Hungary on the tour "Italy - the country of inspiration!" Chord
"Italy is a country of inspiration! " Day one. Departure 19.05. 2012
I would like to tell you about my trip to Italy.
So exit. We left on time. The head of the group, Andrey, constantly talked about the surrounding sights, which brightened up long journeys. So to say, he was our bus tour guide. It was a pleasant surprise, since this is not accepted in the Accord Tour, and the group leaders are quite silent.
As planned, we arrived at the gas station in Chop at 14:00. There is a currency exchange and you can buy forints. It is better to buy a little right away, since the bus will not go to the exchange offices in the evening, and if you want to take a walk, you will need money.
Customs passed quickly, in two hours, as we arrived first. The only innovation was that you had to go to check with your luggage. This was not the case last year. . .
We arrived at the hotel in Budapest at 19:00. The Danubius Hotel is simply gorgeous. Leaving things in the room, we went for a walk. Not far from the hotel there is a tram stop 49. It goes to the Pest side. You will not be able to buy a tram ticket from the driver, they are sold only in the center. Having moved without a Danube ticket, we got off on the Pest side. But even there it is very difficult to buy tickets, because even in the subway almost all the machines are broken. But even a working machine needs only coins. You can exchange money in the store, but they don't do it willingly. As a result, after spending a lot of time and buying tickets, we went to the night Parliament. Tram number 2 goes there from the bridge, but its stop is underground.
The night parliament is really amazing. During the day, it doesn't look as impressive. Trams run until 24 hours exactly, so there were no problems returning to the hotel. The only thing is that at night it is difficult to determine where to go out. Therefore, it is better to count the stops.
"Italy is a country of inspiration! ". Second day.
The room at the Flamenco Hotel is really cool - big, lots of mirrors. The hotel is a bit old - strange air conditioners, but the overall impression does not spoil. A sort of metropolitan grand hotel. Breakfast is excellent, huge selection of food. A special highlight is fresh pastries. The hotel is located not far from the city center.
In the morning at 8-00 we went on a sightseeing tour of Budapest. Our guide, a lady of pre-retirement age, basically talked about what did not happen in Budapest after the collapse of the Soviet Union. But elements of decline were visible even without it - boarded-up shop windows in the city center. In the fisherman's bastion, it was not possible to get into the Matthias Cathedral, since on Sunday there is a service there until 14-00 and the guards do not let anyone in there. Although the guide said that if you convince them that you are Catholics, they will let you in, but we did not try. In normal times, the entrance to the cathedral is paid. Near the royal palace, we separated from the group to look at the fountain depicting the hunting of King Matthias. In order to get to it, you need to go down near the Turul bird, reach the Savoy monument and turn left into the arch.
Then we were taken to the Basilica of St. Stephen, where we managed to get to the Sunday service with the organ. It usually ends at 11:00. Then we separated from the group and went to the parliament to get on a Russian-speaking tour at 12-30. But unexpectedly, all excursions to the parliament were canceled, although in the morning, when we drove past it, they were still allowed to go there. After admiring the facade of the ethnographic museum, we went on an excursion to the zoo, which is located in the Heroes' Square area opposite the Count Szé chenyi baths. We got there by metro with one change. A small surprise for visitors is that there is not always a familiar sign with the letter M in front of the entrance to the metro. On the Heroes Square, the entrance to the passage looks more like an underpass. Entrance ticket - 2400 forints. As a matter of fact, the zoo itself is not big enough, even in comparison with Kharkov. It is small in width and is located close to the railway line. Here lions doze under the roar of trains - an unusual sight. The zoo presents really unique animals - a rhinoceros, a Komodo monitor lizard. But most of all I was struck by the free show with fur seals. All in all, the trip paid off.
We left Heroes' Square for Sopron at six thirty in the evening, and arrived at the hotel at 10.
