Tag: restaurants

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München, Germany – Family Get-Away

After spending a week in Frankfurt, we decided to spend some time in München, or Munich, Germany. The most affective way to do this from Frankfurt is by train, particularly the ICE DB service. In three hours and some odd number of minutes, you can travel between the two main train stations in comfort.

ICE Train to Munich – Storm Front – München, Germany

With most of the family here, we were seven and traveling by train such a short distance just made the most sense, since our daughter and son-in-law had our grandson along. This gave him some added room to walk around an annoy other people instead of just us, breaking up the monotony of the journey. Not really, but it did provide him enough space to get the wiggles out, as opposed to other modes of transport, like an airplane or automobile.

München

The largest city in Bayern, or Bavaria, Munich is a large, bustling city completely accustomed to tourists and tourism. If you are a mono-lingual English speaker, you will find no problem getting around in Munich, most of the residence and restaurant staff speak fluent English.

Marianplatz

The largest and most central of the squares or piazzas in Munich is the Marianplatz. It is most likely your U- or S-Bahn destination from the Hauptbahnhof and the energetic core of the tourism industry.

The Marianplatz is girdled with high-end shopping, caffes and tourism shops. It also has many historical monuments and fountains, as well as churches and other places of interest.

Neues Rathaus and Glockenspiel

Most people will likely concentrate on the Old City, Marianplatz where the Glockenspiel plays it’s tune everyday at eleven and twelve o’clock (sometimes at seventeen o’clock in the winter).

It plays a rather long ditty that includes the operation of the top and then the bottom carousel of automatons.

Altstadt-Lehel

This region of München lies just to the north of the old city, or Altstadt. Here is where you will find the palaces, gardens and other grand accoutrements of the city.

English Gardens

A large garden located to the north of the main part of the city, it is a very nice place to visit on a sunny day. A large city park with many different things to see and experience, it even has a place that people go to surf, if one can believe such a thing can exist away from the coast in a city.

Eisbachwelle

Just on the south east end of the gardens you will discover the river Eisbach and the Eisbachwelle. This is a fast moving stream that has been conveniently modified through the use of carefully placed stones into a haven for surf-boarders. It’s amazing to stop for a bit just to see their skill and how they are able to throw their boards in and hop on in all but an instant, truly remarkable.

Maximiliansanlagen and the Isar

Another great place for a stroll is Maximilian’s garden. A very well kept park which stretches along the Isar and the Isarinsel or island that provides a cool contemplative place for de-stressing and an escape from the warm summer midday.

Here you will find the Friedensengel monument and several other interesting points of interest. The two bridges that bound it, the Luitpoldbrücke and the Maximiliansbrücke provide pedestrian friendly points of entry.

Of note are the Große Kascaden, or Great Cascades, a series of weirs and fish ladders that provide a series of small waterfalls. The Wehr WKW-Praterkraftwerk, or power station, is built into the structure to provide electric power to the city. Through thoughtful design of constructing flood control they have provided electricity as well.

Restaurants

We spent time at the following restaurants. Some are must see, even though the food will not be up to expectations. We found the smaller establishments to be better, especially the service and cleanliness.

Hofbräuhaus

Well, perhaps the largest and most well-known beerhall in München, the Munich Hofbräuhaus is as large and as busy as it will get in a place to eat. They have a gift shop to match your expectations for a large one liter glass.

The band was great and our food was okay. Service is always going to be a problem at such a large establishment, that’s why I prefer the smaller places.

However, if you can overlook the local fauna, an interesting place to eat and drink. I have found a lack of service usually indicates a lack of cleanliness; if they cannot serve you, they cannot clean properly either – just a thought. In any case, one of the go-to places and a must see. Have a drink and if the fauna bother you, avoid the rest of the menu.

Der Pschorr

Another very good place for German food, perhaps the best that we had while in Munich. The service was very good as well, they kind of went out of their way to welcome families with children. You will find the place open and inviting with a good menu and food. Jett, Meagan and Jason’s baby ate for free, something not seen too often today.

