Prague, Vienna and Budapest for less than 1000€! - 4

BUDAPEST

When we arrived in Budapest, around lunch time, we didn't immediately liked what we saw. It looked a bit sleazy, and we saw clearly that Hungary was poorer than the other two countries we had visited. The people at the information desk (which didn't look an official place at all) didn't quite know how to get to the place where our hotel was located so gave us really confusing directions. We bought the Budapest card, which cost us 7500 florint (more or less 28€) but gave us access to all public transportation for 72h, as well as dicsounts on some places. As te information guys gave us bad directions, we took almost 3 hours to get to our hotel and walked for a while under a burning, merciless sun. We weren't at all in a good mood when we got there. But then we lightened up as the recepcionist told us that for our prolonged stay (4 nights) they would give us their appartment with jacuzzi. Well, it wasn't an appartment, just a room a bit bigger than the normal rooms, with mini-bar and a bigger bathroom with jacuzzi. That was nice. Also, this hotel cost us only 19€ per night (double bedroom), breakfast included!

So, once more, don't exchange more than you need at the station. Just change the sufficient amount for the public transportation ticket. Then exchange the rest in the change booths in the city.

I must say I liked Budapest a lot. For starters, I felt almost at home. I don't know how to explain this, but I felt more at home there than in Vienna or Prague. Secondly, the people are very friendly. Even if many of them don't speak english, all of them try to help you and are nice to you.

We were lucky enough to catch a bit of a show integrated in a music festival. It was right in the centre of Budapest. Lots of tables were put one next to the other and young and new sit there drinking beer and eating sausages while a band whose name I can't remember played a kind of progressive music. When they started playing reggae we left (nothing against reggae!).

In Budapest we visited the National Gallery, the Castle (we just walked around the exterior part of it), the Tabán gardens, Gellért Hill, Citadel, the Opera House (this time we just went inside and looked around the hall but didn't take the guided tour), the City Park, Férenc tér, the Parliament (we didn't go inside), Váci Street, Frank Zappa Café, Saint István Basilica (we didn't go in), Széchenyi bridge.

The National Gallery is very interesting. It doesn't really have many famous names, but it has some paintings that show different approaches to art than those we are used to seeing in more famous galeries.

The Gellért Hill and Tabán gardens ar every nice, but the Citadel isn't worth visiting... Just two or three restaurants and pubs, lots of souvenir tents and the walls of the once exciting Citadel.

A tip in the food department: there's a really cheap place to eat in on the Buda side, on the Bartók Bela ut. where you can eat well and plenty. We had lunch there twice!

And since I've no trace of inspiration right now, and I have postponed this post for way too long, I'm ending here. If you would like to know more, just mail me!

Prague, Vienna and Budapest for less than 1000€! - 3

VIENNA

We arrived at Vienna Sudbanhof train station a bit later than expected. A really friendly "information guy" at the train station explained us the way to get to our hotel. It was easy to get from the city centre to our hotel and vice versa. Our hotel was on Geblergasse and to get there you should go to the U6 line and get out at Alser Strasse. We did buy a 72-hour ticket here, since we had to take more public transportation here than in Prague (it's a much bigger city...). The hotel was nice, the breakfast was good (they had little packages of Nutella too!) but breakfast was not included so we had to spend 5€ more per person. Ah!, and the only lift was reaaally slow. Anyway, a good choice, altough a bit expensive: 51,5€ per night (double bedroom).

I don't quite remember the chronology of the events, but in Vienna we saw - the Stephansdom, the StaatsOper, the Kunsthistoriches Museum (Art History Museum), Schloss Schonbrun, Hofburg Palace (including Kaiserappartments, Sisi Museum and Silver Chamber), Kriminal Museum, Kapuzinergruft and we also strolled through some really nice gardens. What we DID NOT see, but you can consider going if you have the time (and no budget limit!): the Belvedere, the Albertina, the Natural History Museum, the Secession Building and the Freud Museum (just to name a few... you have lots to see in Vienna!)

