Back to Hungary …

Business travel is back … and got me to Hungary. And outside meetings, there obviously was plenty of time to explore.

During my last trip here, my colleagues had recommended, to make the trip up to Szentendre, a small town about 20km North-West of Budapest. The town features a well preserved and renovated city center – showing off its Baroque history. The city sits nicely next to a branch of the Danube river with a nice (pebble) beach. Perfect for a nice, sunny and warm Saturday afternoon.

Below some photos from Szentendre, as well as some from Budapest.

In Budapest, I retraced some of my previous trips – just to realize (to my disappointment) that many of the city’s attractions are currently under renovation (incl. the chain bridge, the citadel, parts of the castle, the Nyugati train station and the key portion of the M3 metro line) – well, it seems, the city is preparing itself for a restart.

… and into Romania

We continued the journey by train in the early afternoon … from Debrecen – crossing the Hungary/Romania border (thus leaving the Schengen area) –  to Satu Mare … a train trip of a bit more than three hours.

In Satu Mare a van was waiting for us – to continue the journey to Vadu Izei by road … another good two hours. We finally made it in the evening … with a great dinner (traditional Romanian fare) waiting for us.

Continuing to Debrecen …

This next day was a long travel day; we left Eger in the morning by bus, making our way to Debrecen (about three hours) … our first (and only) stop-over for the day … a few hours to explore town and get ready for the ride into Romania.

Back to Budapest

The planning for my summer vacation this year did not work out as desired; I basically changed my plans in the last minute and as such saw me in early August to decide what to do in September.
I reviewed my options and decided to stay in Europe this time … Eastern Europe being the destination – Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and a flying visit of the European part of Turkey.

A short flight got me into Budapest … my third time in Budapest … so no stress, just going with the flowing and enjoying this great city (which remains to be my favorite European big city).

Budapest

Business got me on a 1.5 weeks trip to Budapest. A big portion of time surely was dedicated to business, however the trip left enough time to also explore town and to have some fun with my colleagues and new friends. Below some first impressions …

This Saturday I left the hotel around lunch time, heading out for Budapest’s main sights. After a stop at the Castle, I walked over to Fisherman’s Bastion for a superb view of town. Then down again and to the other side of the Danube, passing by the Parliament building and over to Szent István Bazilika. From there I made my way to the Terror Museum.

Sunday started with a walk up Gellert mountain; from there I headed back to the other side of town for a swim in the nice Szechenyi Bath.