Burg Pappenheim

One of Dana’s picks and an attempt to find that authentic German restaurant look and feel. It was really close, we found only one waiter that spoke English here, the others spoke German for the most part, though I was confident they could completely understand English.

Augustiner am Platzl

Overall a good place for German food. The service is better and the staff seems more attentive to customer needs. The food is also better, both tastier and presentation-wise. They can also accommodate larger families without the squeeze. There is however no band, so if you are looking for the Umpa-band look and feel, you will not find it here.

The food and service were very good and the atmosphere a mix of old and new Bavaria. This restaurant is a bit out of the way and a bit of a walk from the city center, but worth the visit.

Zum Dürnbräu

Here we had a pleasant meal outside not far from our hotel, even though the weather was a bit questionable with rain possible. The service was a bit slow, but the food was good and we had a very good time. The sauerbraten was first rate and I got to try the Apfelküchle, or fried apple rings with cinnamon and light sugar, which I found delightful.

Tavernetta Cucina con Pizza

After some time German food creates issues that only Italian food can cure. When you come to this Rubicon, you can cross by considering a place like Tavernetta, where you can enjoy some Italian food. They have a good menu, good service and the prices are not astronomical.

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Mainz and Frankfurt, Germany – Revisiting old places

Not having an abundance of time, we decided to stay somewhat local a few times and visit Mainz and Frankfurt, both of which are but a stone’s throw away from Offenbach. Since we have been to both several times, we wanted to show other family members these two cities and will post mostly photographs without a lot of text.

Mainz

Restaurants

While in Mainz, we stopped at one of our favorite restaurants, or in this case a Wine house (Weinhaus), that our friends Karl Heinz and Isolde Seegräber introduced us to in the course of one of our earlier visits.

Hof Ehrenfels Weinstube

Frankfurt

In Frankfurt all we did was a Stadtbummel around the city and just wandered around.

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Gelnhausen, Germany – a weekend train destination

With a cohort of eight, we found it impossible with only one car to make a day trip on the weekend of August the 17th, so we took the Regional Train direct from Offenbach Hauptbahnhof (Hbf). In 25 mintues with the RE51 you can be in Gelnhausen, or with the RB51 slightly longer; both operate often and at regular intervals.

Gelnhausen

An unusual destination for non-Germans, Gelnhausen does not offer much but a change of scenery, a lazy stroll in the park and perhaps different opportunities to eat.

The town is separated into lower and upper market places, or Unter- and Obermarkt, both of which act as parking lots for locals and visitors alike. Since we took the train, the entry to the town was over the Kinzig river and through the Ziegelturm.

Walking the narrow streets of Gelnhausen the visitor will notice numerous timber houses with sayings on them. In many towns, this is an old practice which has been used probably for centuries, either to provide some humor or commentary on the events of the time.

On the other end of town, after the Obermarkt you can wander through the Holzgasse Tower to find the old town wall. Here you will enjoy a very nice park with an overlook of the town and surrounding area.

Not far from the entrance is a memorial to the fallen soldiers of the town from the two world wars.

The town also has a few other monuments or fountains worth visiting.

Restaurants

There are many restaurants in this small town, though few were open. However, from what we could tell, there would be many cuisines to choose from had the other restaurants been open.

Malamatina’s Greek Restaurant

Off the beaten path and not far from the Obermarkt, is Malamatina’s Greek restaurant. Though the sign says, Greek and German food, we didn’t see much in the way of German food on the menu..

The house wine was of a Greek varietal that I, personally have never tried, but found very interesting, served under their own label.

The food was traditional Greek, offering Gyros, Slavaki and salads.

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Idstein, Germany – Lazy Sunday Day Trip

A thirty minute drive from Frankfurt on the A3 is the lazy, old town of Idstein, Germany. Frequently overlooked by tourists, this small little town, nestled on the other side of the Taunus mountains, is a favorite of cyclists and other outdoor enthusiasts.

