As we continue our “Is there a flood in this city?” tour, we rolled into Budapest, Hungary. The weather was sunny and warm, around 23-25 degrees. The Danube River levels peaked the day after we arrived, reaching up to 27.2 ft. We were not affected by this luckily. Apparently the heavy rains and flooding experienced earlier in the week had a ripple effect on certain European rivers. On a Saturday morning stroll we were able to witness the crazy water levels and many residents of the city were doing the same – almost a party atmosphere along the boardwalk.
Budapest is a city split between ‘Buda’ (on one side of the river) and ‘Pest’ (on the other). Due to our short stay, we only explored the Pest side. All the buildings are huge, ornate and majestic. They like to compare one of their central “must see” streets – Andrássy Ut to the Champs-Élysées in Paris with its’ wide sidewalks and pricey shops, opera houses, boutiques and galleries.
The Great Market Hall, inside and out.
We stayed in a central location that gave us breakfast cards for a cafe next door – very convenient. The host was a great guy who gave us tips for exploring and eating out. The Hungarian people were super friendly and relaxed, definitely a cafe culture in the city.
Every train ride so far seemed to have its share of “mysteries” (I may do a separate blog on just ‘train stories’). Enroute to our next city – Zagreb, Croatia all started normal. Just as we approached or crossed into Croatia a porter said “BUS IN 10 MINUTES”, keeping in mind that it was now dark out and we still had 2 hours left for the train ride at that point. All the English-speaking people exchange ‘does anyone know what is going on?’ queries.
So we gather our stuff, exit the train and find our way to a waiting bus. We go about an hour and the bus stops and driver says “everybody off”. We transfer to another bus and drive another half-hour or so, stop again in a spot that turns out to be a train station and you get it … “everybody off”. It was a real shit show because nobody would give a reason for anything. Back on a train and we arrive in Zagreb safe and sound about an hour behind schedule. We found out later there was construction on the track and this was their solution to that issue. OMG JUST TELL US THAT! Remember those stories about being kidnapped, put to sleep and waking up with a few less organs LOL.
Zagreb next !
So interesting, the planes, trains and automobiles sequel, lol. Love the stories and pictures.
Such an adventure!!