This has been a mixed bag of a day. We only had one night in our hotel so had to set our bags out at 7:00 this morning. After we did that we went down to breakfast. I find buffet’s not too appetizing but managed to find some cold eggs and a roll.
We got on a bus and did a city tour of Budapest. Had a high energy, sweet tour guide for the day. We got off the bus a couple of times to see the sites up close and personal. We walked across the Chain Lock Bridge where lovers put padlocks on the bridge. Walked around the Synagogue and had a pee break at some memorial site. In Budapest if you pee, you pay. $1 to use the toilets.
The best part of the day was lunch. Two other ladies joined us and we found a delightful cafe and had beef stew. Nicole and I shared a plate. I also had a cup of hot chocolate that was the best hot chocolate I have ever had. It made up for the cup last night that didn’t have any chocolate.
After we ate we walked around the Hall for a bit and looked at all the things. There was a meat market with all sorts of meats that looked disgusting to me – lamb’s heads, boar heads, etc. One of the ladies knew about a treat called chimney cake. It was kinda like a donut but in an open shape. I had one bite and it was delicious. You can get them plain or filled with cream and different flavors. We had a cinnamon sugar one. It would be really rich if you added other things to it.
I wish we had had more time in the market as we really didn’t get to look at all the wares they were selling.
After that we got on the bus and were driven to Vienna, Austria. It was a long four plus hour drive with one potty stop that we had to pay $1 to use the facilities.
Crossing the borders to different countries is a breeze. We did go through security checks but didn’t get stopped.
We finally got to our cruise ship around 5:15. The check-in process went fairly smoothly and it didn’t take too long for them to bring our luggage to the room. Our room is a bit smaller than a normal hotel room and the shower is about half the size of a normal shower but lots of closet and dresser space. We get to stay here for three nights.
We had a safety meeting at 6:15. We sat towards the back and could barely hear the tour guide talking. We yelled for them to turn it up but nothing happened. When he would talk with the mic close to his mouth we could kinda hear him but he kept forgetting to do that.
I finally had enough and left. No use sitting and not getting anything out of it. I mentioned to the desk person we couldn’t hear and in five minutes told me all I needed to know.
When I got to my room the light to the door would come on but I couldn’t get the door to open. I went back to the front desk and someone came with me. He had trouble getting it open too. He said he would report it to maintenance.
I am skipping dinner tonight as I am not hungry and if something else was to go wrong I might explode. I am in time-out for a bit.
The housekeeping guy just came to the door to ask if I needed anything for the night. I asked for two more towels and got two bottles of water. ……. One of those types of days.
I didn’t sleep much again last night and know I am cranky due to lack of sleep. Two nights in a row I only got about two or three hours of sleep. I found it impossible to sleep on the bus.
I’m sure that if I can get a good night’s sleep it will be a better day tomorrow.
I am sending off a big bag of laundry I need done tomorrow so it will be back the next day. That should do me till I get home. I may need to have a couple shirts washed as I purposely left three behind in hotel rooms. They are way too big for me and I didn’t want to bother taking them home. I forgot I might need to wear them one more time on this trip.
Budapest is a beautiful old city. The architecture is amazing and I wish we could have had the time to go into some of the churches. We only had a three hour tour of the city and barely got to see the highlights. One could spend several days here seeing it all.
Tomorrow we are to go to Bratislava for a tour. It is a bus ride of 1 1/2 hours. I will probably stay behind. I am peopled out and need a rest day. Not sure I can handle being in a bus for three hours tomorrow. We have an even longer bus ride the next day.
We ran into a lady that was on our tour last year when we went to India and Nepal. How weird is that? She wasn’t one of my favorites from that trip but we talked for a few minutes. She is a nurse in a prison back east and takes three to four big trips a year.
I think I will take a shower and go to bed. Nicole is at dinner. We have met a few other women that she is having dinner with. I just couldn’t go tonight.
I will continue to practice good self-care and take care of myself and make this trip into what I need.
I am not at all impressed with the Gate One Tour Guide for this part of the trip. He is inpatient and almost rude when I have talked to him. Nothing is his fault and there is nothing he can do to make it right. Wonder why he is here then?
I am cranky and tired. Time to go to bed and wake up and remember how blessed I am to have this experience. I need to lower my expectations and get into the flow.
Grateful for a safe bus journey today, grateful to get to see Budapest, and grateful for a fun lunch.