Central Europe evaluation

Was it eastern or central and is it even important^[1]?

In September and October 2013, I went to Hungary, Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic for a holiday of sorts, and you can see them all here:

• Budapest (day 1)
• Budapest (day 2)
• Budapest (day 3)
• Vienna (day 1
• Bratislava
• Vienna (day 2)
• Brno
• Prague day 1
• Prague day 2

I'll place them in order of enjoyment, which may not be the same as how good they are. I found interesting, when looking back on it, how often I missed things or did not get the timing right and just did not plan it properly. I enjoy that aspect of it sometimes and I can get away with it to some degree but there are plenty more things I could have done with a bit more thought. I was also very fortunate with the weather and that has to have an effect. I was glad to go to all of the cities and am also happy to have changed my plans from my initial thoughts.

1. Budapest

I was really taken by Budapest and genuinely very surprised by how much I liked it as I'd only heard a little about it. The scale of the city is ideal for me as it is walkable within areas but it is not a good idea to walk across the whole thing. Architecturally, it is beautiful with well designed buildings that are expertly lit at night. I especially liked the little details in the chain bridge across the Danube. Arguably, the city is made by the Danube as it is a very pleasant width at this point and wide enough to genuinely separate the two sides and give the city an open feel that permeates through. The Pest side is nice and dense with plenty to do and bits of heritage. The castle complex on the Buda side along with Gellert Hill give a great tourist feel with great views and even some fresh feeling air. The icing on the cake was the smattering of social housing and parkland in Obuda.

Transport is excellent throughout with the evocative Millennium line to start with and trams making it easy to get around and have a view. The food was also tasty and fairly cheap with good drinks too.

Budapest is one of the few cities that I have visited that I felt there was more to see as I left and that I would like to go back to in short order. It is possibly, now, my favourite European city to visit which was previously Berlin.

2. Vienna

Vienna is a fairly modern city in many respects with modern buildings interspersed with the older ones. I enjoyed it but I was a little surprised at how small (or intimate) it felt and the more blatant aspects of the tourism industry. The coffee and cake culture has to be appealing to some so I would strongly recommend it for those people. The Danube is not quite as focal as I had hoped it would be so the city feels quite singular as a result, compared to Budapest or Prague. It did not feel quite as organic as a result and the Ringstrasse, whilst making it very simple to comprehend, did feel a little too designed. I really appreciated the cultural parts of the city and it did feel current and progressive rather than just left in stasis, overall. The Museum Quarter is a stunning realisation of what it is trying to achieve and I was glad to see that it was open to modern, accessible designers and artists along with the larger, more famous pieces. The palace is also an amazing place to have but I did not feel an emotional connection with it and so enjoyed the grounds more.

3. Prague

Busy cities can go two ways for me and Prague was just on the wrong side of it. I do not mean busy in the way London or Tokyo are - people getting around with their days and moving quickly, but a lot of tourists and tourists being baited. It felt like a lot of it was for show (even if it was not) and so I was not sure about it. The thing is though, a lot of it is genuinely stunning so even though I was flagging at this point^[2], I am still able to appreciate a lot of it in hindsight and did like it then too. The castle and old town are some of the most sumptuous places I have ever seen with the connection between the two, Charles Bridge, one of the most wonderful bridges I have ever seen. I especially like that it was pedestrianised and felt so alive but it was so busy on the first day that it was inconvenient to use. The connection with the city was helped immensely by the tour I went on and I will search out similar things in the future.

4. Brno

As a city to visit on the way somewhere it was ideal. It is definitely small enough to get around on foot and the people were pleasant and helpful. There is the cliche of it feeling more authentic (as if large cities are not real...) but it did feel different to Prague and in a way, less catered. It was not at all difficult to get around, I did not even use the extensive tram network, but it would have been better for me if I could actually have done a few things that I wanted to do! It is, again, a strollable city centre and the sights are different enough to be worth it. The food was cheap, the views were great and the coffee was lovely. I would definitely recommend it as a break although there is not a great amount to do, you can do that in a pleasant and relaxed environment. I probably had fewer frustrations here than in either Vienna or Prague but I have to consider that this was a day trip and it was not as if I missed a great deal.

