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My review will be of interest to those who plan to visit Budapest for the May holidays. Travel date May 1-5.2009.
This was my second visit to the Hungarian capital. To be honest, the first trip (in May 2008) left such vivid (negative) impressions of Hungary in general and of Budapest in particular that I didn’t want to go here again, but my husband insisted very much, he, unlike me, was fascinated by Budapest and he wanted to wander again through its dusty wide streets. As a "moral compensation" I was promised an excursion to the "real Europe" - the hero city of Vienna.
On May 1, standing in the lobby of the Hungarian airport, I was looking forward to the “sweetness” of a group transfer and a voluntary-compulsory “sightseeing tour” with an endless collection of “donations” for “exciting excursions” from the host...
I really don’t know if the crisis has affected, or if our tourists’ interest in Hungarian beauties has weakened, but besides my husband and I, from Ukraine, on this day, only one more couple flew to Budapest “for May” - mother and daughter from Odessa. We plunged into a comfortable car and after 30 minutes we already received the keys at the reception of our hotel (last time we arrived at the place of settlement after about 6 hours).
The hotel where we stayed is called "Erzsebet" (Erzsebet), it is located in a wonderful place on the Pest side, on the street. Karol Mihai, this street runs parallel to the street. Vaci (3 min walk). Nearby there is a 24-hour grocery supermarket (on Ferencisk street) and there are also a couple of shops on Vaci and in the vicinity. By the way, change money and buy groceries immediately upon arrival, because on May 1st even “convenience” stores are open until 11 pm, and most stores do not work at all.
I was very pleased with the proximity of the graceful Erzsebet bridge - this is my favorite bridge in Budapest : ). The hotel is located in a busy tourist center, so it is not difficult to find many restaurants and eateries nearby that are open either until midnight or “until the last customer” (unlike Baros Square, where Golden Park is located, where we stayed in 2008, everything is closed until 22 pm). The rooms are small but cozy and clean. New furniture, neat renovation. Unfortunately, there is no safe in the room - you have to rent it at the reception (the reception only knows “hello” and “thank you” in Russian). Daily housekeeping. Towels must be thrown on the floor to be changed. Breakfast is so-so, but you won't leave hungry. By the way, the hotel itself is a historical monument - it was opened in 1873, the year of the unification of Pest, Buda and Obuda.
It got its name in honor of Queen Erzhebet (Sissi), dear to the heart of the Hungarians, permission for the name of the hotel was given by the wife of Franz Joseph himself. In 2002, the building underwent a complete modernization, and the only reminders of the glorious historical past are advertising posters in the hotel elevators, which depict Sissi, and an old photo of the missing hotel facade as a background. In general, I liked the hotel - I recommend it.
Budapest is the best place to celebrate May 1, because “Labor Day” is just as much a holiday for Hungarians as it is for us. Half of the townspeople leave the city, and the residents and tourists who remain in the city indulge in unbridled fun. Music sounds on the streets, there are performances by professional and not very musicians. To the rhythmic sounds of music, the locals do not hesitate to dance.
On May 1-2, folk festivals and a traditional fair are held on Heroes' Square and in Varoshliget Park, where you can buy traditional products of folk craftsmen (for example, cast-iron cauldrons for goulash), as well as buy marzipans by weight. The choice of marzipans at the fair was very large, the “marzipan museum” in the Fisherman's Bastion is smoking nervously : ). Over the past year, Budapest has noticeably prettier, the streets are clean, despite the holiday, there is no stink in the passages, and many buildings proudly showed freshly painted facades. There were practically no drunken homeless people on the streets (the last time they were lying around at every step, like fallen leaves in autumn), in general, you don’t recognize the city. As if a year ago I came to some other Budapest : ).
We wanted to buy an excursion to Vienna on the spot, from the host operator, but the guide, who met us in the hotel lobby the next morning, said that there were no excursions to Vienna and were not expected.
Seeing our disappointed faces, she suggested that we go to Vienna on our own, the benefit from Budapest to Vienna is 3 hours by train. We bought tickets at the Keleti station, the international ticket office is located on the left side of the main entrance. If you speak English at the level of the 3rd grade of a secondary school, then it will not be difficult for you to buy a ticket: you just need to lean towards the window and say the cherished phrase: “Ay von e ticket tou Vienna”, and then listen carefully to the leading questions of the cashier answering “ yes” or “know” as needed. As a result, we received 2 round-trip tickets, the cost of which included travel by public transport in the "zone 100" of Vienna. The ticket is valid for three days, it can be returned to the box office only on the day of purchase.
