A lot has happened since I was on the phone to the holiday on Friday 13th March 2020 (unlucky for some.us) as I was bafflingly being told we had to fly out to a country who had already closed their borders due to the COVID outbreak. Thankfully, 24 hours later, theyd seen some sense and we then began the arduous process of claiming everything back and have now waited nearly two years for the opportunity to finally do the trip wed (sort of) planned.
Our BA flight out on Friday evening was as smooth as ever. Laura began her week of boozing by getting a glass of wine, and we had the inflight entertainment of a a few rows in front (they even managed to get the pilot out for a photo). Landing in a brisk Budapest airport and we were straight onto the bus (#100) straight into the city centre. It dropped us off outside the Astoria and we began to find our bearings even though it was gone 10pm. I fancied a slice of pizza, randomly, but seems like you can literally get one on any street corner in the citywhy
Anyway, we began the walk to the hotel, and about 5 minutes in, we were in familiar territory. Walking along the same pathways as nearly 8 years ago. Budapest has a special place in our heart as it was where we had our honeymoon, and we decided to use this occasion to treat ourselves to the same hotel as before – The Corinthia. We were soon checked in and had a fabulous room (#5221) on the top floor. It really is a wonderful hotel, and we checked back at our honeymoon receipt, and the 4 days we spent back then cost the same as the 3 days this time around, but we had breakfast included!
After a restful sleep (youre always super tired after travelling), we went down for breakfast. We didnt opt for it last time as it had a surcharge of £25 per person(!)but oh my, what a breakfast!! Laura was asked upon entry if shed like a dry or sweet champagne whilst I sauntered over to the hot buffet. Excellent selection of food, unbelievable pastries, fresh fruit, and coffee
to order. We filled our boots before heading back to the room to get into our swimming gear as we were off down the private lift to next doors Royal Spa (also included in the price) for our first dip in the pool, jacuzzi and saunas.
I suppose it was time to get reacquainted with this fantastic capital city, and what better way than to do it as an ‘escape the city walking tour. This constituted us getting handed a briefcase and a rudimentary map to go off and explore some of the sights whilst trying to solve clues to know where to go next! It was fantastic – the briefcase included several items required during the course of the next 2 or 3 hours, including a UV light, binoculars, magnifying glass and a toy handgun! Im surprised we didnt get stopped and searched at one point or another! On our trip around the city, we saw the Ferris Wheel, Szent Istvans Bazilika, the wonderful parliament building, Liberty Square and spent a good amount of time trying to find the clue around the MTA (Hungarian Academy of Sciences). It was such a fun way to explore the city –
We then had flashbacks to Vienna/Prague and ate a Baum Kuchen (chimney cake) before having a drink and some chips at the For Sale Pub (not sold just yet!) and then a lovely walk over the Szabadsag Bridge. Budapest really looks amazing at night, especially along the Danube, and then we stumbled into the BarCraft Buda bar which had the most mental drinks menu wed ever seen. I think Laura ended up ordering a potion of some sort called ‘The Hulk. Wed booked in for a ski lodge escape room around the corner at Gellert Escape Rooms. It was brutally hard – we just about managed to finish it but with a lot of hints needed! When we first came to Budapest, we did one of only 2 escape rooms in the country at the timenow there are over 1,000 in the capital city alone!
The following day, we quickly became accustomed to smashing through the breakfast buffet followed by a quick trip to the spa before starting the day (what a life!).