We happened to visit on a lark, having visited many of the other towns in the area. It has a cute Innenstadt and Marktplatz that has several restaurants of various cuisines, all of which seem to be reasonably priced.

The town also has a very large tower, called the “Hexenturm”, which may be ascended, if you are inclined to seeing a panorama of the town and neighboring countryside. It was fairly hot out and the tower is pretty tall, so we declined.

Other than that, the town is apparently noted for its schools or gymnasium. But for the tourist, it is just a nice place to spend a weekend afternoon strolling the streets and after a nice lunch, stopping for ice cream at the local ice cream parlor.

Restaurants

For a small town on a weekend, the town has a surprising amount of restaurants. All of which, appear to be very busy.

Deutsches Haus

Regardless of the name, which obviously must be a vestige of the prior establishment, the Deutsches Haus is a fine place to stop for a lunch. It serves Greek cuisine and has a variety of salads and cold plates to choose from on a hot day, or heavier fare, if you are more hungry. All I can say is the Greek salad with Feta is first rate. Our bill came to about 20€/person with drinks, which we felt was reasonable.

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Turin, Italy – Back for a bit

After somewhat of a hiatus, we are back for a bit in Turin. Several things required our attention at home and therefore we have been away longer than we would have liked.

In many respects the city is just like we left it last year, in some others, not so much. There are major public works projects going on, so there are some major thoroughfares that are closed and other scaffolding eye-sores to try and ignore. Aside from that, it is rather quiet, since most Italians have left for their August vacation.

Weather

We thought the weather in North Carolina was strange, being as wet as it has been before we left. But it appears to have followed us here as well.

Though not unheard of, this is not the rainy season in Turin, thunderstorms are usually rare this time of year. This one popped up from nowhere and caused quite a scene. It also was severe enough to trash most of the vegetation, especially in our courtyard. My only hope is the sorrounding wine regions were spared.

Restaurants

For the month and a half that we will be here, we have visited or re-visited the following restaurants in our city.

Trattoria D’Agata

This restaurant has great food and decent house wine, if you like that with your lunch. The Chicken Cutlet is huge and very filling, so be careful what else you order with it. The Caponata is amazing, so that is a must order item, if you don’t you will regret it, there is nothing comparable in the States. The Arancini is also a must try!

At Home

We cook Italian and rather conservatively most evenings. A typical dish that is easy to make and tastes great, especially with tomatoes from Italy, is Pasta e Patate in olive sauce with Pecorino Romano DOP cheese sprinkled over it. Yum.

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Chapel Hill, North Carolina – A Weekend Escape

Chapel Hill And The Carolina Inn

As a Christmas gift from our children, we recently had a weekend stay at the Carolina Inn in beautiful Chapel Hill, North Carlolina. Celebrating its one hundred year anniversary this year, this old colonial inn is an integral part of the town and the university.

Ideally located within walking distance to almost everything within the town, it is a good home base for those who would rather not get in and out of the car constantly. Within five or ten minutes, you can reach Franklin Street and its restaurants, cafes and shopping, and the college is just a stone’s throw away. Parking is $26/night for either self-park or valet service and the lot is attended overnight.

The UNC Campus

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill dominates the town and gives Chapel Hill that old university town feel. As one walks through the grounds of the university, it is easy to see the different architectural and building styles that were adopted throughout the years.

The walkways are appointed with old style colonial lamps in many areas and in some areas it is possible to think of what it might have been like back in those times. The architectural wonders even extend to some of the fraternity houses and other ancillary buildings on the campus. The only other remarkable things of note are the massive and beautiful trees that line most of the streets, many of which probably have been around as long as the university itself.

Moorehead Planetarium

The Moorehead Planetarium is always a nice place to visit, especially if you have children. For a modest fee, you can enjoy both a planetarium show, as well as the museum, which also provides hands-on learning exhibits for younger visitors.

