Uniworld River Beatrice, 4/10/16 Budapest to Passau

We are off!

Thursday, April 7

We broke from our usual pattern and actually took the day off from work, so it was a very relaxing day. We slept until after 7:00 and then relaxed all day while finishing our last bits of packing. We tried to go for a walk but it started raining so we cut that short. Headed over to the airport around 2:30 for our flight but took forever to find parking.

At the airport we were very excited to see that the TSA precheck line was actually open! A miracle, and we were through in seconds. We had time to enjoy a snack before boarding, and our flight was a few minutes early. Once at Detroit, we stopped by Vino Volo for a flight and a snack before killing time at the SkyTeam lounge.

We board for Amsterdam soon, then after another layover we'll arrive in Budapest at 4:15 tomorrow. That will make for a long day, but hopefully we'll have the energy to see a few sights before we call it a day.

Here is a picture of our poor kitty, upset by the sight of our suitcases...

And a pre-flight drink at Vino Volo, in the Detroit airport

More to follow... so excited for this trip after a year's wait!

Safe travels. Enjoy!!!

Have a wonderful time on your adventure! Thanks for sharing your words and photos.

Here's praying the rest of your trip is as smooth as this part. Enjoy!

Have a fantastic trip! So glad to hear the TSA line was operating. Hope that is the case in 12 days!

Will be looking forward to any updates if you have time to post---or when you get back home.

Hello jpalbny,

oooh, the poor cat. I remember the times when my family went on holiday... our cat used to jump into the open suitcase and sometimes go to sleep in there. Her form of protest.

Safe travels and have a great time on the Danube.

notamermaid

Have a great trip. Looking forward to reading your updates.

Maybe we'll cross paths in Passau as we board the River Beatrice for the return trip tip Budapest on the 17th. Thanks for posting your adventures.

That picture of your kitty looked just like my old girl used to look. I miss her! Anyway, have a great trip! I am excited for your review, they are always fantastic. Nice choice on the Tokaj by the way!

Have a great trip!!

Can't wait for your photos and postings!

rick

I'll be interested in hearing about you experience and impressions of the itinerary and the River Beatrice. I sailed her on this exact itinerary back in November. Have a wonderful trip.

Roz

First impressions of Budapest - love it!

Way past our bedtime but our first few hours have been great! Got to our hotel around 6PM and headed right out to the Hospital in the Rock to catch the last tour at 7:00. Very interesting tour, then some wandering around the Castle District for the views. We walked back down the hill to the Four Seasons, enjoying more views of the river from the Chain Bridge.

Tasty dinner at our hotel, along with some delicious Hungarian wine choices. More wines to try to find at home...

Thanks to everyone for your comments; sorry that I am too tired to reply to everyone individually. Hoping to upload a few pictures soon as well, but that won't happen tonight either. Time to call it a night!

First impressions of Budapest - love it!

 

Way past our bedtime but our first few hours have been great! Got to our hotel around 6PM and headed right out to the Hospital in the Rock to catch the last tour at 7:00. Very interesting tour, then some wandering around the Castle District for the views. We walked back down the hill to the Four Seasons, enjoying more views of the river from the Chain Bridge.

 

Tasty dinner at our hotel, along with some delicious Hungarian wine choices. More wines to try to find at home...

 

Thanks to everyone for your comments; sorry that I am too tired to reply to everyone individually. Hoping to upload a few pictures soon as well, but that won't happen tonight either. Time to call it a night!

I am so glad you like Budapest! We did the tour of the Hospital in the Rock as well. I did not know before that how much Budapest suffered during WWII but it was pretty horrific. The sense of history we felt in the city was almost overwhelming. I don't know if you have the time but if you can swing it, the Hungarian National Museum is magnificent. We spent hours there!!! And also, if you like those lovely Herend figurines that now cost a small fortune in the US, Budapest is the place to buy them. The prices are so much lower and they have items not seen here. Oh, how I envy you being in Budapest!!!

OK, I'm back for a few...it's been a great trip! We finished up in Munich tonight which was as much fun as always. We have been so busy this trip that there has been no time to post at all, which is a good sign I guess. I have taken good notes and Chris has been working hard at organizing pictures so we'll be in good shape to reconstruct the trip once we get home - we leave Munich tomorrow morning.

But for now, back to the start of the trip. I think I left you all hanging after we left Detroit airport on Thursday night, almost two weeks ago!

