12 Days, 6 Cities - Budapest

From Munich Airport we flew to Budapest via Berlin Tegel Airport. I add this somewhat useless detail because I'd like to make a comment about the upcoming Berlin Airport. 

When booking airline tickets, you're given the 3-letter IATA code for the airport - this is important for multi-airport cities! For example, Lufthansa flies from Munich to London but going to both Heathrow (LHR) and City (LCY), and it's good to know in order to make travel arrangements. When I made the booking, it said *Berlin Airport - BER*. I was a bit *huh?* since I knew the two active airports in Berlin were Tegel (TXL) and Schoenefeld (SXF)...what the hell was BER?! Turns out they're building a new airport to combine the two and it was scheduled to open on June 6th. We were planning to fly on the 14th. I mean, I know this is Germany but isn't that cutting it a bit close? The new airport wasn't ready on time and is now scheduled to open in 2013. After flying into Terminal A and rushing to Terminal C, I can really see that the new airport is needed. Terminal C is like a shed and Ma and Pa questioned if we were really heading to the correct place given that we had to leave the building proper and go outside in order to access it. 

Moving on! Budapest hadn't been high on my list of places to visit but it came highly recommended by people saying it was beautiful. I'd like to agree - it is beautiful! 

Our hotel, a converted Art Deco building.

Cool on the inside as well!

I hadn't much time to do research on the various cities we were visiting but luckily Pooey has visited them all and wrote a guide instructing us on what to do and, more importantly, how to get there. First things first, we took the metro and then a bus to the Buda side to visit Castle Hill/Buda Castle. The palace had been largely ruined after WWII (check out this photo!), and the bus dropped us off at the rear of the building where we could see some archaeological sites.

It was a lovely day

I can't remember exactly what this building was, I think old barracks?

But archaeological sites aren't really that impressive to look at for the parentals but we eventually walked around to the other side, and through this gate...

And saw this gorgeous view of the Danube, Chain Bridge, and Pest side of the city. 

The rebuilt dome and monument to Eugene of Savoy

Oooh, atmospheric!

The Castle Hill Funicular is the second oldest in the world!

We then walked down the hill to Fisherman's Bastion

St. Matthias Church

St. Stephen I of Hungary. There was a guy with an eagle with whom we took photos. Alas, the (amusing) pics are on Ma's camera. 

It looks Mediaeval but was actually built in the late 19th/early 20th century (and also destroyed during the war).

Spot the Mooey!

Great view of the Hungarian Parliament from Fisherman's Bastion.

We decided to take another bus back into the city and it conveniently dropped us off right on the Pest side of the Chain Bridge where we could finally see what we'd been standing on

Buda Castle. Very impressive

And Fisherman's Bastion!

The bridge was considered an engineering wonder when it was opened...in 1849!

The Pest side struck me as being younger and newer. Some of the vistas down the streets reminded me of Paris. Here we visited Heroes Square (Hosok tere) and the City Park. 

Nice set of Art Nouveau gates

Heroes Square - moody!

Looking back at Andrassy Ave. from Heroes Square

Unfortunately I didn't know who these heroes were supposed to be. Wikipedia tells me they are Magyar chieftains. 

The City Park Lake.

After this I went swimming in the Szechenyi Thermal Baths which I highly recommend but didn't take any photos of. There was a pool in there that forced everyone to swim in a circle around a central spa bath that was quite trippy. While sitting in the spa, I started chatting with a French girl from Normandy and an American student from Pittsburgh. When she said she didn't like Americans, the guy replied, "You'd be surprised how often I've heard that since I've been in Europe." Hmmm. 

For dinner, we again went to where Pooey recommended, Kiskakukk, and we pretty much ate what she did.

A relaxed Ma and Pa.

Grilled goose liver with Tokaji sauce.

Smoked salmon with cream cheese.

Hungarian cold cut plate. Mmmm, sausages.

Pa's grilled fish. Wow, it's a WHOLE fish!

Ma had a hankering for rice. She said her chicken and paprika actually tasted a bit like Asian stir-fry!

And my rindergoulash mit nudeln!

After dinner, we walked along the Danube and did a lot more *ooohing* at how pretty the city is with all the lights. Unfortunately, I'm not very good at holding still for the night photos.

Fisherman's Bastion all lit up

And this was pretty much the only other photo that wasn't blurry :(

Next stop - Wien!

12 Days, 6 Cities - Munich Airport

The title of this post hopefully explains why I only took half days off while the family were in Muenchen - my parents and I were going to embark on an epic journey spanning five countries in 12 days. The longest vacation I've taken since moving to Germany, it was going to be just me and the folks crossing Western Europe. Pooey wasn't coming because she lacked the necessary funds to come along (saving for wedding), so we said our goodbyes at Munich Airport.


Now, maybe I'm biased but I think Munich Airport is pretty damn spiffy. The sixth busiest in Europe in 2011, the current airport has been in operation since 1992 with the second terminal opening a decade later. Because it's so new, it has some pretty nifty things like a biergarten in the plaza that separates the two terminals. The plaza is also used for other things, such as a Christmas market (!!!), but at this particular visit, a giant screen and seating had been set up to allow visitors to watch the matches from the UEFA 2012 Euros, for which Germany was a favourite to win. 