The cost of “pleasure” is 8640 forints (about 40 dollars) for one ticket (a bus tour would cost 50 euros per nose), cash desks accept credit cards - convenient. Together with the ticket, you must be given a printed train schedule. For some reason they didn’t give us (probably the papers ran out), instead the cashier told us the time of departure of the morning train to Vienna and back to Budapest in words. We miraculously met compatriots on the train who happened to have a timetable - that's how we escaped, because the devil breaks his leg in the Hungarian timetable, and in Austria there is no timetable, in our understanding. There is no direct train Budapest - Vienna, all trains are passing through. For example, we went to Vienna by train to Munich, and back by train to Sofia. You can navigate only by the time of departure of the train. There are no conductors on the trains, so there is no one to ask.
Hungarian conductors enter the train at the next stop, check tickets and get off at the border, then Austrian conductors enter the train, they also check tickets and get off the train. Tickets do not have a fixed departure time, day or location. You choose all this yourself, at your discretion, sit down on the empty seats you like. The trains marked as RJ in the timetable belong to the Austrian Railways, they are modern, comfortable railjets, and traveling in them is as comfortable as flying in an airplane. The carriages are equipped with digital displays indicating the arrival station. Other trains are a “hodgepodge” of various old trailer cars, they look intimidating, but they go quietly and gently. By the way, “unfashionable” trains are only 30 minutes slower than “fashionable” ones. Your ticket allows you to sit on all these trains. In Vienna, you need to get off at Wien Westbahnhof (do not confuse it with Wien Meidling).
From the station you can walk to the center on foot or take the metro, so as not to waste time, I recommend the latter. The Vienna metro seemed dirtier to me than the Stockholm metro. Interestingly, the train doors open manually and close automatically. We tried to close them manually, which must have amused the local old ladies : )
We left Budapest at 7.10 am and at 10.08 we were already in Vienna. It was Sunday in the yard, there was no one on the streets, nothing was working - most of the people were in churches at morning services, but at 12 noon, the streets became noticeably more animated. I won't go into detail about the sights of Vienna here, but I can only say that this city will surprise you, possibly disappoint and enchant you at the same time. And one more thing: Vienna is absolutely not like Budapest. That's it. And draw the rest of the conclusions yourself: come, see, make up your own opinion.
Returning to Budapest, I will say that I was very pleased with the trip. Somehow everything worked out this time - starting with the hotel, ending with the weather. Although a little rain fell on the last day, it did not spoil our mood. I want to thank the travel companies “Let's rest”, “Accord-tour” and the host “Pro Family Travel”, which not only helped me fall in love with Budapest, but also contributed to the return of the camera forgotten in the hotel to my homeland : )
I wish you all pleasant travels and vivid impressions! : )
This was my second visit to the Hungarian capital. To be honest, the first trip (in May 2008) left such vivid (negative) impressions of Hungary in general and of Budapest in particular that I didn’t want to go here again, but my husband insisted very much, he, unlike me, was fascinated by Budapest and he wanted to wander again through its dusty wide streets. As a "moral compensation" I was promised an excursion to the "real Europe" - the hero city of Vienna.
On May 1, standing in the lobby of the Hungarian airport, I was looking forward to the “sweetness” of a group transfer and a voluntary-compulsory “sightseeing tour” with an endless collection of “donations” for “exciting excursions” from the host...
I really don’t know if the crisis has affected, or if our tourists’ interest in Hungarian beauties has weakened, but besides my husband and I, from Ukraine, on this day, only one more couple flew to Budapest “for May” - mother and daughter from Odessa. We plunged into a comfortable car and after 30 minutes we already received the keys at the reception of our hotel (last time we arrived at the place of settlement after about 6 hours).
The hotel where we stayed is called "Erzsebet" (Erzsebet), it is located in a wonderful place on the Pest side, on the street. Karol Mihai, this street runs parallel to the street. Vaci (3 min walk). Nearby there is a 24-hour grocery supermarket (on Ferencisk street) and there are also a couple of shops on Vaci and in the vicinity. By the way, change money and buy groceries immediately upon arrival, because on May 1st even “convenience” stores are open until 11 pm, and most stores do not work at all.
I was very pleased with the proximity of the graceful Erzsebet bridge - this is my favorite bridge in Budapest : ). The hotel is located in a busy tourist center, so it is not difficult to find many restaurants and eateries nearby that are open either until midnight or “until the last customer” (unlike Baros Square, where Golden Park is located, where we stayed in 2008, everything is closed until 22 pm). The rooms are small but cozy and clean. New furniture, neat renovation. Unfortunately, there is no safe in the room - you have to rent it at the reception (the reception only knows “hello” and “thank you” in Russian). Daily housekeeping. Towels must be thrown on the floor to be changed. Breakfast is so-so, but you won't leave hungry. By the way, the hotel itself is a historical monument - it was opened in 1873, the year of the unification of Pest, Buda and Obuda.