***

Friday April 8, 2016

For some reason we were both exhausted by the time our flight from Detroit to Amsterdam finally took off – there was a little delay after the gate for deicing but the pilots promised it wouldn’t affect our overall timing. After a glass or two of wine we were pretty much done; we weren’t very hungry so we only ate a little then slept. I made it through the Force Awakens (believe it or not, I hadn't seen it yet) then slept for a few hours.

We were a little more hungry for breakfast, but it’s always hard to eat after a night of airplane sleep, when the sun says it’s morning and your body says it’s way too early!

We touched down in Amsterdam a few minutes early and were at the gate on time at 10:30. After a long slog through the D gates we passed through immigration (no lines at all!) and found the KLM lounge on the Schengen side. We both felt better after a shower and a coffee, then we sipped on a glass of Crémant de Limoux while awaiting our next flight. We really weren’t hungry yet, so didn’t eat any of the lounge food.

We napped a little on the flight to Budapest. A small delay taking off, then the usual issue with the flight being full, no room for bags, etc. They made me gate check my small carryon for no good reason - others with larger carryons were let through - but it made things easier I guess. A strange stacked sandwich on a toothpick for a snack with some tasty South African Sauvignon blanc, and a little more napping, so the flight went by quickly.

We flew over the northern outskirts of Budapest on our final approach, and luckily we were on the right side of the plane. Because of our pre-trip research, I could recognize many of the landmarks! Great to finally see it – looks beautiful! Chris and I enjoyed the preview.

We landed a few minutes after our scheduled 4:15 time but arrived at the gate and were off the plane before 4:30. Luggage delivery was remarkably fast and we were out of baggage claim by 4:50. Picking up our Budapest cards (we had prepurchased on line, with a 5% discount to boot) was a snap and we were out of the airport and on the 200E bus a few minutes before 5.

From here, we changed to the M3 line to center city, and then a few minutes stroll to the hotel – less than 45 minutes total travel time from the airport. We checked in and had an upgrade (Danube River view room) waiting for us. We made a dinner reservation then headed out.

We caught the 16 bus outside our hotel, which went up Castle Hill, and walked over to Hospital on the Rock.

The tour wasn’t for another half an hour (7:00) so we bought our tickets, then wandered back to St. Mathias’ Church.

From here, we went to Fisherman’s Bastion.

There was no one manning the bastion so we climbed up to enjoy the view.

Parliament looks beautiful.

The bastion itself is pretty too.

Back to the Hospital for our tour!

One last shot from Fisherman's Bastion before our tour...

And one more...then really - we have to get back for the tour!

The tour of the underground hospital was both interesting and frightening. The conditions that the doctors and nurses endured to try to save patients who had been injured by acts of war was kind of scary. The medical technology on display was definitely 1950s and earlier. No photos allowed, so please come visit!

After the tour we walked back towards Mathias Church which was nicely lit up.

Then down Castle Hill, pausing for more views of Parliament.

And across the Chain Bridge...

The walk down was more scenic than waiting for the bus. It was a very pleasant evening, and the views from the bridge were lovely!

Dinner was nice; we got to use up our F&B credit, and we didn’t have to think about where to eat. We started off with a glass of Hungarian sparkling Rose. Appetizers were escargot (traditional French preparation) and Duck rillette – two layers of confit pressed around a very fatty (but tasty) layer in the middle – foie gras? pure duck fat? Butter? Who knows.

We got a bottle of red to counteract all the fat, based on the sommelier’s recommendation – Kékfrancos. Very nice, spicy with a little oak, medium body, opened up nicely in the glass and went well with our entrees. I had venison over red cabbage puree with baked apple; Chris had beef cheeks with root vegetables. Now, time for bed!

WOW...great photos.......I was thinking of doing Paris next year but I

will have to give Budapest/Prague more serious thought:D

Hope you are having a wonderful time:)

Can't wait to read rest and pictures are beautiful. I have the hospital in the rock to see Monday afternoon when all museums are closed. We leave 5/18 On River Beatrice. Set up a 3 hr Budapest Tuk Tuk tour on Friday, Saturday day trip to Puszta, horse show. Sunday, tour parliament and a museum. Board ship. Should be interesting. We are a group doing a Jewish Heritage tour. This is first time Uniworld is doing this. Uniworld set up private tours in Budapest, Bratislava, and Prague for us.

