Budapest - Post Report Question and Answers
What have been the highlights of your time in this country? Best trips or experiences?
History is alive in Budapest. You can feel it everywhere, see it everywhere, because many significant events were so recent. Much of it is sad (Hungary has landed on the wrong side of history many, many times) but so very important. There is a vibrancy, an energy to Budapest that is intoxicating. You want to learn more, experience more, go deeper. Our highlights included seeing all the famous sites at all times of the day and night (we were addicted to seeing the Parliament at night), exploring local Hungarian restaurants, and finding our favorite craft beer breweries and pubs. If you are a wine aficionado, there are wine regions to explore and new grapes to try. If you can attend the annual Mohacs Festival in Feb/Mar. it will be memorable. A day trip to Lake Balaton is not to be missed. With all the festivals, you will never run out of things to do. A pig so revered it has a festival (Mangalica), donut festival, beer and wine festivals, chimney cake festival, you name it. And, of course, the famous Christmas markets. Hit them all! The musical fountains during the warmer months on Margit Island are a treat. Low-cost airlines, Wizz Air and Ryan Air, operate out of Budapest. You can fly throughout the region for extremely low prices, as long as you are willing to put up with low-cost airlines. We flew from Sarajevo to Budapest for $12 each. Visit places like Romania and Bulgaria in winter and you’ll find similar airfares. For the true adventurer, you can get a direct flight to Kiev and take a tour of Chernobyl. Most of Europe is just a short (often direct) flight away. As for trains, it is 2.5 hours to Bratislava, 3 hours to Vienna, 6 hours to Salzburg, 6.5 hours to Prague, and 8 hours to Munich. Many people at post drove to nearby Italy (Trieste), Poland, Croatia, and Slovenia. Opportunities to explore central and eastern Europe are endless. An unexpected highlight came during the World Cup. Big screens were set up at Liberty Park, and games were shown each night. We know nothing about soccer, but sitting among all the fans, having food truck food, and seeing their excitement was priceless. Be part of the party! - Feb 2020
Food, the city, traveling within and out of the country. Too many trips to count. Cheap air travel available and many places to drive to. - Nov 2018
Easily touring the rest of Europe (many countries within 2-4-hour driving distance and everything else within a 1-2-hour flight). - Dec 2017
Easily touring the rest of Europe (much within driving distance and everything else within a few hour flight or less). - Jan 2012
Great work opportunities, excellent travel (both within Hungary and in the region), making good friends. - Apr 2010
