Budapest: Meet the parents

We had a nice departure time from Bratislava, 11:30 and only a 2 and a half hour journey time, so we were in no rush to get up and packed. Also, plenty of time to have some breakfast and pop to Tesco to do some clothes shopping for Charlotte. After a hot and sweaty walk to Bratislava bus station, we boarded the bus managing to pick, what we thought, was the only double seat left, as the bus had come all the way from Marseille in France. After everyone had got back on though there was some confusion and we think we had someone else's seat but we avoided eye contact and kept our seats. The short journey absolutely flew by and we pulled into Budapest half an hour early. We had hoped to step of the bus and bung our bags straight on to my Mum and Dad but they left us waiting for there arrival. Then all of a sudden there they were, exactly like we'd left them 2 months ago, nothing had changed. As they had arrived in Budapest a good few hours before we had, we left the directions to them and they'd even bought our metro tickets for us, bless them. After a quick rattle into town we emerged into the main square and started the hunt for our elusive hostel. Sweating it out in the blazing heat we eventually found it and were pleasantly surprised with the large private room in an apartment shared with only one other room. We dumped our things and headed out to meet the parents who had sat at a Chinese cafe while we checked in. Something we would have to get used to over the next 5 days was numerous cafe visits, but they are getting on a bit, they need their rest. First port of call was the Danube and a look at the Chain Bridge, which my parents had already been across. The view from the Pest side of the city (Budapest is 2 cities separated by the Danube, Buda on the West Bank and Pest on the east bank) towards Buda was very impressive. Buda is set on hillsides rolling down to the riverside, with castles churches and statues sitting on the hilltops. Inevitably it was time for a beer, so we chose a terrace right on the river with great views but probably high prices, and had a catch up from the past 2 months. Afterwards we split to get ready for dinner which was down a pedtrianised road near my parents hotel. It seemed like more of a bar but still we ordered our food and waited a long while before it turned up. It turned out to be really tasty and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm sure it looked good too but it was so dark with no outside lighting I couldn't see a thing. We went our separate ways for the evening as we had to be up early to go to the Chinese Consulate in the morning to try and sort out our Chinese visa.

We got our things together in the morning, confident we'd get our visa. It was a long straight walk down a leafy road into what seemed like the embassy district. A helpful police officer guided us to where we needed to be but failed to tell us that it's not open on a Friday. We left dejected but full of hope we'd get there first thing on Monday and get it sorted. We trudged back toward our hostel, dropped our things off and met up with mum and dad to get the day rolling and take our minds off the visa situation. We decided to walk along the banks of the Danube, past the sculpture "Shoes on the Danube Bank" which is in honour of Jews killed by facists during World War 2. They were told to take off their shoes, stand on the riverbank and shot so the river would carry their bodies away. We carried on to Margaret Island, enjoyed the fountain that dances to music and sat down to enjoy a drink in the shade. After the debate to rent a 4 person bike was quickly snuffed out we moved on down the island, sticking to the shaded areas. When we'd traversed the island and seen the spa and a few ruins we hopped on the bus to take us back into the city. It dropped us off at a train station which wasn't anywhere near we wanted to be but after twisting and turning through some backstreets we made it back to Basilica Square, which was right next to our hostel. It was time for another cafe break, so we sat facing the Basilica with a beer and played some cards. It was at this point I started to come over funny, so Charlotte and I went back to the room and had a nap infront of a fan to cool down. We woke up just in time to meet for dinner but I was still feeling terrible. It had been a scorching day and I'd obviously caught the sun. I stumbled out for dinner but, despite hunting down a Hungarian restaurant didn't fancy anything. Charlotte, who was also not 100% attempted a meal but could only manage a few bites. We had to call it a night and my dad had to finish of Charlottes meal. We left my parents to it and retired to recuperate.