We saw the Stephansdom a bit in a hurry. There was a mass being celebrated at the time, so we didn't feel quite comfortable rummaging about and we didn't go there again, which was a shame.

The StaatsOper is really something. You have guided tours 3 or 4 times per day, so check the schedule at the Opera's entrance to plan your day. Trips can be in English, Spanish or German (you also have Italian but not so frequently). Our guide was really friendly. He told us the enormous budget of the Opera (I don't quite remember the amount), which included the salaries of 400 employees and that more than 50% of that was payed by the Government. Tickets can go from 3€ (standing places, you can get those on the day of the show if you stand in the line specified for that some 90 minutes before it starts) to 196€ (presidential cabinet). You can also rent some rooms inside the opera for the intervals of the operas (which are more or less 15 minutes) to fraternise with friends (you will pay a lot for those precious 15 minutes). We went backstage and saw the people there setting it all up for the show that night and also we took seats in the audience which was really nice. Accidentally we discovered that the operas were projected on the square on one side of the opera so we went and see Faust by Gounod and it was really fabulous to see all the people there, sitting on the floor with improvised chairs or no chairs at all, young and old, men, women, and even a guy recording the whole thing probably to sell it on the streets. After the guided tour to the Opera, we passed through the souvenir shop (they always make you do that you know...) and they were playing a really cool CD, I believe the name was Classic meets Cuba and I so have to get it! If you take the guided tour to the Opera you are also entitled to go to the Opera's museum. It's a really, really small museum - it has only one room! - but it's nice, you can see lots of pictures of former artist of the Vienese Opera and also the costumes they wore at several operas.

We must've spent some three to four hours in te Kunsthistoriches Museum. It's really nice and it has lots of paintings from famous painters like Van Dyck or Rubens. The building itself is beautiful. you have a cafe in the middle where you can take a break to regain strength (that was what we did - we ate a wonderful mushroom soup and a not so wonderful red fruit cake).

You can't miss the Hofburg Palace. Here you can see the appartments of Franz Joseph and Sisi (which includes her bedroom filled with gymnastic objects - she liked to keep fit), the royal cutlery, porcelain, etc. and also the Sisi museum with a well-conceived exhibition.

If you visit Schloss Schonbrun after visiting the Hofburg Palace, the appartments won't be a surprise for you. So here what really counts is the gardens. These are huge and very beautiful. Climb the Gloriette for a great view of the city (you will also do a bit of exercise!). Try your way on the maze and labyrinth and experiment your musical side in the music platforms in the middle of the maze. Ah, I almost forgot! Visit Schloss Schonbrun first of all because at entrance they give you a booklet with discounts on other sites.

The Kapuzinergruft contains the tombs of several emperors. The first tombs, for example the one of Maria Theresa, are sumptuous and grand, but as we progress in time, you can see the richness of the tombs becoming less and less magnificent. Here are the tombs of Franz Joseph and his beloved Sisi.

And now for something completely different... The Kriminal museum is a "different" museum. So maybe the price isn't so good, but here you can see some of the creepiest crime stories of the city. The museum includes impressing photographs and even more impressing heads (yes, human heads!) and face-masks of criminals as well as crime objects. Everything is in German only and you have to pay 2€ for some pages in English (these are well-written and give you some information, but I believe 2 € is too much!).

As you can see, Vienna is a city with lots to see. You won't regret staying there for 3 days. Even if in the end you don't feel like visiting more museums or monuments, you will definitely enjoy the beautiful gardens that exist all through the city.

If you're going to Budapest next, you can buy your ticket at any train station (we bought ours when we arrived in Vienna Sudbanhof). The train leaves from Vienna Westbanhof (which was convenient for us, since this station is in the same underground line as our hotel - U6) and the ticket is cheap - 20 something euros.