Dusty, have a great time! This was a fun trip and we're glad it worked out so well. Lois, Budapest was charming and we enjoyed our first visit so much. But Paris is a lot of fun too, and French is surely easier to speak than Hungarian! Prague is moving up the list but haven't made it there yet.

So the journey ends today...we are hanging in the BA lounge here in Munich, sipping some Prosecco, and reminiscing about how much fun it was. Our flight to Atlanta boards soon and then we have a 4h layover until Albany tonight.

Munich was great last night - it felt like we were visiting an old friend. Had some great food and plenty of spring beer, and we're leaving happy... Well, as happy as one can be when we have to go to work tomorrow. Hope I can remember my password! :D

Dusty, have a great time! This was a fun trip and we're glad it worked out so well. Lois, Budapest was charming and we enjoyed our first visit so much. But Paris is a lot of fun too, and French is surely easier to speak than Hungarian! Prague is moving up the list but haven't made it there yet.

 

So the journey ends today...we are hanging in the BA lounge here in Munich, sipping some Prosecco, and reminiscing about how much fun it was. Our flight to Atlanta boards soon and then we have a 4h layover until Albany tonight.

 

Munich was great last night - it felt like we were visiting an old friend. Had some great food and plenty of spring beer, and we're leaving happy... Well, as happy as one can be when we have to go to work tomorrow. Hope I can remember my password! :D

Welcome home. Glad you had a great trip. PS: your password is on the post-in stuck to your screen!

You pictures of Budapest brought back a lot of great memories. It's easy to see why Budapest appears in every river cruise TV ad I ever seen.

Jpalbany, thanks for posting. Brings back memories...what did you think of the River Beatrice and crew?

Roz

I've been waiting for your review. Yours are always so good. Can't wait to hear more.

Can't wait to read rest and pictures are beautiful. I have the hospital in the rock to see Monday afternoon when all museums are closed. We leave 5/18 On River Beatrice. Set up a 3 hr Budapest Tuk Tuk tour on Friday, Saturday day trip to Puszta, horse show. Sunday, tour parliament and a museum. Board ship. Should be interesting. We are a group doing a Jewish Heritage tour. This is first time Uniworld is doing this. Uniworld set up private tours in Budapest, Bratislava, and Prague for us.

That sounds like a lot of fun. Can you tell me how you found out about it, the cost and where you go? We will be in Budapest for our 4th visit in Dec and that sounds like a good alternative to the regular ship tour.

JPAlbany, I am also enjoying your review. You do such a great job.

Back stateside, in ATL looking at another 3+ hours before our flight home. We could have had a shorter layover but the tradeoff woud have been an earlier departure from Munich, and 3 legs, not 2. MUC-ATL-ALB looked best, and the overseas flight was quite nice today.

Going back to the beginning, would like to thank Bobkat26, dln929, wandb, and eyeu for commenting earlier. J3flyr, I hope you’re enjoying River Beatrice as much as we did. Dbncsuvet and notamermaid, thanks for the cat stories. Ash jumps in our suitcases too. We keep them closed now though, because she would likely do something worse in them to spite us…

Jazzbeau, I didn’t write it down before we left. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow. Nancyevans, Budapest was definitely a great pace to visit. Roz, we loved the ship and crew. Didn’t know what to expect given that the ship was a little older than the Super Ships we’d been on in the past. Loved it. Mimmy, thanks, coming from you, that’s very kind. I enjoyed your review some time back. H2Otstr, thanks as well.

Hope I haven’t forgotten anyone. Back to the review…

Well, almost home.....looking forward to more pictures.

We leave in 2 days, and can't wait. Started packing last night. Hoping for good weather:)

Robin

Saturday April 9, 2016

A decent night’s sleep after our busy day and large meal, and we were up early. We headed down for our (included) breakfast at the hotel, which included a nice buffet with hot entrees available to order – I got the Hungarian scrambled eggs, and Chris had a Belgian waffle. Thankfully breakfast was included because the price would have been 11000 HUF - $40 - per person. Very few breakfast buffets are worth that much!

We were ready to head out by 9AM, and we walked out to the Chain Bridge, where we got this picture of our hotel - the Four Seasons Gresham Palace.

Loved the lions at the foot of the Chain Bridge. That's Buda Castle up above the bridge.

Walking across the bridge to the Castle Hill funicular, we first saw the tunnel cutting through Castle Hill.

We had a discount on the funicular with our Budapest cards, so we hopped in and soon had a view of Pest, extending out in front of us, across the Danube.