5. Bratislava

It is a fairly industrial city and less than ideal as a place to see. It does have, however, an old town that seems perfect for evenings and nights out with low costs and plenty of choice. As it is quite a small city, it would be great for this and I am sure it would be a lot of fun with a group of people or if you were to use it as a base for some other trips. I am pleased that I ended up seeing Petrzalka inadvertently as it really changed my feeling about the city with the housing looking amazing in its scope. The city definitely seemed in two parts and I would imagine that the old town and castle area would be nicer but the south side ended up being a bit more memorable. I guess I would not have gone here if it were not another country, so maybe it is good if you have a completionist streak.

<sup>1. Granularity and detail are important but the point is to communicate, if nobody understands what I mean, was there any point in saying it?↩
2. I have found that in Asia, you can use the phrase "all templed out" and it will make sense to people, but I cannot think of an equivalent in Europe as they are not all quite the same, but it starts to feel like that.↩</sup>

Budapest (day 3)

Rejection, disappointment and regret. I could have stayed in England for that.
This was, essentially, an extra day in Budapest as a result of enjoying days one [link] and two [link] but I did still need to sort out where I was going next and when. I decided on Vienna - and the next morning, which was a train ride away of about 4 hours. I had seen on the Austrian rail website [link] that this could be very cheap but I think I missed the availability so I would have to get a return ticket^[1]. I had wanted to go visit the Parliament building for a tour (in English) which had been recommended to me and so I needed to get the fairly early to book myself in so I thought that I could walk there, via a railway station, Budapest-Nyugati, which was along the 4/6 tramline - and I thought that this would also be a good way of seeing the city at work. It was. It was kind of busy and moving but not too busy. I got the train tickets at the station, and it was a very reasonable price for a flexible return ticket (about €25). The station itself was pretty impressive, even if the international ticket hall was less so.

Parliament
From there, I made my way to the Parliament building (by some measures, thought to be the largest in Europe - it seems the most imposing!) in order to join an English language tour which were scheduled throughout the day, and the first was at 10am. When I got to the Parliament area, I noticed that the whole of the front area, where gardens would be, was dug up and there was a lot of work being done - such that there seemed no clear path to the area. The tram was also not running. The ticket office for the Parliament tours was also sited in a different building which was not too inconvenient to find. What was inconvenient was being told that the tours were already booked out for the whole day. This was less than ideal and I wasn't really sure what to do so I did what I usually do when I am unsure, I walked.

As I mentioned, the city of Budapest is supposedly known as the city of spas, and the most famous of these (that I had never heard of, of course) are the Gellert Baths which are just on the banks. They have an interesting history but that does not really affect the fact that I was inappropriately dressed, so I walked over to the other thing to see in that area - St Gellert.

Gellert Hill
As the Liberty statue is on a rather tall hill, it does require a bit of a winding walk (or bus) but it is through a pleasant park with great views and  a small flower garden. That was  not quite as spectacular as the views from the top and the statues themselves which were amazing. Amazingly windy too, but that is what you get when you are exposed to the elements. There was also a little military display as the fort at the top, Citadella, had been the Nazi stronghold in the 40s and was the last point of Budapest held by them in the Siege of Budapest by the Soviet Army in 1945 as well as a focal point of the Hungarian Revolution in 1956. I found the top quite interesting actually with the views and the stories of defiance.

On the way down, I briefly met a couple who asked me to take their photo (or I may have offered, I can't remember clearly) near the actual St Gellert  statue which elicited some mixed feelings - somewhat related to the David Goodhart talk [link] I recently went to about immigration. After taking the photo I asked them where they were from^[2] to which they replied "Scotland".
They didn't do this with Scottish accents, however and so I was a little confused, visibly confused I think as they then said:

"are you having difficulty with our Scottish accents?"

I smiled and asked

"where's your accent from?"