The most enjoyable part however is the planetarium itself. Although they were totally booked on the Saturday and we were unable to see a show with our small party of five, they did have opening for Super Bowl Sunday. So we were able to enjoy their wonderful presentation, “One Sky, Many Eyes”. Though totally automated now with computers and an updated projection system, I do miss the old planetarium projectors.

Ackland Art Museum

If you are ever in the area, I cannot think of a better place to spend a few hours of your afternoon than at the Ackland Museum. Frankly, for me it was a surprise and delight, the free admission making it even more so. Having nothing else to do on our somewhat rainy day and weekend, we decided to go after our quick stroll down Franklin Street (there are signs on the pavement on Franklin, so just follow them if you are not sure).

The exhibits are eclectic in way and a bit varied, but most somehow unexpectedly go together, perhaps owing to very good planning and the way the building splits into separate areas.

I found the mixed media video of the eyeball and voice over rather well done, strange and quite interesting. Shown on a sphere, it actually had that eyeball look.

The museum also has a nice collection of Indian, Southeast Asian and Indonesian Art. Some contemporary and others a bit older. All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed it and found it to be a total surprise, not expecting too much when we entered.

Restaurants

Chapel Hill offers a wide variety of restaurants. Most of the ones that populate the small area around Franklin street, cater to the university students, so you will find them somewhat budget friendly and internet centric. The more upscale restaurants, you will find further out of the main town and on the periphery.

TRU Cafe

A small cafe down Henderson Street, it has both inside and outside seating and definitely caters to the university students.

The service is very relaxed and all orders are done via their website, which at the time of this writing, was a nightmare and terrible. However, after only several attempts, we were all able to submit our orders. We were not surprised to learn later, that some of our orders did not come out and we had to re-ordered them; so, bring your patience with you. And no, they do NOT have their own phone application and no, the service people will not take your order.

Osteria Georgi

This small restaurant is situated on the corner of a small strip mall on South Elliot street and Franklin. They have both inside and outside seating and a fairly attentive staff. We sat outside, since it was tolerably warm out and it was packed inside; we didn’t want to catch anything before traveling back to Europe in the next few weeks.

The food was good, I ordered the lasagna which was very tasty and my wife order the Pasta Vongole. The Gattinara was excellent and I would commend it to anyone willing to try something a bit different.

Carolina Coffee Shop

The Carolina Coffee Shop says it is the oldest restaurant in town and is split in two, one side does only coffee and take-out, while the other offers a restaurant experience with full staff. Wanting the sit down experience, we tried the restaurant.

The sandwiches are very good and the service was timely. It can get busy during peak lunch hour, so if you are willing to wait a bit and eat later, the atmosphere is more relaxed and subdued.

IL Palio Restaurant

One of our old-time favorites is the Il Palio in Chapel Hill. Located in the Siena Hotel, this restaurant usually features exceptional service and even a piano player while you order and eat. Unfortunately, we were there on Super Bowl weekend so the service was limited to the outside bar area and there was no music.

However, that did not prevent us from having a good time and enjoying the excellent food that is provided by the kitchen staff. Additionally, compared with other places, the prices no longer look as inflated as perhaps in previous years.

We would like to thank our children for the gift, we had a wonderful time. It was a great gift and being the travelers we are, we wouldn’t mind doing it again in a different town in North Carolina, if the occasion were to present itself.

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Nassau, Bahamas – Baha Mar Resort

Nassau, Bahamas – Fleeing The Freeze

We are not resort people, my wife and I would rather hike or explore a small town. But, when we realized sometime last year it looked really good to spend some of our credit card points for maximum benefit, we jumped at the chance. Especially, when the rest of the family could enjoy the time off in the middle of winter.

Baha Mar Resort – Nassau, Bahamas

The flight on American from Charlotte to Nassau flight was more or less half full. But it was smooth and uneventful with the weather cooperating the entire way.

