"A week in Budapest and Venice will ease the Bite of it... All I want is to smile in Spite of it.."
doesn't quite work as a song lyric, but Maybe Billy Strayhorn will let it slide....
This trip was inspired by a weekend Insurance CEO Conference in Venice.... the Budapest part was added due to our sense of Adventure, and interest in seeing a city and country we've never experienced.
So here we are at the Beautiful Gresham Palace Four Seasons Hotel in Budapest for 5 nights.
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| Strolling the "Chain Bridge" with Gresham Palace Four Seasons beyond |
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| Gresham Palace was originally an insurance headquarters. Bombed during the war and later Rebuilt for a hotel . |
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| Looking toward Buda from the hotel |
We arrived on Saturday morning, the 11th May. We spent all of our first day here resting from the flight. Our hotel is on the "Pest" side of the Danube. Our window looks out at the "Chain Bridge",
the oldest one in town. We strolled through a busy pedestrian area full of shops and outdoor restaurants.
It was a lovely warm afternoon, with everyone out enjoying it. Lots of families. Lunch is at "Cyrano"
at an outdoor table and Ray tries the Chicken Paprika. After lunch a stroll across the Chain Bridge and over to the "Buda" side of town. There is a funicular to the top of a steep embankment with a long line. We didn't have the energy for that, so we took a massage at the hotel spa instead.... Dinner was at the hotel restaurant. Ray loved his veal and the Mediterranean vege mousse and cream cheese with pesto were yummy. Dinner was followed by the evening Boat cruise on the Danube to see the town
illuminated. The evening was chilly and we were glad the boat was enclosed. Parliament and the royal palace and all the bridges looked Great at night, but Ray and I could hardly stay awake. The jet lag hit us hard on that first day....
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| Parliament at night |
SUNDAY, May 12th was an all day tour of the city with our guide, Richard Bogdan. We began in Buda, the oldest part of the city. We drove to the historic Castle District . As we strolled around Gellert Hill , Richard gave us a brief but detailed history of Hungary since Prince Arpad and the seven MAGYAR Tribes arrived in the Carpathian basin and established Hungary in 896. We learned about
the Roman occupation, mongol and Turkish invasions, The Habsburgs and Hungary's era as part of the Austro - Hungarian Empire in the 1800s. Then the first world War. Hungary was on the losing side, and the former empire was broken into pieces. After the Second World war, the Communist Russians invaded Hungary and took over, bringing their brand of "Liberty". We stood under the Statue of Liberty at the Citadel Fortress while Richard told us about the Russians....There was a famous uprising against the Russian army in 1956, but the Russians didn't really leave Hungary until about 1990. Hungary joined the European Economic Union in 1994.
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| "Pest" on the right bank...... Business and shopping plus mostly less expensive housing |
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| More exclusive homes in the historic hills of "Buda" |
We visited a tiny museum on the site of a medieval synagogue from the 15th century, complete with tombstones marked in Hebrew. Midmorning Coffee was at "Ruszwurm"the oldest "confectionary" in town. Richard advised we try a "creamy", which is an amazing cream cake made from their special recipe. Richard lived near here and came with his family as a child.
We walked by the famous St. Matthias Church as the Sunday bells were ringing. The interior is being renovated and we were advised to return after 2015 to see it in its fully restored glory. Then on to the "Fisherman's Bastion", a colonnaded walkway with great views of the city and river below. This old wall was guarded by the fisherman's guild in old times. No, you can't fish from there without a very long rod.
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| Charming Buda street scene. |
We made it to our noon tour of the Parliament Building. Amazing inside, and we learned a bunch more history.. my brain was starting to ache!
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| Parliament from the Fishermans Bastion lookout |
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| The grand staircase inside Parliament. They let Ray take photos everywhere! |
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| Beautiful art and pristine painted walls throughout Parliament! |
Lunch was at a local favorite called "2 Saracens". We ordered local beer and 3 platters of Tapas: meat, fish and vege. All delicious! Then strolled the Budapest Theater district, which is near it's famous opera house. We're told it has the second best acoustics in Europe after La Scala in Rome. We bought our Michelin Guide in a historic bookstore that was once a department store. Beautiful arched ceilings on the top floor which was the old shoe department!
We then drove to see City Park and the Szechenyi Baths, which is a famous place with yellow neoclassical buildings and vast open air mineral baths. Very healing apparently. We saw the day hospital lobby with great mosaics on walls and ceilings. You need a prescription to go for treatment there. Near the baths was the castle from the millennium festivities in 1896. It's 3 separate wings depict 3 major styles of architecture: romanesque, gothic, and baroque. It was cool to see them all in the same place.
Our last stop was a drive along Andrassy Boulevard and many foreign embassies to the famous "Heroes Square" surrounded by beautiful buildings including the fine arts museum.
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| The "Bubble Man" on Heroes Square looking at the Hall of Arts |
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| Heroes Square monuments |
Dinner Sunday night was at "Gundel", located next door to the city Zoo. There was a 5 piece orchestra playing music all evening. Gundel had been recommended, but we were not impressed by the food. Good foie gras and Hungarian Tokay wine.