The couple were from Poland and they then walked off to continue their holiday as I did mine. As I walked away, the first thing I thought was how awkward it was to have asked them that, when they said they were from Scotland. That is the type of question I really hate as it essentially is questioning my belonging to Britain (I have started, recently, saying I am from London recently, as opposed to Britain or England. This is accurate and I'm lucky enough that London is well known enough as a city and I feel much more comfortable with that.) but I wonder whether they took it in that way. They must have known I was British at the least, if not necessarily from London from the accent and intonation. I wonder if they also thought that question may make me part of the loud anti-immigrant part of the UK. I mulled this over for a while - at least over the Elizabeth Bridge and back into Vorosmarty Ter - and I see that mull as one of the hazards of solo travel for me. Was that a prejudiced face that I pulled? Ignoring my possible faux pas, I was actually also really gladdened that they felt connected enough to Scotland, and whichever bit they called home, to refer to themselves as "from Scotland". There may be problems with the union where we all felt it wrong to say Britain, but I was really happy that they said that In their Polish-Scottish accents.

Millennium Line to lunch
And with that mixed feeling of awkwardness and warmth, I boarded the millennium line again to go to get some food at a recommended restaurant near the city park (again). I wasn't really sure how to fill my time so I decided to go one stop further then I needed for a little difference. This had the wholly intended side effect of meaning I had the whole line covered.
I'm not sure it was the best idea I've had.

Although the stations are geographically close from the original terminus within the park to Mexikoi, it felt a world away. The station was on the wrong side of the tracks, and the wrong side of the motorway. I had to negotiate a set of train tracks - which most just walked across but I was loathe to^[3]. And then I had to work out how to get to the park. It was terrible urban design but quite instructive to the city's design failings. I still found it quite interesting but I was a bit stuck...
The restaurant, Bagolyvár, was excellent and quite reasonably priced so I was pleased I made the effort.
On Mondays, many museums in Budapest are shut so my visit to the transport museum was thwarted again, by my poor planning.

Obuda
Budapest is famously made up of the cities on either bank of the Danube - Buda and Pest. Less famously, the formation of the city also included Obuda in 1873 which is on the Buda bank but a little further north. As I had little to do, I thought I'd make my way over and I was glad I did. In terms of sights, the area was quite light, but there seemed to be a huge housing complex around a large park which was almost certainly socialist housing. I have a bit of a soft spot for municipal housing actually as I have a romanticized notion of the care and thought that went into them and the idea that community could flourish there. Anyway, I did really love the multicoloured blocks and the urban parks set around Roman ruins. It was quite a strange mix that brought to mind the way the Barbican (in London) incorporates the Roman "London wall" within it. The ruins at Obuda are of Roman baths but they have built a huge road over most of it which sort of ruins the effect.

Obuda also has a smaller old town which is fairly interesting but it has little more than that - it satisfied my completionist streak though.
Connected up to the northern end of Margaret Island, I walked through the island and mulled some more accompanied by music.
Other than a quick stopoff at the synagogue and a brief interlude at the wonderfully evocative (of spy tales and espionage) area around the Soviet War Memorial at Szabadsag Ter, I didn’t do much more until getting back ready for an early start to Vienna. I'd read some very positive things about Vienna, but surprisingly didn't know of anyone actually visiting(other than an old student, but her level was fairly low and she was just excited to be in Europe). Strange to think of Vienna as the unknown...

Budapest 2013 Day 3 - for album click here

<sup>1. For reasons unexplained, you can only buy one-way tickets to Vienna with a three day lead time, but the return ticket is still very reasonable although you do not need to use the return portion of course.↩
2. In all honesty, I do not remember if I asked "Where are you from?" or "Where have you come from?" - quite different questions in the minefield of identity politics.↩
3. Apparently, walking across train tracks is common across most of the world except in Britain. On this point, I am happy that we are exceptional.↩</sup>

Budapest (day 2)

I had enjoyed Budapest so far and so I considered lengthening my stay from 2 days, and luckily I could do that when the owner came in the morning to ready a room for someone else. As I thought that this could be my only full day in Budapest, I did try to be out and about quite early - but not quite as early as I'd wanted. It was still early enough to need breakfast though... 
As I was not staying in a hotel, I was supposedly a little self-sufficient and so went to a local bakery for an espresso and some form of pastry. Although not too bad, I did not leave wondering why Hungarians did not have a reputation for pastries.

