Blanca & Ian's Travels Hungary Trip Report - 2007
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This
trip was a homecoming for my Hungarian wife. She left as a child -
hay wagon over the Austrian border - and her only trip back had been 33
years ago during the dark days of Communism. This trip was a
combination of plain ole touristing mixed with family visits in various
towns & villages sprinkled over northwestern Hungary.
We
booked Aeroplan Reward flights with Star Alliance partners & used
Hilton Honors Points for some of the hotel stays. Planning was
started a year in advance with flights & hotels booked at that
time. Our surprise trip to China in February (see China) had threatened
to to derail this one, but we decided to follow through. |
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Hungary Trip Pages
Budapest The capital of Hungary |
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Eger
Wine & history |
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Győr
Family Time (And some nice things to see too!) |
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Vienna
A visit to the Hapsburgs |
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Sopron
More Family Time (And more sites!) |
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Budapest Take 2
Last photo opps |
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Lunch in
Warsaw
A frenzied stopover |
Map of our travels - red dots were places we
visited
Conclusion: Wow. We loved it. As I said in the preface, this was arranged as a family visit/return home for my wife & my expectations were not that high. I stand corrected. Hungary is a vibrant country with extremely hospitable people. It has literally been at the crossroads of so much of Europe's history. And it has so many incredible things to see & do that I feel that we have just scratched the surface. Hungary is a country that is slowly rebuilding after the devastation of the World War & the deprivations of the repressive Communist regime that followed. Compared to Austria & its other wealthier neighbors, it's palaces, monuments & museums are all a bit faded right now. However, that is just short term. They are proud & determined & we can expect great things in the future. Buda Castle, for example, has been rebuilt 86 times. Now that is resolve. Our relatives, embraced us with open arms. Babi & Béla, Erika & Feri & Etus & Imre welcomed us into their homes & showed us incredible generosity. We can't thank you enough. And
Hungarian food? Well, suffice it to say, that we ate well. The
restaurants that we visited were great & we enjoyed every meal. In
particular though, our hosts proved to us that a Hungarian kitchen can
turn out delicious meals & it was a privilege to be your guests. I
will be writing to you for recipes. We
thank you. |