The Bakers Grand European Vacation

The boat was supposed to leave the port around 6pm when the last group was back from the Viking organized excursion. We had made it back to the boat early and headed up to the lounge for a drink and to relax. Greg was decked out in basically all Purdue and someone sitting at the bar asked if he was an alum and they struck up a convo. His brother was also a Purdue grad (who’s also on the cruise) and lives in Indiana.

The sun was setting but unfortunately was behind the hills of Buda so we couldn’t see it. Still made for some decent pics.

The boat left port around 6:15 and Greg and I went up to the top deck to take in the views while Linda and Carey stayed in the lounge saving our seats. A toast was planned at 6:30 by the captain to officially kick off our cruise.

It’s somewhat unfortunate timing in my opinion that they did the toast when they did. The sights of Budapest at night are remarkable and standing in front of Parliament as the boat slowly trolled past felt like a once in a lifetime view.

We made our way back down to the lounge for the toast. Carey and Linda had gotten our champagne for us. Service at its best!

Robert is the entertainer on board who plays the piano. Leading up to the toast last night I thought he was somewhat of a poser because he was barely playing and had a synthesizer or something going along with it. But when we walked back up after dinner he was actually playing and singing Billy Joel. I take back my initial judgement.

After the toast and the port talk from Gavin, the activities director, about our next day’s schedule it was time to run down and grab a dinner table. More on that later.

We had about two hours left to make our way back to the boat before departure time. I decided to map to see where the cat cafe was in relation to where we were heading. It actually wasn’t really out of the way so despite it being closed we decided to walk in that general direction to see if we could see any cats through the window.

It was hard to see in with the reflection on the windows so we had to basically put our faces up to the glass. There were people working inside of there but that didn’t stop us.

So sad they are closed. Is this reason enough for us to come back to Budapest?

We continued walking toward the boat and wouldn’t you know we passed the rose gelato place again! Despite the fact I’d already had lunch dessert that didn’t stop me from popping in just to see how much one of these babies was going to set me back.

Hungary has their own currency here (more on that later) so I had to ask Carey to do the conversion. A small cone equated to about 4.00. Done!

This was made by hand using a spoon. It was so detailed and time consuming. I can’t believe this was only 4.00. (It was small but also delicious.)

Greg had been grabbing coffee beans at Starbucks while I got gelato. Somehow we missed each other and he ended up nearby in the Christmas market. (It really isn’t a Christmas market but rather a bunch of dessert and food and drink stands.)

We walked over to meet him and he said there was a booth there with the longest line ever and he couldn’t imagine why anyone would be waiting for something that long.

Across from the Ferrari dealer there was a monument of some sort with a chain and lots of pictures and posters attached to it that appeared to be some sort of protest.

Seems like some Hungarians believe the government is trying to sugar coat the past for the newer generations and have brought pictures and all sorts of remembrances of people here.

A few last random pics from the rest of our walk back.

I don’t know what I was expecting but it wasn’t this. It was a two story crazy bar that was a lot to take in. There were different bars throughout as well as a food area. I cannot imagine this place at night full of people.

I kind of thought we would need to order a drink but there were tons of people just sight seeing like us.

After the Basilica it’s definitely time for lunch. Actually beyond time. I’m starting to get hangry. But not so hangry that I want to stop at the Oktoberfest pop up event and eat a bratwurst or pork knuckle.

I made the executive decision to keep walking. After a short walk we rounded the corner to the synagogue.

We decided to walk to the outdoor food truck area that Emily had shown us yesterday that was near the Ruin Bar which is our other stop for the day. Yesterday it was mostly dead. Today we must have hit it at the wrong time. It was packed.

Originally I was going to get a burger but the burger truck looked like a disaster and I didn’t want to wait. Greg stayed with Linda at the table to save our spots while Carey and I went off in search of food and drinks. Greg said to get him whatever I got or what he liked and a beer.

Carey and I pivoted and both decided on the chicken truck but he didn’t think they sold drinks. He offered to order the food while I went in search of a Coke, Sprite and a beer. (I had a leftover Coke Zero in my bag.)

It all turned out to be quite the journey. The chicken took forever. Almost no one sold Coke so I ended up getting one from a Greek restaurant who didn’t sell sprite. I finally found one of those at the Mexican place. By the time I got those I wasn’t interested in going for the beer so Greg went to a third place for that while I waited with Carey on the food.

After eating I obviously had to get a Chimney cake. These are made the right way. I mean I wasn’t hungry but that’s not a requirement for lunch dessert.

Other pics from the area…

We made our way to the Basilica which was something that we hadn’t planned but both Linda and I both wanted to check it out. It was unbelievably beautiful. As many Churches the pics really don’t do it justice.

Greg and I bought tickets to go to the platform viewing area. Carey and Linda stayed behind and waited on us. We were excited to find there was an elevator for at least part of the trip.

After a short visit it’s time to head back down to meet Carey and Linda.

After the Market Hall we decided to walk toward Saint Stephen’s Basilica thinking we might find a place to stop for lunch along the way.

While we didn’t find lunch we saw some fun sights along the way.

We arrived at the Market Hall mostly to window shop. I had planned to get a Chimney Cake because Emily had mentioned that there was a stall here selling them. She told us to also check out the paprika which Budapest is known for. It was reminiscent of the market hall that we visited in the Baltics this summer that was in zeppelin hangers.

We found the chimney cake booth and they had lots of them already made and wrapped. Emily warned us not to get one that wasn’t freshly made. Greg and I stalked the booth for a while waiting for someone to order one. Finally someone did and it definitely wasn’t made fresh. It’s a no for me. I’m willing to wait.

After browsing around Greg suggested that we get a bowl of goulash to split since the one Carey had last night wasn’t actual Hungarian goulash according to Emily. The Real Goulash feels like the right spot. According to Carey, it wasn’t as good as the fake one last night.

We left the ship around 10am to walk towards the market. Our waiter Milo assured us he ordered up a nice day and it seems as though he was right. Oddly enough, Emily said it rarely rains in Budapest during the day but mostly at night. That’s handy for travel.

We walked down a street that Emily explained had lots of restaurants and shopping. She wasn’t wrong.

After walking for close to an hour (really slow pace) we arrived at the market.

After staying up way past my bedtime trying to catch up on the blog it was a good morning to sleep in. After an amazing day with Emily we decided to skip our included panoramic Viking tour this morning and just explore on our own.

But first breakfast. Our options were buffet or made to order. Uhhh I will take made to order please.

We aren’t exactly sure what we are doing today. I think we are planning to go to a large market and head back to the Ruin bar to see all the crap people don’t want anymore. Emily showed us a cat cafe that has 14 Maine Coon Cats. We really wanted to go to that but they are closed until Wednesday. Soooooo sad.

There’s also an ice cream place that makes ice cream in the shape of a rose. Oh and a chimney cake. I need a chimney cake today.

I’d read that the lights at night here in Budapest were amazing so a night illumination tour was on my list even if it meant staying up way past my bedtime for it. It also required me to head out in the rain. Sacrifices.

Also can I just say it was totally worth it. Cue pics.

We had the best day with Emily. She was so knowledgeable and fun and ensured we had an amazing time. Would highly recommend her for anyone coming to Budapest.

We made it back to the boat at 10:45pm. Decided to grab some hot tea and a pastry. Ummm no pastries. What in the actual.