Buda Castle Complex

I then took the no.6 tram across the river as I wanted to go to the palace - which I was told is the longest urban tram line in the world^[1]. I do love trams and I don't think I can think of a city that I have not considered pleasant that had a tram system - it seems to be a civilising force. Even in Croydon [link].

Anyway, not being one to go directly to places, I took the tram along the eastern bank of the Danube for a sightseeing trip and then walked back from the terminal at Batthyány tér M+H to the astonishing Buda Castle complex which is now home to a few museums. Buda Castle is quite high up and so there are two ways to get there from the banks and the tram line. One, is to simply walk up but the other is to take a funicular tram up the hill - the 95m Castle Hill Funicular which is the oldest, still-running, funicular in the world. It seems public transport was pioneering in Budapest... I would not normally pass up on the chance to ride a piece of history like this but the queue was pretty long and when you are on your own, queuing is even more boring than when you are with people, so I bailed out and walked up instead. There was quite a lot of building work going on around the site and it was quite strange to see the heritage stuff being put up and the cobblestones being placed - it felt a little behind the curtain actually.
The walk up to the castle area was very much worth it with an interesting path and excellent views from the garden it comes to. That garden then leads to the museums and I went, initially, to the Budapest History Museum which was in three parts. A fairly dry section on the history of Budapest, a floor underneath which was the actual castle and quite evocative and then a floor telling the story of 1000 years of Budapest which was a little better with more text and a much more modern feel. It was well done and interestingly put together in a fantastic building. It was also free, and not because I had prepaid through my Budapest Card - it was free because of World Tourism Day^[2]. I was a little worried that this would make the museums very busy but they were nothing like as busy as museums [link] in London so it was pretty comfortable to get around. The museum exhibits, here and in other museums were bilingual and so I was able to read most of the bits - and I can only assume they were accurate.

Leaving the museum into the castle district meant I had a great view down and there are quite a few interesting places there, other than the museum within the grounds. The Fisherman's Bastion and the Matthias Church are particular highlights with amazing views and being very impressive buildings in their own right. I spent a fair bit of time up here although there were quite a lot of roadworks up there with a relaying ofthe cobbled flooring being made. Again, it is interesting to see heritage being built.

Up the hill
As I had not ridden the funicular, I did still want a hill climb of sorts and thought that the Cog train would be a good substitute with supposedly good panoramic views. They were not particularly and it was not really worth the effort as there was not that much up there. It was interesting to see some of the suburbs though, but it was not as good as I was expecting and did not have the views of the city from where I was.

What I did find quite interesting was the junction at Moscow Ter that I walked past to get to the cog train at Varosmajor which was very old fashioned and looked really "socialist". It was quite a large tram interchange with metro station with a functionalist style and was quite different from the grandeur that I had seen in the rest of the city. I, personally, quite liked it but it clearly needed a little maintenance spend. They did also have the roundel^[3] on a shop, but I would guess they have not paid royalties - and anyone that has been to the LT museum [link] shop will know that they value their IP very highly.

Sights to see
There were still a few places in Budapest that I wanted to go to and one of those (which I had been told about before by someone that had been to Budapest the week previously) was the "Terror House"[link]. This was a museum that was actually inside the old HQ for the secret police stationed here throughout much of the communist era. Appropriately enough, the museum is about the way that the secret police used terror, or terrorism, in order to police the state and also to try to extract information. It sounded very interesting and I had not planned it the day before as it was not on the (almost entirely pointless) Budapest card. As it is on Andrassy Road, I thought it would be simple enough to walk there from Oktogan but I was a little worried about missing it - an unfounded fear. The boldness of the "Terror" sign was brilliant as the building was framed with the sign. It was a bit late when I got there though and so it would only have given me 30 mins to go in - and the ticket office advised against as it was normally a 90 minute visit. Thwarted^[4] again.
This was a little annoying, and I was a bit thirsty so I found my way to a relatively famous coffee shop. The original metro line terminated, in the city, in Vorosmarty Ter. and that station was just outside a coffee shop called Gerbeaud [link]  which was actually there when the line started. I had a drink there, which was very pleasant (actually, the coffee in Budapest was generally pretty good) but was quite surprised at the low, and almost constant rumble of the trains underneath. I guess the tracks are only just under the surface but it was definitely felt regularly throughout. They must have been very annoyed when the city first opened the metro. 