It got its name in honor of Queen Erzhebet (Sissi), dear to the heart of the Hungarians, permission for the name of the hotel was given by the wife of Franz Joseph himself. In 2002, the building underwent a complete modernization, and the only reminders of the glorious historical past are advertising posters in the hotel elevators, which depict Sissi, and an old photo of the missing hotel facade as a background. In general, I liked the hotel - I recommend it.
Budapest is the best place to celebrate May 1, because “Labor Day” is just as much a holiday for Hungarians as it is for us. Half of the townspeople leave the city, and the residents and tourists who remain in the city indulge in unbridled fun. Music sounds on the streets, there are performances by professional and not very musicians. To the rhythmic sounds of music, the locals do not hesitate to dance.
On May 1-2, folk festivals and a traditional fair are held on Heroes' Square and in Varoshliget Park, where you can buy traditional products of folk craftsmen (for example, cast-iron cauldrons for goulash), as well as buy marzipans by weight. The choice of marzipans at the fair was very large, the “marzipan museum” in the Fisherman's Bastion is smoking nervously : ). Over the past year, Budapest has noticeably prettier, the streets are clean, despite the holiday, there is no stink in the passages, and many buildings proudly showed freshly painted facades. There were practically no drunken homeless people on the streets (the last time they were lying around at every step, like fallen leaves in autumn), in general, you don’t recognize the city. As if a year ago I came to some other Budapest : ).
We wanted to buy an excursion to Vienna on the spot, from the host operator, but the guide, who met us in the hotel lobby the next morning, said that there were no excursions to Vienna and were not expected.
Seeing our disappointed faces, she suggested that we go to Vienna on our own, the benefit from Budapest to Vienna is 3 hours by train. We bought tickets at the Keleti station, the international ticket office is located on the left side of the main entrance. If you speak English at the level of the 3rd grade of a secondary school, then it will not be difficult for you to buy a ticket: you just need to lean towards the window and say the cherished phrase: “Ay von e ticket tou Vienna”, and then listen carefully to the leading questions of the cashier answering “ yes” or “know” as needed. As a result, we received 2 round-trip tickets, the cost of which included travel by public transport in the "zone 100" of Vienna. The ticket is valid for three days, it can be returned to the box office only on the day of purchase.
The cost of “pleasure” is 8640 forints (about 40 dollars) for one ticket (a bus tour would cost 50 euros per nose), cash desks accept credit cards - convenient. Together with the ticket, you must be given a printed train schedule. For some reason they didn’t give us (probably the papers ran out), instead the cashier told us the time of departure of the morning train to Vienna and back to Budapest in words. We miraculously met compatriots on the train who happened to have a timetable - that's how we escaped, because the devil breaks his leg in the Hungarian timetable, and in Austria there is no timetable, in our understanding. There is no direct train Budapest - Vienna, all trains are passing through. For example, we went to Vienna by train to Munich, and back by train to Sofia. You can navigate only by the time of departure of the train. There are no conductors on the trains, so there is no one to ask.
Hungarian conductors enter the train at the next stop, check tickets and get off at the border, then Austrian conductors enter the train, they also check tickets and get off the train. Tickets do not have a fixed departure time, day or location. You choose all this yourself, at your discretion, sit down on the empty seats you like. The trains marked as RJ in the timetable belong to the Austrian Railways, they are modern, comfortable railjets, and traveling in them is as comfortable as flying in an airplane. The carriages are equipped with digital displays indicating the arrival station. Other trains are a “hodgepodge” of various old trailer cars, they look intimidating, but they go quietly and gently. By the way, “unfashionable” trains are only 30 minutes slower than “fashionable” ones. Your ticket allows you to sit on all these trains. In Vienna, you need to get off at Wien Westbahnhof (do not confuse it with Wien Meidling).
From the station you can walk to the center on foot or take the metro, so as not to waste time, I recommend the latter. The Vienna metro seemed dirtier to me than the Stockholm metro. Interestingly, the train doors open manually and close automatically. We tried to close them manually, which must have amused the local old ladies : )
We left Budapest at 7.10 am and at 10.08 we were already in Vienna. It was Sunday in the yard, there was no one on the streets, nothing was working - most of the people were in churches at morning services, but at 12 noon, the streets became noticeably more animated. I won't go into detail about the sights of Vienna here, but I can only say that this city will surprise you, possibly disappoint and enchant you at the same time. And one more thing: Vienna is absolutely not like Budapest. That's it. And draw the rest of the conclusions yourself: come, see, make up your own opinion.
Returning to Budapest, I will say that I was very pleased with the trip. Somehow everything worked out this time - starting with the hotel, ending with the weather. Although a little rain fell on the last day, it did not spoil our mood. I want to thank the travel companies “Let's rest”, “Accord-tour” and the host “Pro Family Travel”, which not only helped me fall in love with Budapest, but also contributed to the return of the camera forgotten in the hotel to my homeland : )
I wish you all pleasant travels and vivid impressions! : )
Translated automatically from Russian. View original
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