Last Updated on March 20, 2023 by PowersToTravel
Arrival in Budapest
On Sept 27, 2018, day 16 of our 33 day Eastern European adventure, we arrived in Deák Ferenc tér Budapest, on the 100E bus from the airport, just like clockwork.
Laundry
After checking into the hotel, we carried our laundry to Ó Utca 24. (Utca means “street”.) This is a laundry associated with a hostel which I found after extensive searching for all options. According to Google Maps, it is a 13 minute walk from the Regency Suites Hotel. From another blog posting I learned how to navigate this building, since there is no signage for the laundry.
Laundry at O Utca 24
“Go up the stairs. Turn left and at the end of the hall is a rather nondescript glass door. If no one is there back up about 20 feet and go into the tiny hotel lobby and tell them you have laundry.” It was true, no one was at the glass door (it was locked), but we backed up, saw the entrance on our left to the hostel, and they were happy to take our laundry. (Later we paid and it cost 5600 HUF (approx $20) for a large heavy laundry bag – I just don’t know how many kilos, but it represented eight days of tropic-wear pants, tropic-wear shirts, socks, undies and PJs for two people.)
Here’s a list of other laundries I identified which were further from the hotel, and so we didn’t have to use them. Actually, there was one that was closer that I didn’t realize at the time! (I’m not going to tell Greg this now!)
Then, with our arms so much lighter, we headed back towards our hotel, but at the Deák Ferenc square, we headed right, to see St Stephen’s Basilica. Sometimes it frustrates me that people don’t write about the best time of day to visit an attractions. While I can see its location on the map, and what direction it faces, sometimes that’s not enough information to tell me when the best picture can be taken. For St. Stephen’s, I can tell you, afternoon is best. As we turned the corner to its plaza, we were stunned by the bright sunshine on the façade of the church.
St Stephens Basilica, Budapest
We chose to pay to take the elevators up, only 800 HUF for the two of us. What a bargain and what a view!
We descended and strolled down the pedestrian walkways to the Hard Rock Café (just for a look-see) and Váci Utca, the main pedestrian strolling-ground.
We arrived early at Százéves, but we were hungry (in Hungary!) and the restaurant was almost empty. We decided to eat. Greg ordered the Hungarian BBQ Platter (venison, duck, beef) for one, and I chose the Creamy Leak Soup en Boule, and shared some of his BBQ. The food was good, and the traditional atmosphere was great. We left the restaurant, headed towards the river, and stumbled across a folk band in the next square, in front of the Roman Catholic Church (Inner-City Mother Church of the Blessed Virgin.)
Folk Band, Budapest
We didn’t linger, because we needed to buy our cruise tickets. We should have lingered and enjoyed the band, because there were no issues getting the tickets, and we ended up sitting at the edge of the Danube for about an hour. Finally the boat returned from its current cruise, and we were able to board. Being early did have its perks, because we found seats on the top deck, facing to the east (and the Parliament building.) Unfortunately, after everyone had taken his seat, the boat filled up with a bus-load of ill-mannered Chinese tourists who arrived late. They physically pushed people aside and tried to stand right in front of those seated. When pushed, I can shove along with the best of them, and legs extended up on the rails like a teenager, I was able ensure our view.
Hungarian Parliament, Budapest
As we got underway, a group of singers not hired by the cruise-line, from some unknown country, but definitely not Hungary, began to BELT out strange songs. Such lungs, they howled their way through the entire trip. So much for my romantic cruise with views of the city with its evening lights!
Upon our return, we walked back to our hotel, a matter of fifteen minutes or so.
Map
