Now, I know I write a lot about food, but oh my goodness, be prepared for a lot more talk about it in this blog.
Budapest - just divine; food was amazing and cheap, always great for a budget conscious traveler. I think I made the claim that I'd just had the best three days of eating ever in the world (except your cooking, Ma) on our last night. It all started when we arrived and immediately needed feeding. After greeting Em and Caro who had made the special trip over for the weekend from London, and Helen, who is spending the next two weeks trekking around with me, we headed out to the recommended Bali Cafe around the corner - Pork Medallions with letcho (What's letcho? “wegetables” (love translations)), plus sampling of everybody elses food. We spent the rest of the day at Sziget festival soaking up the sun and the tunes, including NZ's very own Black Seeds and returned home late all festivaled out.
The next day we headed to the famous Szechenyi thermal baths to soak ourselves clean in the steamy water – but not before eating, of course. This time we headed to a little Hungarian restaurant that also came recommended and I delighted in the Roast Duck with cabbage strudel. Not exactly hangover food but who's keeping count? For dinner that night I consulted the trusty Trip Advisor app – essential for anyone traveling – and found a place overlooking the very impressive parliament building. We strolled the couple of kilometre's from our hostel to the restaurant along the Danube and through the town to bask in the sights and bridges – absolutely gorgeous. Carne di Hall did not disappoint, “Teaser Taster Hungarian Meat” halved with Pearce's Steak Tartare - Hungarian and French Style to start nearly left us too full for our mains. But the Goose Leg was on the way and boy was it tasty. My only regret was that I didn't have enough room for dessert. You'll never go hungry in Hungary.
We had to spend a large portion of one of our Budapest days searching for a decent train over to Ljubljana. We had a slight meltdown with this and ended up having to leave Budapest earlier than anticipated to get to Slovenia. But as always seems to work out, we were not disappointed with our decision. Budapest is on the “must-go-back-to” list.
So we caught our “no changes required” train to Ljubljana – two trains, a bus and another train later we arrived in Ljubljana miraculously on time. What an absolutely stunning city Ljubljana is, and Slovenia as a whole for that matter. We quickly checked in and headed straight into the centre of town for dinner – veal (that's “weal” to you) and truffle potatoes, to die for. The next morning we got shown around all the Ljubljana sights (after devouring a delicious breakfast of course) on a walking tour and then treated ourselves to homemade Snickers Icecream – heaven in the thirty plus heat. We wandered around the markets, had a beer and caught our bus up to Lake Bled.
Upon our arrival in Bled – possibly the most magical place on the earth - Pearce and I were told there “was a problem” with our room we had booked at the Hotel – long story short, half an hour and three hotels later they had upgraded us to a Five Star Hotel for a couple of nights. No complaints here – especially with the breakfast spread and view we were treated to each morning. We kicked off the night by wandering around the absolutely stunning (yes more beautiful than Kotor a couple of posts ago) lake - this place really does look like a painting. We took photos from every possible angle and continued to be awed right up until the moment we left – Slovenia in general is on the “must-go-back-to” list. A Balkan grill for dinner – Eastern Europe really is a carnivore's dream – followed by ridiculously cheap drinks and bad service for a few hours rounded off our day quite nicely.
We tackled the cliff to reach Bled Castle the next morning and were rewarded with gorgeous views. Then spent the rest of the day, sunbathing by the lake, swimming in the lake, picnicing by the lake – lake orientated activities in general. We spent our last night heading to another highly recommended by the Trip Advisor app restaurant – Promenada - where we were treated to an off-the-menu chef's-special culinary delight. We let the waiter select our Slovenian wine and washed the amazing five course meal down with raspberry and cumin schnapps – probably not the highlight.
Next morning we took a row boat out to the famous Church of Assumption (on Assumption Day as it so happened) on Bled Island in the middle of Lake Bled had a look around, rowed back and lazed by the lake until it was time to leave again. A teary farewell to Mr. Watson who has now returned to NZ at Ljubljana Airport ensued. I took my mind off this by heading into Ljubljana for a few hours and catching up with the Aussie Girls we met in Albania for dinner, beers and ice-creams before Helen and I continued on our overnight bus to Belgrade in Serbia.
We arrived at 6am into Belgrade with no Dina (currency) and no idea where we were. Jumped on a tram and didn't know how to pay, fortunately this doesn't seem to matter. It felt like we were headed in the wrong direction for a while but up a 180 and a up a steep hill later the direction seemed to right itself and we were nearly there. We teamed up with a couple of other 6am arrivals and headed out for the hugest and cheapest breakfast we have come across so far and then carried on to the customary-when-arriving-to-a-new-city walking tour. Belgrade far exceeded our expectations – we aren't entirely sure what we were expecting, something more war ravaged and ominous I think, but it's quite the bustling metropolis. We grouped up with a bunch of people from the tour and spent the afternoon in the infamous “?” bar. Apparently the only place in the world named by punctuation only. Here we savoured local beer and cuisine until it was time to go and get ready for the beer-fest.
