During our last few days in Budapest we took things fairly easy. Elise was still under the weather and Eric and Samuel weren't quite 100% either. However we managed to get out for a few hours at a time to see various parts of town. Eric and Sam also spent the best part of half a day at a water park. Alas not the traditional thermal baths. This was on the to do list but with illness and limited options for children we just didn't make it.
We were impressed with the metro system. Budapest has just four lines, however they were quite a contrast. The modern green line featured cavernous space age metro stations deep underground, with beautiful architecture and driverless trains. Then there was the ancient yellow line with tiny two carriage trains (almost like an underground tram) running just under street level with stops every few hundred meters.
Samuel enjoyed a few good playgrounds. The best was on Gellert Hill with a plethora of slides winding down a large embankment. There was also plenty of climbing options and Samuel was very disappointed when we had to depart. With the lingering lurgy, only Eric made it to the top of the Hill to see the Liberty statue and enjoy the amazing views (and this was on another day incorporated into a training run!)
Eric and Samuel spent one morning hopping around town on public transport. First stop was the large park around the Budapest Zoo and Botanical Gardens which featured a strange castle set on the shore of a large pond (or small lake).
Then it was off to walk the 3km length of Margaret Island in the middle of the Danube. The island is a great recreation location for locals. It has a swimming centre, nice gardens, playgrounds, bikes for hire and other attractions.
We certainly didn't see as much of Budapest as we would have liked, however what we did see was very fascinating. It's certainly one of the more interesting cities to explore in central Europe.
We were impressed with the metro system. Budapest has just four lines, however they were quite a contrast. The modern green line featured cavernous space age metro stations deep underground, with beautiful architecture and driverless trains. Then there was the ancient yellow line with tiny two carriage trains (almost like an underground tram) running just under street level with stops every few hundred meters.
Samuel enjoyed a few good playgrounds. The best was on Gellert Hill with a plethora of slides winding down a large embankment. There was also plenty of climbing options and Samuel was very disappointed when we had to depart. With the lingering lurgy, only Eric made it to the top of the Hill to see the Liberty statue and enjoy the amazing views (and this was on another day incorporated into a training run!)
Then it was off to walk the 3km length of Margaret Island in the middle of the Danube. The island is a great recreation location for locals. It has a swimming centre, nice gardens, playgrounds, bikes for hire and other attractions.
We certainly didn't see as much of Budapest as we would have liked, however what we did see was very fascinating. It's certainly one of the more interesting cities to explore in central Europe.
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