Baha Mar Resort – Nassau, Bahamas

The Baha Mar resort is beautiful and very relaxing, especially in January when most everyone in the US and elsewhere are in school. So we found traveling to this destination during this time of year more or less stress-free.

The Do’s and the Don’ts

From what we heard, though have not experienced, therefore only anecdotally, you should not charge anything to your room at a resort, unless you are very careful to keep receipts and track of your expenditures. It has been suggested to us, though not confirmed, that you will check out later and experience charge creep, that is, charges and re-charges for unnecessary things you were not aware of on your restaurant or bar bills. Pay with credit card when you can, or with cash if you must, putting it on your room only when you must. Moreover, be aware, the resort will put a $1200 hold on the credit card you use to guarantee room charges, bar, casino, etc., which perhaps can put a pinch on your credit card maximum when using it later.

Do enjoy the pools and other amenities the resort offers. There is a water park and over a half-dozen pools, as well as beach access to enjoy.

Prices and Tipping

Everything at the resorts is expensive! Be prepared, especially if you haven’t paid for your hotel stay, like us. If you have, you probably have already noticed it was NOT CHEAP. It is not a Bahamas thing, it is a resort thing and they charge hefty prices for everything from food, to drinks to sundries. For example, 2 dl glass of Chardonnay at the pool will cost your $26, which includes their very high VAT tax and gratuity. Having mentioned that, a gratuity, which is 15% and attached to everything, is always included, so DO NOT LEAVE ONE, unless you are rather taken by the service you are offered. It is more like Europe in that regard.

Restaurants

There are many restaurants within the resort, offering a variety of foods and cuisines, and some are of course better than others. All food on the menus is priced rather high, from a normal American restaurant point of view. Typically expect to pay around $80-$100 per person with drinks. You will be full at the end, but your wallet will definitely be lighter.

Fi’lia

This is the Italian restaurant which offers standard Italian fare with a bit of an island twist. I had the Bolognese and found it to be okay.

The bottle of Italian wine that we ordered for the table was a twist top from Montepulciano d’Abruzzo (DOC) at $85 and was typical for the region. You can definitely purchase something similar in the States at $18-20 for that quality.

Costa

Perhaps our best experience by far and kind of a surprise for me. Though the prices were of course still high, the food was very good.

Sit outside if you can, because the open air cabanas with small seating groups is definitely the way to go surrounded by Koi fish traveling the waterways just outside.

Cleo Mediterráneo

Here you can find a wide assortment of dishes from all over the Mediterranean. A very good place if you want to try something different and explore your palate.

The Pizza Lab

Along with the food trucks that are stationed within the pool area and the beach, probably one of the go-to places for lunch. Not only is there pizza very good, they offer a good selection of salads and pasta dishes. The entire menu is available for take-out as well, so you can enjoy your meal poolside, if you are so inclined.

Katsuya Restaurand

A very good Chinese fusion restaurant is Katsuya. Here you will find your typical Sushi and Sashimi offerings, as well as some incredible chef twists on traditional American Chinese dishes. We thoroughly enjoyed everything we ordered here and found it one of the better restaurants to visit at Baha-Mar.

Marcus Restaurant

It is best to describe Marcus as an American restaurant serving contemporary cuisine. They offer a wide variety of dishes to choose from, so everyone in your party should be able to find something to enjoy. It is however, one of the more expensive restaurants to visit.

Conclusion

I found the resort acceptable for a free trip, but given the choice I would not make it one of my preferred destinations. The property caters to the casino and weekend Floridian crowds, therefore it might be better to visit it during the week than on weekends. Again, escaping the January freeze for a week at no cost was great, but with food so expensive, once was enough for me.

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Budapest, Hungary – Odds And Ends

Here are some final thoughts on Budapest, that would not fit in the previous articles.

Budapest Sightseeing

Normally were are not ones for taking sightseeing ventures of most any kind, unless it is very personal and involves a tour guide with a smaller group. However, sometimes you feel you have to try something new, oh well.

