A Shithouse weekend in Budapest

The alarm went off at a very nasty 3.15am for our cab ride and early flight from Luton Airport to Budapest, Hungary. Along the way we picked up a bleary eyed Team Gilbert who were to be our chaperones for the weekend and declared that the word for the weekend was gonna be 'shithouse' (pronounced in the best occa accent you can muster up).

As we were arriving Saturday morning and flying out Sunday night we wanted to make the most of our 2 days so we cabbed it into the city center and immediately set off for Castle Hill.

Deciding that the furnicular was for wussies we trekked up Castle Hill (the historical center of the city) and explored the palace grounds, a haberdashery market, the church, and finally the labyrinth.

The underground labyrinth was the highlight of the morning. It was formed by an series of natural tunnels created by thermal springs and many hyjinx ensued as we negotiated our way through the dark tunnels and tried to sneak up on (and scare the shit out of) one another. The thermal springs that formed the maze were nowhere to be seen, but the fountain of wine that replaced them was definately a change for the better. Everyone tried the interesting vintage which involved trying to drink it without having it run down your chin/shirt. Rob was finally able to lead everyone safely out of the maze with the aid of his spelunking light.

Looking for a bit of fresh air we visited the Fisherman's Bastion (a series of ramparts providing a wonderful view across Budapest and the Danube) and followed that up with lunch. Lunch must have worked up a bit of an appetite as Rob made a savvy purchases of the world's largest pretzel. The pretzel was sooooo BIG it should have come with a wheelbarrow to transport it. Lacking a wheelbarrow, Rob had to improvise and managed to secure it to the back of Lou's daypack. Paul decided to buy desert which turned out to be the world's crappiest tasting (and largest) spiral donut.

That afternoon we thought we would checkout Memento park which is a tram and a bus ride away. After failing miserably to try and catch the tram, we opted to put off Memento Park until we were able to figure out the public transport system and instead made our way to the House of Terror. The House of Terror is a museum in memory of those detained, interrogated, tortured or killed in the house under Hungary's fascist and communist regimes. Basically it used to be the headquarters to Hungary's version of the KGB or Gestapo. The exhibitions inside were excellent and very involving.

Dinner that night was a schnitzel fest at restaurant Fatal where we all ordered the Schnitzel (on recommendation). The schnitzels were each the size of a small country (seriously), and despite plenty of talk beforehand nobody was able to do them justice. Beaten (but content), we waddled back to the hotel and fell asleep dreaming of anything but breakfast.

Prior to the trip much fuss had been made about the hotel's breakfast as on it's website it claims to be "a breakfast you would not even dream about!". We could not decide if this was a good thing or a bad thing. We were all hoping that it would be a good thing and were all eagerly anticipating brekky. That morning nobody mentioned that they had dreamt about the breakfast so I guess their claim held true. In the end it turned out to be a pretty standard European breakfast and a bit of an anticlimax.

By now we had sussed out how to buy tram tickets so after checking out Heroes Square, the second stop for the day was Memento Park. The park was kind of like a junk-yard for communist dictatorship statues and remains. We were led to believe most formerly communist countries seem to dispose of this kind of stuff so it was good to see some of it being kept for display.
The other highlight of the weekend was Gellert Spas. Budapest is known for its thermal baths and the Gellert Hotel is known to host the largest and best. Despite some confusion about how the changerooms worked and the fact they didn't have towels we all enjoyed the experience. There was a range of indoor and outdoor baths, thermal springs, swimming pools, spas, saunas and anything else that involved pools of the wet stuff. The sauna was an almost-unbearable 54 degrees and upon entering you had to pretty much close your eyes (not that you could see more than a foot) and breathe slowly through your mouth in order to avoid serious pain. Right outside the sauna there was a refreshing 8 degree tub that you could jump into to close up those pores.


As our flight home wasn't until late in the evening everyone was in unanimous agreement for returning to Fatal for a late lunch. Paul was the only person to go for a second round against the schnitzel, and amazingly scoffed the lot!! When our waiter came to clear the table his eyes bulged, exclaimed "Great!", and tried to enlist Paul in the national Schnitzel eating tournament.

To top off a decadent weekend we paid a visit to the Gerbeaud patisserie where we picked up some sacher torte and other assorted cakes to take home with us. With dessert in hand we headed for the airport and snuck in the front door at home just after midnight.

We were fortunate to have fantastic weather the whole weekend and Budapest was a surprisingly beautiful and clean city. As an extra bonus we successfully survived the minicab ride home.

The Poo Sisters together again!!!!!

After such a long countdown, the girls have finally touched down in London. Apparently the flights were uneventful however Sonya was a little stressed at Singapore airport as Yvonne left it quite late before realising she had arrived at the wrong terminal and had only a short amount of time to get to her boarding gate. Drama's sorted and together again they arrived at the flat early Friday evening.

Son has visited London before, so Saturday was spent showing Von all the sights. On the itinerary was the Borough Markets were we stocked up on heaps of food, The Monument (currently closed), St Paul's Cathedral, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Buckingham Palace, St Jame's Park, Westminster, the London Eye and Big Ben. We also visited 'The George' one of London's oldest drinking establishments where we sampled a pint of ale or two. The highlight of the day however was outside St Paul's where we were allowed in jump in the cab of an old Routemaster bus. The Routemaster's are no longer in use so it was pretty cool to check one out.

While us girls were out exploring and catching up, Rob took in a football match with Clif and Barney watching Fulham vs Tottenham (3 - 3).

On Sunday we all took a narrow boat from Little Venice to Camden where we pit-stopped for lunch. From there it was a tube ride to Bank were we jumped on the DLR (driverless trains) for Greenwich were we waited for a 1/2 hour with heaps of other tourists to stand on the Prime Meridan (GMT). We then took a boat back up the Thames to Tower Bridge.

Given both Rob & I had Monday off work and with Von's request to see stuff out of London we thought we'd head to Oxford. Oxford is an hours bus ride from London and is obviously famous for it's universities and dictionary. Other things we saw included the view from Church of Saint Mary the Virgin's tower which overlooks the Radcliffe Camera. We also checked out Christ Church College whose Great Hall is the dining hall featured in the Harry Potter movies. We also checked out the Bridge of Sighs (a copy of the one in Venice) and Carfax Tower with its pair of quarter-boys (figures who hammer out the quarter hours on bells). Lunch was enjoyed at the Turf Tavern where apparently an old prime minister of Australia, Bob Hawke entered the Guinness Book of Records after drinking a yard glass in eleven seconds.

After lunch we hired a punt for a semi-relaxing crusie of the river. Rob's skills at driving the punt were at times questionable however he managed to keep us all dry and didn't fall in! Several times we did think he would go for a swim. A nice way to spend the afternoon.

Upon our arrival back in London we took the girls for a taste of Brick Lane. Brick Lane is famous for its Indian and Bangladeshi restaurants where you barter and get hassled on the street with deals to entice you to eat. We managed no service, 30% off and first drinks for free. The food very tasty and cheap however the girls were a little intimidated with the way you go about choosing your restaurant.

The girls are now on Contiki when they return we are all off to Iceland. Next weekend though we are off to Budapest with Team Gilbert.