We awoke the next morning feeling great and were keen to get out and about once more. It would have been an early start but for some slight miscommunication, it took us a good hour to find each other. We had said meet at their hotel but I found them sipping a coffee in Starbucks just around the corner from our hostel. Anyway, we made for the large central market and milled around looking at the fruit and veg stalls. We treated ourselves to some cured sausages as a snack then headed upstairs to the souvenirs stall. After picking up a few things it was time for a beer, our most expensive one of the trip to Budapest. Refreshed, we crossed the river and decided to walk up a hill to the Statue of Liberty. With Mum and Dad trailing behind, Charlotte and I reached the top with plenty of time to take a snap of them when they eventually crossed the finish line. The hill offered great views across the city. In contrast to Buda, Pest is as flat as a pancake and you could see for miles as it sprawled into the distance. With some snaps taken and our breaths caught we decided to walk down, down is always so much easier. Fortunately, there was a bar at the bottom where we could get a refreshing drink after all our exertion. While we were sat there, what seemed like a rally of Smart Cars drove past for about 20 minutes, sort of like the London to Brighton Mini run. We watched them pass and moved on just as they finished.  We headed towards the Chain Bridge which is probably Budapest's most famous site. And Charlotte's least favourite, as she's not overly keen on bridges! After walking across it, I decided I wasn't all that impressed with it, compared to the Golden Gate or the Oresund Bridge, it's just not that impressive. After somehow meeting all the Smart Cars on the other side of the river, we parted ways to rest up and scrub up for dinner. Fortunately we were fit and healthy today, so we went to the same restaurant as the night before and all managed to finish a full meal. We even managed to sneak in a couple of bowls of Goulash Soup which were delicious and a perfect starter. Afterwards we went down the riverside to take a look at the bridge and Buda side lit up. It did look very nice and was worth the walk through the dark streets. The chain bridge was slightly underwhelming again lit up with just plain white bulbs.

The next day we decided to all go for the hop on hop off bus, to see the sights further out of town. We stayed on the bus until we reached Buda castle, set high up on a hill overlooking Pest and the River Danube. We strolled around the grounds, tried some free tasters of some sausages and admired the views. As ever, it was time for a beer, so we found a cafe situated opposite the impressively roofed Matthias Church, baffled by a pair of shorts a man was wearing (Long Story). Suitably refreshed we wandered down the hill slightly to Fisherman's Bastion, which was used, in the old days, by the Fishermans guild to guard that stretch of the river. Now it's just used to offer great views across he city. We hopped back on our bus with the intention of taking one of our boat trips that came with the hop on hop off bus ticket. When we got to the next stop though, the bus stopped and we were informed it was their break time, so we all had to get off and wait for the next bus to come along. When one did, we all approached it hopefull but were informed that that one was also on its break, fantastic! We then tried catching one from an associated company but that filled up so fast we had no chance. We just had to wait for our original one to start up again. Fortunately, we made our planned boat trip by the skin of our teeth. Despite the heat we sat on the open top deck to get the best views. We went upstream focusing on the Pest side of the river, with the impressive Parliament building the centre of attention. Apparently, it was based on the British Parliament building, despite dad insisting it looked nothing like it. We moved up past Margaret Island and headed down the other side of the river to focus on the Buda side, which is certainly the more impressive side. We arrived back late afternoon, so not to break routine we parted ways to freshen up for dinner. We decided to stick with a winning formula and went to the same restaurant for the 3rd night in a row. We needed an early night though, as it was Visa day the next day. How hard could it be!

We were up early and found an Internet cafe to print off everything we needed in order to get one. Then straight up the road to the application centre. We entered the building, which was rather busy, with no idea what to do. We eventually figured out we had to obtain a ticket, then wait for our number to be called. Our number was 242, when we arrived they were on 202. We stood and sat patiently for 2 hours, watching people come and go with various expressions on there faces. Eventually, mercifully, our number was called and we walked confidently into the room. The woman we had was happy to speak English, so we were even more confident of a positive outcome. She sifted through our papers and then came the brick wall. "Do you have you're residence permit". Well no, we don't live in Hungary. "Then you can't get a visa here, I'm sorry". Great, we were sure of getting one in Hungary, surely our passport is proof enough that we can be in this country legally. This had put us in a foul mood and was threatening to muck up our plans, we might have to fly round China, rather than travel through it. We walked to to a place called Heroes Square to meet my parents, where they were waiting in, surprise, surprise, a cafe! We discussed the options and decided to head to the British Embassy in Budapest in order to get some advice, maybe they could even help get us the visa in Hungary. We hopped on our bus and managed to find a stop near the embassy. After hunting it down, it was cordoned off and their was a large security guard standing outside it. Charlotte hopped the fence to try and get in but got shouted at by the burly security guard, lucky nobody got tazered! We moved round the barrier and tried to ask the security guard why it was closed but he told us that he couldn't speak in English, despite the fact he was speaking English to us. Frustrated we headed back to our hostel to consider our options. We decided to have a change of scenery for dinner and picked up a kebab with some 'delicious' microwaved chips and went to claim our second boat trip along the Danube, this time, one at night. After what was quite a long and stressful stay in Budapest we were all slightly bored on this boat trip. It was pretty much the same as the one we had been on before but did offer great views of the parliament building, the chain bridge and Buda all lit up.

We disembarked and walked in the direction of our respective hotels, reluctant to welcome the departure day. I would say it was harder parting with my parents this time round, we know we won't see them again for a good 2 years. Whereas as when we left originally we knew we had the Budapest break coming up. But, it was also lovely to have some company on our trip, even if they did break up our routine!! (That's a joke mum and dad)

James and Charlotte