Legenda River Cruise

We took this river cruise on other recommendations but were a bit disappointed. Here’s why we would not recommend them:

    • We felt that though the cruise did show you the city at night, the tour was essentially something you could watch at home on TV, in fact, you actually do watch it on TV on the boat as it cruises, while listening in your headset.
    • The video and tour were often out of sync, so you could not actually see what they were talking about, boring and unprofessional.
    • The front is rather closed in and uncomfortable. In the summer the boat has to be adapted to warmer weather, like the rear of the boat.
    • The waitress tries to remember your free-drink offer and terribly forgets. Multiple times. I wouldn’t mind so much, but some of us didn’t even receive our drinks. So don’t buy the “free drinks” bullshit line!

Aside from the above, here are some photographs.

The Metro

Budapest has a pretty good metro. Though not terribly extensive, it does not go to the airport, it does however cover a pretty good portion of the city. Each entry point is marked with a stylized ‘M’ and you will have to pay attention to the direction of travel, the end-point or terminal station. Direction of travel on most signs is noted, as well as all of the stops made by the line.

The M1 Metro Line

Clearly the oldest and the noisiest for sure. Luckily this line runs up the old Andrássy ut avenue and fairly close to where our hotel was situated; so we were able to take this line a number of times.

The Remainder of Budapest

Here are some left over photographs from our visit to Budapest.

Restaurants

Here are numerous restaurants, most of which we really liked.

Spinoza Cafe

The Spinoza Cafe was a lark, since we were just walking away from the Jewish quarter back to the hotel. It has a viable menu with very good service.

It was a bit warm outside, but we ordered something light and made the best of it.

Bestia Restaurant

A fairly good restaurant downtown that has plenty of outside seating. We did make reservations for this one, but not sure they were actually needed. However, making them ahead of time will never hurt.

Mazel Tov Restaurant

I have to say I was very surprised and delighted with Mazel Tov. Not only do they have a very good venue, restaurant saying, they also have very good food.

I ordered the soup and pastrami sandwich and was pleasantly surprised by the taste and texture, they really know how to slice pastrami, nano-thin.

 

Mystery Hotel Restaurant

The Mystery Hotel has a very good view of Budapest, for those wishing such a thing. We availed ourselves of an evening of drinks here, after a long day of sightseeing and museum visiting. Unfortunately while we were there, they had a music mixer that was definitely one-dimensional, playing the same bum-bum-bum crap that belongs more in a club venue, than a restaurant.

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Budapest, Hungary – Royal Buda

Buda – Where The Royal Life Was

Budapest is split into two parts by the Danube River. As a natural obstacle, it offered some amount of protection, or defense, against enemies or in some cases, the population. Buda is such a place. It is where the royal families of Hungary chose to build their fine castle.

Buda Castle Hill

Buda Castle Hill is mostly wooded and covers only about a third of the entire city of Budapest. Its most prominent feature is the Castle Hill, where the Buda Castle and the Church of Matthias stand.

On top of this hill sits the Buda Castle and most royal buildings. It has a very good view of the valley below and Pest on the other side.

The Underhill Hospital Museum

One of the more interesting curiosities on the hill is the Underhill Hospital. A short walk from the Budapest-Déli M2 stop through the Vérmezö Park will get you there, that is, after climbing a few sets of stairs, it is on a hill.

Unfortunately, you cannot take photographs inside, so inside will have to remain a mystery until one visits. However, a bit of history may peek one’s interest. It started as a system of caves dug out from the hill for storage and then protection. Later, it was confiscated and repurposed as a hospital during the wars. It was also used as an air-raid shelter and later efforts were made to make it into a hospital which could take patients in the event of a nuclear war. Though noble, it will become quite clear to anyone who visits that the approach, space and logistics were oversimplified and in the end – unpractical.

