European Adventure: Part Two

Thank you so much for your kind comments on my last post :) It's nice to hear that the pictures were enjoyed. I'll publish the next two instalments in quick succession, so that we can return to the best bit - stitching! Today's post features what we got up to in Budapest and Munich, hope you like it.

 

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We left on a night train from Prague to Budapest. We took the cheapest option, naturally, and booked two seats on the overnight service - not a cabin. This wasn't as bad as expected and we both got a decent amount of sleep. Budapest is a strange city. The sights are stunning, but there is so much poverty. And despite being the most Eastern place we visited, they strive to be Western, with fast food chains on every corner. Still, it was the cheapest place we went to. Because of the low prices, we managed to rent a gorgeous apartment for the three days we spent there. It was luxurious, with a DVD player, fully equipped kitchen and balcony. It was wonderfully relaxing.

In Budapest we:

 

• Visited St Stephen's Basilica.
• Enjoyed happy hour at a lovely cocktail bar.
• Visited Victory Square
• Trekked uphill to see Buda Castle and saw the changing of the guard.
• Took pictures of St Michael's church.
• Climbed all the way along Fisherman's Bastion.
• Enjoyed a day out at Budapest's Zoo!

St Stephen's Basilica. The amount of gold inside really takes your breath away.

Silly Stitching Lion posing with a stone Lion!

Lawrence and I. Fisherman's Bastion can be seen over L's shoulder. St Michael's church is behind mine.

Fisherman's Bastion - it's like a fairytale isn't it?

Lawrence getting up close to the lemurs at Budapest Zoo.

Me making a new friend at Budapest Zoo.

 

Budapest was Lawrence's favourite city. I enjoyed it too, but it wasn't quite as lovely as Prague :) Again, I would be interested to learn more of the history, why it's divided into Buda and Pest and how did it unite. There were several national museums on this topic, but we had become a bit weary of museums by this point :) I would definitely go back for another visit.

 

We went on another night train leaving Budapest to go to Munich. This was the complete opposite of the first. It was loud, the lights stayed on the whole time and we were crammed in. I must have got two hours sleep, at most. Our first day in Munich was a bit of waste really, because we arrived at 7am, but couldn't check in to our hotel until 3pm! It was hard to do a whole day out on such little sleep, but our time in Munich vastly improved when we had a bit of shuteye :)

 

In Munich we:

 

• Visited the German technology museum.
• Visited Marienplatz with the amazing Rathaus building.
• Had dinner and a few beers in the Hofbauhaus.
• Spent a fair amount of time in Bier Gartens! (I don't actually drink beer, but the wine was good and L had a brilliant time ;) )
• Spent a fair amount of time browsing the Viktualienmarkt, the largest food market in Munich.
• Sunbathed in the Englischergarten and had a picnic.
• Visited the Milka outlet store - delicious!

The amazing Rathaus building, incredible detail.

 

Lawrence with his mammoth 1L of beer at the Hofbauhaus.

The Englischer Bier Garten. We actually preferred the smaller one near the market, it was more friendly.

The amazing, mouthwatering, scrumptious Milka outlet shop! We both left clutching purple bags :)

 

I really enjoyed Munich, and I know Lawrence did too, thanks to all the beer and Bratwursts! It had a really calming vibe to it, very welcoming and friendly. But there wasn't quite as much to see as in some of the other cities. Still, I'm very glad we visited :)

 

Going back through and choosing photos for this post really made me smile. We truly did have such a wonderful time. I am so lucky. The next and final post will be Frankfurt and Paris, and my overall thoughts of the trip.

Hope you've liked touring with me!

Best wishes,