There were also little stalls set up for people to buy snackies while they watched that were adorned with fussball-related quotes. This one is paraphrased from Gary Lineker saying, "A match goes for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win."

Bubble tea is suddenly really popular in Munich to the extent that McDonald's is now serving them in the McCafe. It...doesn't taste the way I prefer it - it's not Asian style. 

There's also a permanent stand selling American-style hot dogs that also sells currywurst

Pooey sure loves her currywurst!

While we were at the airport, it occurred to me that there was no real reason why Pooey couldn't come - I could have subsidised her tickets and hotel rooms aren't much more expensive when you move from 3 people to 4. She said she wouldn't feel right with me doing that. After listening to Ma and Pa bicker the way that people who have been together for a long time do, I turned to Poo and said, "I will PAY you to come with us. At least meet us in Barcelona rather than Paris!" To this she gave an evil laugh, refused again, and wished me luck. And so,the journey began!

Prost! (wie die Eltern, so die Tochter!)

A visit from Ma & Pa (and Pooey)

The afternoon after I arrived back from Spain, I furiously cleaned my apartment and changed the sheets. Why? Because Ma, Pa, and Pooey were arriving to stay for a few days! This has been the longest time I've ever been away from Ma - I hadn't seen her since I left Munich 18 months ago. Well, that's not completely true. We have had awkward Skype conversations, usually conducted while I'm at work meaning that she tells me to get back to work. And okay, I haven't seen Pa in over a year but he visited me 6 months after I moved here so it's been less traumatic :P


Having spent a couple of days in London to recover from jetlag, Ma & Pa were going to spent a couple of days in Munich further recovering. Unfortunately (for reasons what will become apparent later), I was only able to take half days off to hang out with Ma & Pa. Luckily Pooey knew what she was doing and had an idea of the places they should see, and more importantly, the things they should eat!  (The photos are therefore from Pooey.)


First stop, Viktualienmarkt!

People in the biergarten.

Oh, hurrow!

Patiently waiting for some scraps.

Ma was pretty impressed by the crackling...

...so much so that they bought a slab to eat.

Unfortunately, the weather wasn't really on our side. We had organised to meet at Odeonsplatz to walk through the Englischergartens but it was pouring rain by the time I made it there. This was ultimately not such a bad thing because Ma told me she had been awake for 23 hours the previous day due to jetlag. After ushering them home to sleep, me and Pooey went out to dinner with Swisschris. 


The next day, the sun was (kinda) shining and a visit to the Chinesischer Turm Biergarten was finally made!

A schweinshaxn was ordered...

as was a currywurst.

Pa has a go at eating the haxn

Time for a lovely postprandial stroll!

At the Monopteros

Compare this view to this one taken in February!

Unfortunately the weather didn't hold and Ma had to help Pa get rugged up for the rain

Look at how high the Schwabinger Bach was!

Nice umbrella, Pooey!

Apparently Ma & Pa were amused by the number of ducks and geese in the gardens, and how delicious they look. 

I'll take that one!

And finally all the way back at the Residenz.

For dinner, we decided to go to Swisschris' local Viet restaurant because, lord knows, Asian food would be unlikely to be had until Paris, and my parents unamusingly told the waiters who worked there of my unattached status. >.<

Pooey's Hu Tieu

My Bun Bo Hue.

Only in Germany are the Eroticshops decorated with ugly cartoons of dominatrices...which are then closed at 8pm!

And next, the beginning of the Epic 2012 Trip. 

Guggenheim Bilbao

Unlike the last time, when the queue into the Guggeheim Bilbao stretched out of the building and onto the terrace, Hito, Mel, and I were prepared by pre-booking tickets! It turns it that wasn't necessary because the weather was still gloomy and there were not so many tourists around. 

Ohai again, Puppy!

Close up pic of Puppy's fur

Cool building, bro.

The interesting shapes don't stop with the exterior!

One of the criticisms I'd heard of the gallery was that it's permanent collection itself isn't that great, while the visiting exhibitions are more interesting. I slightly beg to differ. I quite liked the permanent installations we saw...

Such as Koons' Tulips. So soft and squishy looking despite being made of steel.

And from another angle!

Richard Serra's A Matter of Time

Walking in, around, and amongst the piece is pretty trippy!

I can't remember what this was called but it was pretty cool as well. LED lights with moving sentences in English, Spanish, and Basque

At this point, I was stopped by a guard who told me no photography was allowed. This is a real shame because the temporary exhibition was a collection of David Hockney's recent works. It was really fascinating, not only because Hockney really is a great artist, but also about how he integrates old work, e.g. Claude's Sermon on the Mount, with new technology e.g. using an app on a iPad to create these amazing canvasses. I was also particularly impressed with the videos showing the progression of a painting on the app. My pictures don't look that good when I scribble colour on top of colour!


And then afterwards, before heading out to the airport, we ate one last Basque meal.

Here is my tripe with chorizo.

Adios, Bilbao y San Sebastian. ¡hasta luego!