A Mini Excursion Out Of Budapest

I finally landed safely in Budapest on Thursday 4 August after a few minor bumps along the way. Nothing traumatic or life-changing. Just a crazy shuttle driver to JFK who went 80+ mph along the Merritt Parkway in the rain and a three hour delay at the airport, but nonetheless I made it safely to my summer city! I picked up Miranda at the airport and headed to our botel. That's not a typo! We are staying at Botel Fortuna right on the Pest side on the Danube River. After getting in later than expected, Miranda and I enjoyed a nice early dinner and then later a glass (or bottle) of wine on the deck of our hotel. It was a perfect setting, we were watching the boats drive by, the people hanging out on Marguerite Island, and the beautiful bridges and buildings lit up around the Danube.

On Friday morning Miranda and I packed a bookbag of essentials - water, wallets, pants/sweater, sunscreen and a book - and we headed to the train station. Our destination was the town of Eger. I had always heard it was a beautiful town famous for it's valleys and vineyards. It was only a two hour train ride northeast of Budapest and a perfect spot for our adventure. We got off the train station without a map, guidebook, or clue about our day!

The day turned out to be a perfect relaxful afternoon. We followed a few folks with bags out of the train station, saw some signs fit Centrum and headed down to city center. It was beautiful! Pedistrian town center filled with shops and cafes. We stopped at a cafe for lunch where our nice older gentleman waiter told us to relax and enjoy. He then gave us directions to the vineyard. After a twenty minute walk and the help of a nice doorman at a hotel along the way, we came around the bend and saw the Valley of Beautiful Women. What a sight!

We then spent the afternoon visiting all the cellars and learning the customs and different wines. My favorite was Bull's Blood, a dry red wine. There is a tradition that said that if you drink this it will make you strong. Supposedly the Hungarian generals told their troops to drink a lot of it and the Turkish were so impressed about the Hungarian strength. I figured with the build coming up, I could use some strength too!

We then returned in the evening and met Manuela for dinner in Budapest. We met at Anna's Cafe (Vaci Street) and shared quite a few laughs and memories from last year's trip. We then walked around, found a nice place to eat, and enjoyed a late dinner. After, we walked back to the Boat Hotel and was amazing by the city at night. It took Miranda and I a little long getting back to the hotel because we kept stopping to take pictures of the sites. Some of our favorites were the Parliament which is finally done (construction the last few summers) and the Holocaust Memorial (built in 2005, was all brass shoes along the Danube at the spot where the Nazi army shot the Jews into the water - pretty powerful). Overall, we were tired and exhausted. But tt was the perfect day!

It's now Saturday morning and my team comes today!!! I am excited to meet the rest of the team and have our first team dinner tonight. Now I am off to make the reservations for dinner.