By the time I left, it was dusk and so a time I really like, visually, in cities to walk around. It was absolutely brilliant to see the sights lit up as they were and the bridges looked superb. I actually walked out of the shopping district at Vaci U near Elizabeth Bridge and was struck by the castle. I then walked across the bridge there to get photos and along to cross the Chain Bridge. I actually had not crossed it yet and it was pretty majestic. It is the oldest of Budapest's bridges across the Danube and the most impressive of them, in my opinion. I got a little snap-happy and so walked across quite leisurely and the little loop probably took me about 2 hours. I think I was quite lucky with the weather and the light so I really enjoyed the walk and I actually walked back to bed too, with a little detour for food at a Jewish restaurant. A lot of walking makes me feel quite connected and I felt quite an affinity for the city.

Budapest 2013 day 2 - click here for photo album

<sup>1. I am not sure this is true and can find no proof but I have read that it is the busiest route in the world for a traditional tram system - many others have been upgraded to rail standards.↩
2. This was making my Budapest Card almost entirely worthless - I had only used the travel portion of it to gain any benefit at all.↩
3. This is the name given to the London Underground logo.↩
4. But obviously only by myself, again. ↩</sup>

Budapest (day 1)

This is related to a trip to Central Europe as thought of here.


How to get there

I am not the biggest of flying fans, at the best of times and 820 am is not the best of times. Luton, conveniently, is on Thameslink as is a local station of mine and so it was a fairly easy, if early, connection to Luton. Not Luton Airport, of course, but Luton Airport Parkway which connects via a bus to the airport itself.

This, apparently, wilful desire to make things difficult runs through the whole airport experience which is horrible and a real departure from the treatment in the last few airports I've been to. I think this is one of the worst aspects of (possibly only low cost British) air travel as it often just feels as if the whole thing is deigned to be terrible to extract a little more money from you (incidentally, my return ticket is booked to Heathrow and I never thought I would be pleased to be going there) by getting you to upgrade wherever possible. In the one and a half hours at the airport, I stood up and queued for the vast majority and it leaves a sour taste in the mouth - though judging by the numbers of people there, it is a taste we will put up with to save a few pounds^[1].

The flight itself, on the Hungarian Wizz Air, was not too bad - full and sleepy.

Landing at Budapest was fairly smooth and I needed to walk along the tarmac to get to the terminal (through a caged walkway) which always feels a little more exciting than it should. Getting "landside" was quick although passport control did ask me to remove my glasses which I have not done since I was aged 5 for security ^[2]. And then the question of what next with no plans or idea...

The tourist information desk was apparently helpful and they provided me with a map and sold me a "Budapest Card" [link] which was valid for a few attractions and public transport for the next day - which seemed fair enough for a weekend trip. And I then made my way to the public transport which was, surprisingly, a bus to the nearest metro station - not hugely efficient and a bit like Luton... I expected more as I knew Budapest has the second oldest underground metro system in Europe (or the first in continental Europe as the PR would put).

Finding things to do

I was due to be at my accommodation at 2pm and it was my first time staying in this type of accommodation - essentially a flat in Budapest - and so the owners had to meet me. It was a lot less flexible than a hotel and so I'm not sure it was a good idea (for my circumstances) although the place was OK when I was there. There was also a tour at 2pm around Pest which I wanted to join so I called the hostel [Mandy] to delay my arrival - and then instead moved it forward on her request. Although her explanations and friendliness were appreciated (along with her young son) when I got there, I did want to get a move on to the tour - which I promptly missed.

