28-12-2018 Bong & His Winter Update 1 - Slippery in the dark; breathtaking in the bright

XOXO

-Bong-

22-12-2018 Bong & Family Trip in Budapest (Day 11- Saying Goodbye to Pappa Mamma and Budapest)

Our first and last destination

in Budapest

was Great Market Hall (Nagy Vásárcsarnok).

But since we were early.

so we went to take some photos

at this lovely

Szabadság bridge...

After taking photos there,

we went to the Great Market Hall...

From food

to handcraft,

you can buy all kind of nice souvenirs here....

Of course,

we had to try some local food there as well

because they were just simply mouth watering!

After spending few hours there,

we picked up our stuffs,

took a taxi

and headed to the airport...

After spending almost 3 weeks with us,

I must say...

they looked super happy

because finally they could go back to much warmer climate

and eat typical asian food that they like!

Lol!

After sending them off,

we went to the overnight hotel that I had booked...

Microstore Airport Panzio,

it is located like 3-4 km from Budapest Airport...

the area has 'almost' nothing,

not even a restaurant...

So we had to buy some food

from these very local stores...

and..

that's our very last dinner

of this wonderful trip!

What a way to end it!

The next day,

we booked a taxi,

headed to the airport and

had our coffee and breakfast there...

We were surprised with

this low cost terminal,

which almost looked like a ferry terminal instead of

airport boarding gate...

That's all for the 11/12 days trip in

East Europe..

XOXO

-Bong-

19-12-2018 Bong & Family Trip in Budapest (Day 10- From mountain to the ground)

The next day morning,

we took the tram which went along

the river side...

and our first destination

of the day

was Halászbástya

(Fisherman's Bastion)...

Based on Google Map,

I reached this place

where we needed to walk up the stairs...

then in the middle of the hill,

they have elevator

so that we could save some energy...

We came up to the top,

and the view was simply breathtaking...

We arrived at

Szentháromság-szobor

(Holy Trinity Statue)

and from there,

Mátyás Templom

(Matthias Church) was just right in front of us...

Instead of buying ticket

and going into the church,

we decided to spend the money

on this restaurant...

to sit, drink

and enjoy the wonderful view of Budapest!

After that,

we walked down from

the Fisherman's Bastion...

From there,

we came down to the

Széchenyi Lánchíd

(Széchenyi Chain Bridge)...

and we were thinking

'Should we go up hill again??'

There were many people

queuing up

to take the cable car...

So we decided just to walk

up to this Budavári Palota

(Buda Castle).

Half way up the hill,

it was so mesmerizing to see

the cabin car moving up and down...

We went up this way to the eagle statue,

but due to some events,

this way was closed.

We went to another side,

climbed up again....

and finally reached

its top!

It was a lot of things

going on at that time,

from restoration of the royal palace's riding hall...

to Budapest Wine Festival

(Why were we not invited??)

Lol!

We came down

to meet pappa who were waiting us

at the middle of the hill,

somewhere near to the bridge between the railway....

and then we headed

to the city center of 'Pest'

to get asian lunch (again) lol!

We took the tram to

Kálvin tér...

and yes,

the nice asian lunch was here...

Tao Restaurant!

In Budapest,

it is pretty easy to find this kind of

asian 'fast food' restaurant,

where you can choose your main course (like rice/noddles)

and dishes...

After the lunch,

we took a very special type of subway....

This kind of subway

reminded me the old subway

I have seen in movies...

and the stations

were so cute

and fairy-tale-like...

After a small ride,

we arrived at our destination,

Millennium Monument

(Millenniumi emlékmű).

The monuments

are of course amazing...

but the nice park right beside them

caught more of my attention.

There is a lake,

and people could rent all kind of boats

to ride...

From there,

we entered this fairy-tale

Vajdahunyad Castle...

Of course,

they also have tower tours that you have to

pay to join...

We were not so interested in paying,

so we just walked around....

and looked around...

We spent like an hour

walking around this area,

and then we headed back again to our guesthouse

for some rest...

A combination of

car and boat/ship

lol!

In the evening,

pappa mamma decided not to walk around

and have dinner with us...

So Arne and I

walked from Corvin to Kálvin tér area...

from tourist streets

to local neighborhood...

from shopping mall

to a basement restaurant...

(NOT AGAIN!!)

Why do we always

end up at basement restaurants...

lol!

We ordered the famous local food,

goulash....

then other stuffs

such as turkey and fish...

We enjoyed the food there,

and the price was reasonable.

-Bécsi Szelet Vendéglő-

We paid 30 Euros,

for all the food plus red wine!

and then went home.....

To be continued...

XOXO

-Bong-