The Beer Fest was quite a treat, one; that it coincidentally happened to be on while we were in Belgrade, and two; because it was free. When we arrived we found out that three; the beer was really really cheap (fantastic!) and four; as I consider myself quite the carnivore I fit into Serbian culture rather well and this seemed to be about all they had on the menu – photo below. We enjoyed the Serbian music for a while and then headed to a bar under a bridge along the Sava River to round the night off.
The next day breakfast/lunch was at a bakery Helen had spotted – a slice (quarter) of pizza for 105 dina, that's NZD1.50 – don't mind if I do – before heading off to the Nikolas Teslar museum to gain some cultural insight. If you don't know Teslar, then don't worry, I didn't either, but his most handy invention to all of you (myself included) is probably the remote control. Genius. That night we headed out with our walking tour group again to the Bohemian Quarter for a traditional Serbian dinner before heading out for the night on the boat clubs that line the Sava River.
Feeling slightly worse for wear (because of my cold, not because of the night before...(who gets colds in avg. 30 degree temps anyway??!?!)) the next day we packed up our stuff and checked out. Then scoured the city for somewhere to watch the rugby to no avail. We settled for returning to our big cheap breakfast restaurant on the main street for their free wifi and incredibly slow service to allow us to at least read the game as it went on. Nice work AB's. We wandered along the river after this to go to the Torture Museum but being a Saturday, and just my luck, it was closed. No problems, the city is beautiful so we didn't mind wandering through the parks and relaxing in the garden at the hostel for the remainder of our time in Serbia.
Next stop, Bosnia.
Small selection of photo's - it takes a lot of uploading power!
Budapest - just divine; food was amazing and cheap, always great for a budget conscious traveler. I think I made the claim that I'd just had the best three days of eating ever in the world (except your cooking, Ma) on our last night. It all started when we arrived and immediately needed feeding. After greeting Em and Caro who had made the special trip over for the weekend from London, and Helen, who is spending the next two weeks trekking around with me, we headed out to the recommended Bali Cafe around the corner - Pork Medallions with letcho (What's letcho? “wegetables” (love translations)), plus sampling of everybody elses food. We spent the rest of the day at Sziget festival soaking up the sun and the tunes, including NZ's very own Black Seeds and returned home late all festivaled out.
The next day we headed to the famous Szechenyi thermal baths to soak ourselves clean in the steamy water – but not before eating, of course. This time we headed to a little Hungarian restaurant that also came recommended and I delighted in the Roast Duck with cabbage strudel. Not exactly hangover food but who's keeping count? For dinner that night I consulted the trusty Trip Advisor app – essential for anyone traveling – and found a place overlooking the very impressive parliament building. We strolled the couple of kilometre's from our hostel to the restaurant along the Danube and through the town to bask in the sights and bridges – absolutely gorgeous. Carne di Hall did not disappoint, “Teaser Taster Hungarian Meat” halved with Pearce's Steak Tartare - Hungarian and French Style to start nearly left us too full for our mains. But the Goose Leg was on the way and boy was it tasty. My only regret was that I didn't have enough room for dessert. You'll never go hungry in Hungary.
We had to spend a large portion of one of our Budapest days searching for a decent train over to Ljubljana. We had a slight meltdown with this and ended up having to leave Budapest earlier than anticipated to get to Slovenia. But as always seems to work out, we were not disappointed with our decision. Budapest is on the “must-go-back-to” list.
So we caught our “no changes required” train to Ljubljana – two trains, a bus and another train later we arrived in Ljubljana miraculously on time. What an absolutely stunning city Ljubljana is, and Slovenia as a whole for that matter. We quickly checked in and headed straight into the centre of town for dinner – veal (that's “weal” to you) and truffle potatoes, to die for. The next morning we got shown around all the Ljubljana sights (after devouring a delicious breakfast of course) on a walking tour and then treated ourselves to homemade Snickers Icecream – heaven in the thirty plus heat. We wandered around the markets, had a beer and caught our bus up to Lake Bled.
