Rest of my room - big bed, a big chair and a pretty decent sized desk, and still plenty of space to swing a couple of cats.


View of the Danube and Pest from outside my window. The red-domed building on the right on the Pest side is Hungarian Parliament.

Once I was getting settled in, I planned to spend most of the rest of the day getting maps, relaxing and setting up the next few days. Travelling on a short budget is never quite fun, but being deep in Eastern Europe, there was a chance to see some great architecture and some wonderful old buildings, which I loved. And the best thing about wandering, is that it is free! You'll see many photos in this report from my wandering in Eastern Europe. I can't promise excellent photos of the fame and skill of someone like UA_Flyer, but I want to share my interest of photographing old buildings, old cities and historical and panoramic views, even if it's just using my Sony WX-7 point-and-shoot.

Back to the story...no sooner had I started settling in, a knock came at the door. A hotel attendant appeared with a small glass platter with three small sweet treats on it. Afternoon tea, courtesy of the Executive Floor.


Afternoon tea platter. This was repeated daily.

I wanted a cup of tea to complement the afternoon tea snacks, but as I filled the kettle and got it boiling, it started to leak out the bottom. Pretty soon, the tea tray was flooded. With electricity running around at the same time, that's not good. Power off, isolate energy sources, then called housekeeping. They replaced it with another kettle, but pretty much the same thing happened unless I boiled only a very small amount of water (we're talking a little less than a cup in a jug which can boil up to 3-4 cups of water at a time).

The Executive Lounge is always staffed with a waiter and a desk attendant, who also acts as a very capable concierge. The decor in the Executive Lounge was a bit dated, and when I was there it should be noted that some of the chairs felt a bit rocky on the legs. Probably doesn't help when an overweight individual like yours truly has to sit on it. I never broke a chair, but I almost dared not to move whilst seated because the flexing in the joints of those chair legs to the base was not the most comforting feeling! The staff couldn't quite work out why the chairs were rather rocky, but I did note it on the feedback.

The Executive Lounge was kept well catered for all parts of the day. In the morning, there was a decent breakfast spread, including warm selections (eggs, sausages, etc.). All-day spread included select mini open sandwiches, sweet bakeries, rolls and fruit. Afternoon tea tended to feature some very nice cake slices. In the early evening, crudities, cold meat selection and cheese tended to start proceedings, whilst the warmer and more substantial items featured in the evening proper. And best of all, the food service didn't stop until about 9pm (if I recall correctly), and the lounge itself doesn't close until about 11pm. Complemented with a decent selection of Hungarian wines, a few beers, enough soft drinks to keep everyone happy and your standard robot barista and Dilmah tea box selection, I think it made for a very pleasant lounge.

I relaxed for the rest of the day whilst doing some planning (and tended to the emails from work, which couldn't be put off until later), but I did head out for a little stroll behind the Matthias Church towards the edge of the Castle Hill complex which looked over to a spectacular view of the Danube and Pest. I guess one of the only key weaknesses of staying in the Buda Castle complex is that you are far away from the city centre, so if your idea is milling for bars or a spot of entertainment (or even just a lot more people), you're probably much better finding accommodation in Pest, otherwise your only other option is to take the bus 16 or 16A (check timetables), or taxi it. The cobblestone streets of Buda Castle are not very brightly lit at night, giving a little bit of an eerie feeling as you walk around, only punctuated by the 'lighted sanctuaries' offered by the odd restaurant or bar, or major ones like Matthias Church, or the Hilton.


Hungarian Parliament, on the Pest side on the banks of the Danube, lit up at night.


Tuesday 17 April 2012


I awoke the next morning, desiring a bit more sleep, but there was sightseeing to be done, and I had to be up, washed and a good meal into me ready for the Buda walking tour in the morning.

The showers have great pressure and good flow of hot water. I think I find myself enjoying the new Peter Thomas Roth accessories compared to the former Crabtree & Evelyn, especially the fragrant body wash, though they are both good amenities. I satisfied myself with breakfast in the Executive Lounge, although I was told that I was free to go downstairs and enjoy a larger buffet at the restaurant.

Now I will comment now that I've seen a decent amount of Europe rather intensively. Having done many churches, museums, monuments and the like, you eventually start to develop a bit of a ennui to see more of them, as they are mostly the same. I agree that's quite an unfair statement for the various cultures that make up Europe, but it starts to feel a bit like that. That said, I absolutely love seeing every different place in Europe and the difference in the architecture, how the cities are laid out, the views, the buildings and the statues and so on.




Matthias Church (Mátyás templom), right next to the Hilton Budapest (Castle). Wonderfully preserved, the tiling work on the roof of the church is magnificent.


Another street corner near the square in front of Matthias Church, showing off some of the clashes of architectural styles.

The Buda walking tour started rather innocuously enough. The odd thing about walking tours is that they tell you the starting location, but because there can be so many of them (paid or not), and the starting locations can be the same, they don't seem to make it clear which group you're part of - there are no big signs saying so-and-so company's tour. Thankfully after a while and a bit of help, the guide for our walking tour was located as well as the rest of our group. Our very proud Hungarian guide sported a bright red umbrella which she used to lead us like a beacon, and she also made it her mission to make sure all of us could pronounce / speak a bit of Hungarian by the end of the tour! She was a pleasure to listen to.


The "plague monument" in front of Matthias Church, which was the start location of our walking tour.


Heading towards Fisherman's Bastion (Halászbástya), one of the key lookout areas looking over to Pest and the Danube.