I guess those are the perils of trying to fit stuff in unless you have a very good itinerary but I had a quick walk around the area (Deak Fr.) and found another tour being run for free and thought of joining it later when I was not on Budapest Card time.

And so, again, what to do next?

Heroes Square

My decision was to make my way to the Fine Arts Museum [link] which is near the Heroes Square which needed travel on the Millennium line (I won't lie, it was a factor), which is only beaten by the "Circle Line"^[3] for age in Europe which was pretty interesting. As the line has been left almost untouched, I found it a real throwback to my imagination of the age unlike, for example the endless forward progress of the Underground. Each station has a separate entrance/exit for the two directions and no underground passage between them. As the line is essentially along one street (Andrassy), you get out and cross the road to go to the other platform. Each station is barely underground at all and it feels like you are only one storey down so it is quite close to being an underground tram rather than train. The carriages are quite small, and short and the whole experience is rather twee actually. Inside the carriages, there is not a huge amount of space and the look of old, but not quite "heritage". I enjoyed it and the details, even down to the very short door open times and the grating doors closing klaxon and red light. The doors actually even start opening when the train is still in motion.

As the stations are close together, and the trains quite short and small, the frequency is quite high at every two minutes and, as i understand it, this was the case even when it started. It is actually a very simple system with it being an almost entirely straight line from Heroes Square to the centre of Pest.

Although I went for the Museum of Fine Arts, I always think it is worth a little wander and so I did around the park a little before making my way to the Museum which faces onto the spectacular Heroes Square. The vast square reminded me a little of Tienanmen although it is not that similar. There are some lovely statues of various heroes on one side and the open space is strangely alluring. I honestly have no idea why but it is very inviting.

I found the Museum itself only moderately interesting but I was told, upon showing my card, that it was free to get in anyway that weekend. As were a lot of the major exhibitions that were part of the Budapest card. I think the tourist office should have told me that and I felt a little tricked. Apparently helpful, as I said.

The rest of the park was superb, with a lot of interesting walks and views in amongst the amazing architecture. It was also quite busy as there was some type of event in part of the park - which I guess links it back to its inception (though not the event itself).

Bathing and Relaxation

The Budapest Card was not of much use thus far (other than the travel) but it did include entrance to a spa - St Lukacs Medicinal Baths and Swimming Pool -  something that was very appealing. Budapest is, supposedly, known as a city of spas but nobody had told me, and so I can only assume that it either was, or it just isn't. I came to really enjoy spas ("onsens" and "sentos") while I was in Japan and they are remarkably lovely there, and so I was looking forward to it. Unfortunately, when I got there, I realised that I did not have the appropriate clothing - and this was not a concept I was familiar with. Onsens are designed for bathing, and bathing is done without clothing. I had checked what the situation was in Budapest, or thought I had, and read a few comments, from mainly American women, about how they really do bathe naked. The changing room was not quite as I expected and so I left - what a waste. Maybe at other baths, it would have been OK.

And so, again, what to do next?

Between Buda and Pest, there is a river and also a bit of land called Margaret Island which acts as a relaxation space for locals - and this is connected via two bridges to the main city. There is not bout a great deal there but it is a green space in a city with precious little green space and so is popular. There were plenty of couples (well, I assume they were...) and groups of people lolling about, lazily enjoying the sun and the fountains.

Photos of day 1 are here:

Budapest 2013 day 1 - click for photo album

<sup>1. And it is so often a false economy, had I gone with a flight from a decent airport, although the flight would possibly be more expensive, travel to and from the airport would be a lot cheaper, I would not need to stock up on snacks and drinks at airport prices and I would get an actual service.↩
2. Out of choice in Moscow as a precocious child. My mother asked me what I was doing and I apparently responded that I obviously didn't have glasses in my baby photo so it was better.↩
3. Well, section of line from Paddington to Farringdon, as it is presently the 150th anniversary of the tube in London, I have been steeping myself in that history including a steam train run along that original path.↩</sup>