Exploring Budapest Again

Tuesday-Wednesday, July 22-23, 2014--Budapest

After I posted from the airport last night (Tuesday, the 22nd), Wes arrived on time.  We picked up our Budapest Cards from the tourist office (not usually a good buy in most cities, but a good one here in Budapest only because half the cost is overed by admission to one of the thermal bath complexes and the other half the cost is more than a 3-day pass to the public transportation.

We caught the bus from the airport to the nearest metro station where we transferred to the #3 line.  That took us to the Nyugati Train Station which was only a two-block walk from the Hello Leo Apartment we had rented. With just a little confusion as to when to get off the bus and related to which side of the street we would find the apartment (Google Maps was wrong as I have found it to be so many times), we made it to the apartment about 20:15.  Leo was there waiting for us.

The apartment looks much as it does in the photos.  It is in an old building, so the layout is awkward.  The refrigerator is in the dining room (since the kitchen is only about 3 yards by 3 yards [3m x 3m]), and one must walk through the dining room from the front door to reach the living room and bedroom.  Both of those rooms are quite large and comfortable.  The living room has two seating areas, and the bedroom has a twin bed set-up downstairs and a bed on the loft above that is the equivalent of a king-size.

Leo gave us a bottle of Hungarian wine, a map of the city, directions for finding a reliable ATM, and suggestions for neighborhoods to explore.  He said he would like to take us out one evening--probably Thursday.  Leo works as a detective in the police department and seems to rent this apartment as a way to meet and interact with interesting people from around the world.

We were both so tired.  We went to bed at 21:30.  I was awakened around 5:00 by a noise and couldn't return to sleep.  I got up and did some things on the computer, then I went back to bed around 6:30 and slept until Wes got up around 8:30.

Today was a day to take care of some business and to just explore the city in general.  It had rained all day Tuesday, so we were lucky to find sunshine today.  We walked, we took public transit, we went to the Great Market Hall, we walked along the Danube, we bought 3 train tickets we will use while here in Hungary, we went to stations where we would be taking trains and changing from station to station to be sure we would know what to do when the time came, we stopped at a park to watch people, we shopped at SPAR for some food items to have at the apartment, etc.

As we expected, we tired out very fast.  By 18:30 we were both nodding.  We took one final tour on a streetcar and returned to the apartment for dinner--3 open-faced sandwiches on buttered rye bread (salami, ham, and cheese), pickles, the wine from Leo, and a small serving of strawberry yogurt. 

It's now 21:30, and we will prepare for bed.  Tomorrow should be a much better day, because we should be better adjusted to the time!