(pictures soon)

Prague, Vienna and Budapest for less than 1000€! - 2

PRAGUE

As we arrived in Prague, we each exchanged 100€ to czech korunas. Now that, I tell you, was not very wise. My first tip for you is this: only exchange sufficient money for the trip till the hotel and maybe the ticket for public transportation. The rest you can exchange as you go on exchange booths which you can find all over the city. At the airport they'll charge you a 2 to 3% commission that you can avoid outside.

Another useful tip - don't buy the 24-hour ticket as it will cost you more. A 24-hour ticket will cost you 100 ck and one single ticket will cost you 18 ck. This single ticket only allows you to go through 5 stations, but that should be enough if you choose a hotel not very far from the centre. It would take you 6 5-station trips a day for the 24-hour ticket to be worth it and believe you me, the city is too small for 6 trips in a single day. We only took the metro 2 times a day usually - one to get to the centre, another one to get to the hotel.

Now about the hotel: it was a disappointment. Besides the fact they charged us 3 times the price of the room (on which we were later on reimbursed), when we arrived the room wasn't completely tidied. The breakfast was taken in a little hall just in front of some rooms, which must have been a bit irritating for people sleeping there. So, these 30€ a night for a double bedroom weren't that well spent.

More important, what to see in Prague?

There is the Castle, with the St. Vitus Cathedral inside, and a couple of other places to see (like the golden lane with the house where Kafka lived for some time). You can walk around the castle in the streets of the Malá Strana (they call it Lesser Town in English, but I believe Little Town would be more accurate) where you can find some more interesting sights to see.

Then you have the Old Town with the Jewish Square, a rich and deligthful to see part of the town, well-kept and beautiful. There you can visit the old-new synagogue (we didn't) and the Old Jewish Cemetery (we saw it from outside, it's really an incredible sight because, as the Jewish couldn't bury their relatives elsewhere, the cemetery is full of funeral plaques one over another). And, of course, don't forget the Old Town Square, with the Astronomical Clock right next to it. If you go with 5 or 6 people you can visit the city in a multi-person bike. As we were only two we didn't do this, but we saw many people doing it and they seemed to be having fun. The streets around the Square are very nice so take a while to rummage around. Don't forget to stroll over the Charles Bridge and, if you feel like it, climb one of the towers for a nice view of the city.

You also have to visit the Wenceslas's Square, where you can see the statue of the mounted saint. This part of the town is not so pretty (and you can see some strange people there), but it's an important part of the city so you shouldn't overlook it. Here you can also find souvenir shops but wander around to find the best prices.

If you are going to Vienna next, you can go to one of the train stations quite easily, since there is a metro stop there. One ticket to Vienna without seat reservation is around 38€ and really you should try going without seat reservation, since there are always a couple of seats free.

update: as I lost the card on which the Prague pictures were, I've only got this one picture we took with the other card, already at the train station, waiting for the train which would lead us to Vienna. Portuguese people will understand the joke.

Prague, Vienna and Budapest for less than 1000€!

I realise I've been away for (waaay) too long, but I'm back with a great deal for you guys: the european capitals for less than 1000€. Also, I'll be giving you some useful tips for this trip.

For us it all started back in Lisbon (I'm writing on my notebook on London Heathrow where we're waiting patiently for our flight which has been delayed for more than an hour...). We booked our flights and acommodation through the internet. The flights were bought on edreams, the hotels on booking.com and yeego. The total for these was 525€ (including 3 nights in Prague, 4 nights in Vienna and 4 nights in Budapest). Actually, you could save some money here, since I believe one night less on each of the cities would be just fine (for our purpose, which was to get to know the key spots of each city).

Still concerning these first expenses, we did have a problem with the charging of the first hotel - they charged us 3 times the total amount of our stay. The booking.com guys were impeccable and contacted the hotel immediately and told us that if we weren't able to work it out with the hotel when we got there, to just contact them (for free from the hotel). In the end, the hotel did realise they had maken a mistake and reimbursed us (or so I hope, I'm only checking my balance when i finally get to Lisbon tonight - update: I did check it and it was all okay).

Now, on to the cities.