Upon our arrival in Bled – possibly the most magical place on the earth - Pearce and I were told there “was a problem” with our room we had booked at the Hotel – long story short, half an hour and three hotels later they had upgraded us to a Five Star Hotel for a couple of nights. No complaints here – especially with the breakfast spread and view we were treated to each morning. We kicked off the night by wandering around the absolutely stunning (yes more beautiful than Kotor a couple of posts ago) lake - this place really does look like a painting. We took photos from every possible angle and continued to be awed right up until the moment we left – Slovenia in general is on the “must-go-back-to” list. A Balkan grill for dinner – Eastern Europe really is a carnivore's dream – followed by ridiculously cheap drinks and bad service for a few hours rounded off our day quite nicely.
We tackled the cliff to reach Bled Castle the next morning and were rewarded with gorgeous views. Then spent the rest of the day, sunbathing by the lake, swimming in the lake, picnicing by the lake – lake orientated activities in general. We spent our last night heading to another highly recommended by the Trip Advisor app restaurant – Promenada - where we were treated to an off-the-menu chef's-special culinary delight. We let the waiter select our Slovenian wine and washed the amazing five course meal down with raspberry and cumin schnapps – probably not the highlight.
Next morning we took a row boat out to the famous Church of Assumption (on Assumption Day as it so happened) on Bled Island in the middle of Lake Bled had a look around, rowed back and lazed by the lake until it was time to leave again. A teary farewell to Mr. Watson who has now returned to NZ at Ljubljana Airport ensued. I took my mind off this by heading into Ljubljana for a few hours and catching up with the Aussie Girls we met in Albania for dinner, beers and ice-creams before Helen and I continued on our overnight bus to Belgrade in Serbia.
We arrived at 6am into Belgrade with no Dina (currency) and no idea where we were. Jumped on a tram and didn't know how to pay, fortunately this doesn't seem to matter. It felt like we were headed in the wrong direction for a while but up a 180 and a up a steep hill later the direction seemed to right itself and we were nearly there. We teamed up with a couple of other 6am arrivals and headed out for the hugest and cheapest breakfast we have come across so far and then carried on to the customary-when-arriving-to-a-new-city walking tour. Belgrade far exceeded our expectations – we aren't entirely sure what we were expecting, something more war ravaged and ominous I think, but it's quite the bustling metropolis. We grouped up with a bunch of people from the tour and spent the afternoon in the infamous “?” bar. Apparently the only place in the world named by punctuation only. Here we savoured local beer and cuisine until it was time to go and get ready for the beer-fest.
The Beer Fest was quite a treat, one; that it coincidentally happened to be on while we were in Belgrade, and two; because it was free. When we arrived we found out that three; the beer was really really cheap (fantastic!) and four; as I consider myself quite the carnivore I fit into Serbian culture rather well and this seemed to be about all they had on the menu – photo below. We enjoyed the Serbian music for a while and then headed to a bar under a bridge along the Sava River to round the night off.
The next day breakfast/lunch was at a bakery Helen had spotted – a slice (quarter) of pizza for 105 dina, that's NZD1.50 – don't mind if I do – before heading off to the Nikolas Teslar museum to gain some cultural insight. If you don't know Teslar, then don't worry, I didn't either, but his most handy invention to all of you (myself included) is probably the remote control. Genius. That night we headed out with our walking tour group again to the Bohemian Quarter for a traditional Serbian dinner before heading out for the night on the boat clubs that line the Sava River.
Feeling slightly worse for wear (because of my cold, not because of the night before...(who gets colds in avg. 30 degree temps anyway??!?!)) the next day we packed up our stuff and checked out. Then scoured the city for somewhere to watch the rugby to no avail. We settled for returning to our big cheap breakfast restaurant on the main street for their free wifi and incredibly slow service to allow us to at least read the game as it went on. Nice work AB's. We wandered along the river after this to go to the Torture Museum but being a Saturday, and just my luck, it was closed. No problems, the city is beautiful so we didn't mind wandering through the parks and relaxing in the garden at the hostel for the remainder of our time in Serbia.
Next stop, Bosnia.
Small selection of photo's - it takes a lot of uploading power!
Szechenyi thermal baths, Budapest, Hungary.
Hungarian Parliament by night
Beautiful Ljubljana
Lake Bled, Slovenia
Church of Assumption, Bled Island, Lake Bled, Slovenia
Sorry Pearcey, Helen said I rowed in 20 minutes and you in 19... it was actually me in 19 and you in 21 x
Bled Castle
Bled Cream Cake - just like a custard square only better.
Sava River, Belgrade, Serbia.
Is that water recycled? Hope not, people wash their feet in there!
Told you it was a carnivores dream - a selection of meat at the Beer-fest, Belgrade, Serbia.
I'm pretty sure all the sun should do is set - gorgeous!
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