Continuing Day 5 Travelled from Czech Republic to Slovakia for a night’s stay to break up the drive to Hungary. Because it was more of a stopover, we didn’t get to see much of Slovakia.
Slovakia: Bratislava
Hotel: Hotel Bratislava
Bratislava: View of Bratislava Castle from the bus.Bratislava, 7.45pm: Dinner at yet another Chinese restaurant…Bratislava: Turned out to be a buffet which I absolutely didn’t mind!!! I think it was about €11 without a drink (~SGD16.70) and €12 with a drink (~SGD18.30). Worth it!Bratislava: The cold stuff! This section was where you pile on what you want to be cooked and their chef will whip it into a dish for you.Step 1: Pick the food you want to eat.Step 2: Pick your sauce, take the corresponding clip and clip it to your plate.Step 3: Bring it to the chef’s corner.Step 4: Wait for the food to be brought to you and dig in!Hotel Bratislava – one of the largest convention hotels in Bratislava. Their rooms are pretty spacious!
Day 6
Slovakia: Bratislava
Hungary: Budapest
Hotel: Mercure Budapest Korona Hotel (4*)
Bratislava, 7.20am: Because Hotel Bratislava is a business hotel, there are lots of people staying and the breakfast area is PACKED at 7am onwards. We were lucky to get a table cause my parents went down slightly before 7am.
Eggs eggs eggs, all day everyday. Mushrooms were pretty good!
The cakes were dry and meh.
Bratislava: View from the hotel room – looking into people’s homes.Budapest, 12.07pm: Atop Gellért Hill – overlooking the Buda (old Town) and Pest (new Town).Budapest, 12.37pm: Free & easy time in Pest! Also known as time-for-you-to-find-your-own-lunch.Budapest: Squeezing in some time for shopping.Budapest: I’m in heaven!!!Budapest: Bought me 5 shampoo bars because they are ridiculously priced in Singapore. 1 bar is about SGD26.50 but in Budapest it was between SGD12-14!!!Budapest, 2.22pm: Starting the tour to the Chain Bridge, Castle District, Matthias Church and Fisherman’s Bastion.Budapest: Matthias Church – a grand structure that is one of the finest churches in the city (Google for more info, I’m not big on architecture and history).Budapest: Stunning views surrounding the Fisherman’s Bastion.Budapest: Overlooking the two cities of Budapest – Buda (foreground) and Pest (background) – separated by Danube River.Budapest: More views.Budapest: & even more views.Budapest, 4.16pm: Arrived at Heroes’ Square.Budapest: Apparently days before there were protests here regarding the new labor law and I was secretly wishing we could catch some of the action. But because it was really near Christmas, the protesters stopped protesting.Budapest, 4.50pm: Going for a cruise down Danube River! (In the freaking cold!!!)Budapest: The Hungarian Parliament Building.Budapest: If their parliament building looks like this, can you imagine how much grander castles would look like?! It’s indeed a beautiful cruise down the Danube River but doing it in the winter is just way too cold to fully enjoy yourselves. After being out on the deck for a while, I spent most my time huddled inside the boat.Budapest, 6.26pm: Time for our Hungarian Folkshow Dinner at Borkatakomba Restaurant!Budapest: Such a beautiful dining hall. I felt just a little like royalty.Folk music by the musicians. The singer can sing Chinese songs! (Must be the need to please the influx of Chinese tourists)First: Soup! (Goulash, I think)Second: Pickled vegetables! But I don’t eat most of the stuff there…Second: Don’t mean to waste food but I really can’t appreciate/stomach all these.Some lucky ones get to help ‘cook’ our dinner.Third: Main dish! This was pretty nice. I enjoyed it. It was chicken, some sort of pasta but not really, and we couldn’t figure out what the brown ones were. It was like a mix of quinoa and barley.Fourth: Dessert! I thought this was ice cream and I was so happy! Turned out to be whipped cream and a biscuit underneath… BOOOO.The dinner was entertaining with the music, folklore dances and singing! I had fun and would recommend it! It’s a nice and different way to experience part of the Hungarian culture.Mercure Budapest Korona Hotel: WORST HOTEL during the whole trip! 4* my ass. We weren’t told our room was in the extended wing – lugged our tired asses back and forth trying to find the room; room is SMALL – hardly enough space to lay 2 luggages on the floor. My brother had to stack his on a rack. Cups in the room were NOT CLEAN – there were lipstick stains on it. SO many problems. I really disliked my stay there and was glad it was only a night.
I enjoyed my time in Budapest although it was only a day. I would like to go back to explore Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary more (not anytime soon), especially Prague! Although, I had the most fun in Austria. That’s a beautiful country that’s not to be missed, especially if you love Sound of Music!
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