Sunday 22 June 2014 Bochum - Budapest

Warm Sunny but breezy 26C

We were up and packed early to get to the airport by 7.15, solved the puzzle of how to return a hire car without a person in sight and managed to be on time to check in for our flight on Wizzair to Budapest.

The security pat down was quite thorough (?) compared to anything we've experienced previously, but hey, as it was Sunday morning, perhaps they were giving some trainee security staff a go....

Wizzair doesn't allocate seats so we joined the queue towards the back and were fortunate to get two seats on the A320 in the 2nd last row. Took off on time at 8.25 a.m for the 1.5 hour flight.

On arrival in Budapest, the pilot thanked us for flying Wizzair and wished us a happy birthday – lost in translation? - and we were able to exit swiftly from the rear of the plane.

This budget airline Is very good for a short flight, not much leg room and no reclining seats.

I had booked a shuttle van to take us to our apartment and this was excellent. We were through reception and in our apartment by 11:00 a.m.

We have a lovely roomy one bedroom apartment on the 5th floor of a modern block with a balcony overlooking a small street. Shortly after arriving there was a knock at the door from Kriszta (the owner) who came to visit and make sure we were settled.

We set off with a map to see some of Pest. Just at the end of the street was a market with a variety of stalls, restaurants and cafes selling jewelry, clothes and handmade knick-knacks.

Next we circled the City Synagogue which was very impressive.

We walked towards the river and passed the main city market that looks like a railway station building - unfortunately closed today.

We then walked along Vaci utca (utca - meaning "street" in Hungarian - pronounced "oo-tsah") which at the south end, has a lot of souvenir shops and currency exchanges but part way along turns into a very fashionable shopping area with lots of restaurants, cafes and department stores.

Lunch was at a Danube-side cafe - enjoying Hungarian goulash soup for the first time.

We then reached the famous Chain Bridge over the Danube and crossed, stopping under Buda castle, From there, we headed north along the river bank on the Buda side for a brief view of the new parliament buildings gleaming in the afternoon sunlight.

The buildings in Budapest are very beautiful and the city reminds us of Madrid. Back over the Chain Bridge on the Pest side is the Gresham Palace (now the Four Seasons Hotel) which was beautifully refurbished in 1905 by the Gresham Insurance Company. Unfortunately, it sustained heavy damage during WWII and has only recently been faithfully restored.

From there, it was a short stroll east to the magnificent St Stephen Cathedral which is a beautiful ornate church full of red marble pillars and plenty of gold trimmings. At the rear of the church is the chapel of the Sacred Right Hand. Legend has it that when St Stephen died, while the rest of his body disintegrated, his right hand stayed intact. That hand is housed in a small ornate container in the chapel and (the hand is) brought out for processions on holy days.

We also found a small supermarket nearby for some necessities (bottle of water and bottle of wine) and will visit a larger one tomorrow.

It’s nice to be warm and see blue skies and to be in this beautiful city.