Budapest, Vienna, And
London
AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER
6, 2019
FAM TRIP KRIS LEVY
We decided to do 5 nights in Budapest, 3 nights in Vienna
and 6 nights in London which gave us ample time to see all of the “must do’s”
in each city.
We flew out on Delta Airlines through Amsterdam in Comfort
plus class which gave us Sky Priority check-in and boarding it also gave us
extra legroom seats which was great. I highly recommend it because when we
landed the touring began and didn’t stop until we got home.
When we arrived in Budapest and were transferred to our
apartment which was in the Jewish Quarter right next to Great Synagogue. It was
a great location and close to a lot of nice restaurants. Budapest does use
their own currency so if you are staying any length of time you may want to
bring some Forint with you.
We had a bakery located nearby so we could get breakfast for
the morning but we tended to have lunch and dinner out every day. There was one
restaurant that we went to a few times and the name was Getto Gulyas which
served very traditional Hungarian food, I highly recommend it. You will need to
make reservations in advance because they fill up every night.
We had five nights in Budapest and we used public
transportation everywhere consisting of trams and subway. I preferred the tram
because the subway escalators were very fast and very deep in the underground.
Our sightseeing in Budapest consisted of a tour of the
Parliament (you will need to get tickets in advance or get there by 9:00AM to
get an English tour), shoes on the Danube, St. Stephen Basilica, Mathias
Church, Fisherman’s Bastion, The Royal Palace, Vaci Utca, the Great Synagogue,
the Cave Church, and Millennium Column. We also went to the Opera House, but
keep in mind that they are doing major renovations so we weren’t able to see
everything. On our last day Budapest we decide to relax and go to the Thermal
Bath at Hotel Gellert, which was much need for our legs.
It was now time to go to Vienna and we travelled first class
on the train which allowed us to use the business class lounge at the train
station before we boarded. It took us about 2 ½ hours to get to Vienna and was
a great way to see the country side.
Again we got a transfer to the apartment and we were ready
to start our journey through the city. We used public transportation consisting
of trams, and subways. They were a little more challenging than Budapest but we
did it.
We only had 3 night in Vienna so we really had to pack a lot
into to such a short stay. Our sightseeing in Vienna consisted of Spanish
riding School, Hofburg Palace, Schonbrunn Palace, Belvedere Palace, Liberty
Memorial, Ankeruhr Clock, and St. Stephen’s Cathedral. We didn’t have enough
time for a concert but right outside the riding school people were selling a
lot of tickets.
London was our last stop and we had six nights here. We had
a lot of touring in London so we ended up buying a London Pass which gave us
free entry to a lot of the top attractions.
As soon as we got situated we went to the 1/2 price ticket
booth to get our ticket for the show “Tina”, why go to London if you’re not
going to see a show, and a show it was.
We saw all of the major attractions which included Buckingham Palace,
Royal Mews, Churchhill’s War Room, Trafalgar Square, Soho, Tower of London, Big
Ben, Westminster Abby, and Kensington Palace. I also, set up a driver to take
us to Windsor Castle where we saw the changing of the guards, Stonehenge, and
Bath. The trip was an 11 hour day but was definitely the highlight of the trip.
All in all the trip was amazing but I would have like to
have a little more free time to relax. I guess I have to plan another one!
Until next time!
Kris Levy
East Greenwich