The Matthias Church

One can not help point out the Matthias Church [1]also known as The Church of the Assumption of Buda Castle when they reach the top of the hill. With its one tower and beautifully shiny tiles, it does not show its true age. It actually has a remarkable history which actually makes it tightly woven with all Hungarian history. Two kings had their coronation there and it has had many names in the past and has been rebuilt and reconstructed many times. Definitely worth a visit.

Széchenyi Chain Bridge

The two sides of Budapest were not formerly brought together by bridge until 1849, when the Széchenyi Chain Bridge. It is probably one of the most remarkable features of the city, just because it is so different. Happily, the Hungarians had the prescience to rebuild it after the war exactly they way it was before, preserving it character and that of the city. A walk over this bridge is actually worth the time.

Restaurants

We only ate at one restaurant on the Buda side, since there were only a couple points of interest for us on east side of the river.

Arany Hordo Cafe

The Arany Hordo Cafe might be called the Gold Barrel Restaurant on you map application, not sure why.

It is a small cafe on the corner of Tárnok utca and Anná utca on Buda Castle Hill, not far from the Matthias Church. It has nice open air seating, if you can get a table. The food is decent, as well as the service and the prices are reasonable considering the area.

We stuck to simple fare for lunch and enjoyed it immensely.

References

References
↑1 also known as The Church of the Assumption of Buda Castle
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Budapest, Hungary – Lively Pest

Pest – Where The Real Life Is

Budapest is a very clean city, with a strange, almost quiescent nature to it. For the most part there is a noticeable absence of police, yet there appears to be very little crime, or at least the appearance of no crime, unlike other countries like Italy or France, where the authorities parade around with weapons and make their presence known.

The Pest side of Budapest has most, if not all, of the hotels and many of the restaurants. It has monuments on every corner and more history than you probably want to consume. Both sides are very active, but the Pest side is the side where all the boats dock, like Viking River Cruises and others, so it can get quite busy after ten o’clock in the morning.

Though beautiful, after a while you realize, like so many other cities in Europe, it’s all about the facade. It’s all brick underneath, mortar and stone.

Parliament Tour

For anyone visiting Budapest, the Parliament on the Pest side is an attraction that must be seen. However, be careful when purchasing tickets! There are a few official looking websites out there that purchase them for you at double the price. Check and double check your search engine and map application to ensure you have the official website. It will be quite obvious if you do, since you will receive your tickets immediately, instead of waiting for them to „appear“ in your mailbox.

Looking at the front of the building from the land side, you enter from the right and below ground. There are also some interesting monuments before you enter worth seeing, so keep your eyes open for them.

The tour is rather long but very thorough. We were even able to catch a glimpse of their unicameral legislature in-session! We were actually quite impressed with the thoroughness and professionalism of the tour. Though we thought they spoke at length, perhaps too long, about the crown jewels, which of course you were unable to photograph.

Restaurants

Here are a few more restaurants we visited in Budapest, one of which I wish I never went to due to social media idiots.

New York Cafe

There is a term in America and it is quite apropos here, „lipstick on a pig“. My thoughts regarding this cafe were that it was totally over-priced for the quality of food and service received, though the interior was quite impressive

In fact, that can be considered one of the downsides to this cafe; there were so many people mulling around and taking photographs, it was actually quite annoying at times. Especially in this day of social media, where everyone has to take the so called infamous and narcissistic „selfie“ or „influencer“ pose. It makes a person like me almost puke at times.

The food was sub-par for such a restaurant; we had the Pasta Pomodoro and thought although the pasta was done properly, the sauce tasted of nothing. The wine on the other hand was satisfactory in taste, but way over-priced at 50€/bottle. It wouldn’t have been so bad, except the service was just not so great.

Pick Bistro Deli

This little bistro, on Kossuth Lajos tér, is not far from the Parliament building and a great place to stop for lunch after your exhaustive tour.

They have many great Hungarian lunch items to choose from and the staff and service were excellent for us. They also have plenty of open-air seating, which during a warm day makes the visit all that much more enjoyable.