Okay, well you’ll be happy to know that even though today was another long travel day, it was so much better than yesterday.   So, if you could just pass over yesterday’s blog and get to this one, that’d be great.   Today was the kind of day I want when I travel.

So, with that, let’s get into it…

Destination: Budapest

So, you might be thinking – hey isn’t Budapest an odd choice to have on a trip dubbed “BeNeLux” (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg).

Well, you’d be right.   It is kinda odd.   Add to the fact that I’ve previously traveled to Budapest, it is kind of out there.

Well, when planning this trip, the lowest Air Canada routes from Vancouver in and out of Europe were to fly into Amsterdam and then fly out of Copenhagen which is where I’m heading to tomorrow morning.

Okay… Well, what does that have to do with Budapest?

Turns out it was about half the price to fly all the way cross continent to Budapest today and then fly back clear cross the continent again tomorrow morning to Copenhagen than it was to fly directly there.

Yup, gotta love the discount airlines like Ryanair,

So, for half the price I get to spend an evening relaxing in Budapest.   Sounds good to me!

The journey begins

Although Budapest is just a scant 2 hour flight away, it actually was a good 8 hours between hostels.

That’s alot of traveling.

In fact, it was a train, a bus, a plane, and another bus.

Because I was flying out of the less used Charleroi airport about an hour south of Brussels, it meant the train ticket I had previously booked from Antwerp to the Brussels airport was kind of useless.

I still boarded the train but instead of getting off at the stop for the main airport, I continued on to Brussels South station all the time keeping on eye out for ticket inspectors.

I’m sure I could have talked myself out of have an invalid ticket by playing the tourist card “Oh, I thought it was this airport.   Oh sorry, sorry.”.

I actually got all the way to the 2nd last stop of the train when I saw an inspector in the car in front of me checking tickets.

I didn’t want to take the chance so I just hopped off, bought a 2.50€ ticket for 1 stop and popped onto the next train.

Next was a one hour shuttle bus ride from the train station to the Charleroi airport terminal.

We arrived at the terminal around 10am and I’d been on the road for 2 1/2 hours already.   It was time for breakfast.   I actually still had the left over salmon focaccia sandwich I bought for lunch in Luxembourg yesterday.

Security was a breeze again.   I don’t know why they say you should be at the airport 2-3 hours ahead of time.   I was seriously through security in less than 10 minutes.

Two hours to kill.

I finished up yesterday’s blog and then started searching out what I should do tonight in Budapest.

I found some gluten free restaurants to check out and I booked an hour boat tour on the Danube sailing around the city.

Our flight left at just after noon and I was randomly selected a middle seat.   Ugh.

I actually didn’t mind it too much until the girl next to me left for the washroom and came back with some empty barf bags.   During the pre flight announcements she was leaning forward with her head up against the headrest in front of her.

I quickly scanned the rows behind me for empty seats and found one a few rows back.

As soon as we had lifted off and the seat beat signs turned off, I raced to that seat.   I was not gonna spend the next two hours wondering if and when she was gonna be sick.

So, anyway…

On to Budapest!

Hello Budapest!

We landed at 2:30, and less than an hour later, I was checked into my hostel here in Budapest.

A quick shower and a change into shorts (for the first time this trip, I might add), I was out the door and ready to tackle the city.

Now, when I say tackle, I actually mean slowly walk through the streets without a care in the world.   Yeah, I was approaching today way different than yesterday.

Yesterday was so stressful and rushed.   I didn’t feel relaxed at all and if you read the blog you probably felt stressed yourself.

Today was all about just relaxing and enjoying the city and, more importantly, the food.

Two dinners and a cruise

I had found a restaurant in town that was not only 100% dedicated gluten free but also offered Hungarian dishes.   I was in heaven!   Goulash and dumplings would soon be in my belly!

When I checked their website they had a reservation portal but it was greyed out for today.   Hmm.   I then did a Google search and it said their hours may be affected by the holiday.

Holiday? Nooooo…

I ended up going to another restaurant nearby that also had gluten free offerings and, ya know what, that meal was amazing!

I had two tapas and a glass of wine followed by nice creamy chocolate mousse.

It was pricy at 12,600 Forint ($50) but I was so happy to have a nice meal again.

It was 5:30 and I had an hour before my cruise boarded.   I decided to walk through the city to where the other place was to see if they were indeed closed.

If they weren’t I’d go there for a second dinner after the cruise and if they were I’d just go back to the place I was just at.

I got there and, yay, they were open!

Dinner number two awaits!

On to the boat cruise.

The cruise around the Danube offers a stunning look at the amazing architecture around the city.   There’s also an audio tour guide and headphones attached to each seat.   I chose not to listen to the tour and instead just sit back an relax, watching the city sail past, with a smile on my face.   Oh, and sipping the included champagne while I did it.

This was easily the most relaxed I’ve been all trip and it couldn’t have come at a better time after that debacle yesterday.

While I was on the cruise I really thought about what I wanted to take away from my travels and even how I would adjust my upcoming 6 week trip in mid August.

After the cruise, I headed back to the second restaurant and I finally got my gluten free goulash and dumplings.

It was the perfect end to a perfect day.

It just goes to show you that, despite the 8 hour commute, I was still able to have an amazing day once I stopped rushing around trying to cram X, Y, and Z into the day.

Another lesson learned – take your time you dumbass and enjoy the ride…