Chucky Egg 2. Once we had dropped Andrew off at departures, we had a 3 hour span to kill and so we sat in the cafe chatting and writing up our diaries. The weather here is dry and clear with the temperature around 5 deg.

We arrived at Luton on time, picked up the car and drove home with one stop, arriving at around 1:15am. We flopped into bed and that was that.

© Roger G Johnson 2013