Monday, May 13th..... Our driving tour of the region of Hungary called the "Danube Bend". Located about 150km north of Budapest, its a place where the river make a huge curve and almost doubles back on itself. Our first stop is the town of "Esztergom" and it's famous Basilica.... the largest in the country.
Not quite the tallest. We'll see that one later.
Beneath the church is a large crypt, which has been made int a gift shop and wine tasting room. Lucky for us! We sampled several interesting Hungarian wines.... before lunch!!
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| Outside the 19th century Basilica |
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| Looking to the Back with the organ |
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| This painting, a copy if Titian's "the assumption", is said to be the largest picture ever painted on a single piece of canvas. It is indeed very tall. |
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| Looking out over the town of Esztergom |
Next on to Visegrad, a very old town dominated by the Romans 2,000 years ago.... We really just passed through and stopped to look at the amazing vistas of the river and beyond. At that point, I was so sleepy I stayed in the car. Ray has much more endurance and determination not to miss a good photo. Bless him!!
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| The DAnube river looking out from above Visegrad |
Our final stop was the town of " Szentendre ". Pronounced like St. Andrey. We got there at about 1pm and headed straight for lunch! Richard, our guide, knows the family that runs "Aranysarkany" ( the golden dragon in English).. A small room with old tables and an open kitchen in the back. We LOVED the food! First beef Goulash in bread bowls. He kept refilling with a rich red broth.
Ray had a pork loin stew, Richard a roast venison, and I had honey roasted goose with mashed potatoes and rich red cabbage stewed in red wine! All supremely tender and luscious! And we found a very good Hungarian red wine also. A VERY satisfying lunch. And the best part, the chef came out and practiced his English on us!
Szentendre is a quaint , artsy Baroque town . Plenty of shops, cafes and galleries. We stopped in at The museum of acclaimed ceramic artist, Kovacs MArgit, and the gallery of a guy who did miniatures so small you needed a microscope. The sun came out and the afternoon turned beautiful!!
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| Orthodox Cathedral tower |
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| Town square |
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| Another view of town square |
Monday evening was the Folk music and dance show just around the corner from our hotel in the DAnube Palace. Very colorful and lively stuff. Sorry, no photos. Just the concert hall.....
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| DAnube Palace theater |
Tuesday, May 14th...... This morning we visited several city highlights! First the Central Market Hall.
Built as a market for wholesale only for the millennium in 1896, this is now a major shopping area.
The designer was Gustav Eiffel of the Paris tower..... It is quite something, and the cleanest, most organized market indoors or out we've seen so far....
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| Central Market, Budapest |
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Richard showing me the best Paprika to buy..... now I can make proper Goulash!
We also bought some Hungarian Foie Gras to take home. |
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| Vege stand with paprika |
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| Preserved veges all displayed so cute! |
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| Market exterior |
Then to the Jewish Quarter, and the Dohany Synagogue, largest in Europe and second only to the Emmanuel Synagague in New York.
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| Synagogue facade |
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| Ray loves angles |
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The interior..... Actor Tony Curtis ( real name Bernie Schwartz) donated and raised the money to restore this temple.
It was originally built in 1850s in the Byzantine - Moorish style |
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| More elaborate than most! Jews from all over the world come to be married here. |
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| A few Christian elements were built in, like this pulpit. |
Outside is the Raoul Wallenberg Memorial Park containing a Holocaust Memorial with beautiful weeping willows made of granite and steel.
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| Weeping Willow Sculpture in the Holocaust Memorial |
Interesting idea... somebody took a ruined building ( bombed out during the war, as were many here)
and instead of tearing it down to rebuild it, they transformed it int a big bar. the "RUIN BAR"
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| Ruin Bar Exterior |
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| Ruin Bar interior.... It is now a trendy place. We were there just prior to opening on a Tuesday. |
Last stop was the Famous ST STEPHEN'S BASILICA.......located just a few blocks from the Four Seasons Hotel.
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| St Steven's in the glow of Sunset |
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| The Dome...... And Ray's artistic photo |
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Begun in 1851 and finished in 1906. The facade is relatively austere, but inside it is a blast of art, sculpture, saints and
angels. In the Neo Renaissance style. And kept remarkably pristine! |
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| One of thousands of amazing details! A veritable feast for the eye and the spirit! |
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| Looking toward the river from the church |
We headed off on our own for the afternoon. First LUNCH at Cafe Kor, just around the corner from Church. Simple place with fabulous Hungarian food. Ray had the Beef Stroganoff with potatoes.
We shared a cauliflower and chicken soup and I had Veal Paprikash with Noodles. This is where we found a wine we really loved......"Sauska" Cuvee 7, from Villany, 2009. Its a delicious blend of red grapes. Rich, round , soft, and warm.... Beautiful with our food!
After lunch a stroll to a nearby square to spot the American Embassy.
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| A stunning freize on a building in the square |
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| A cool opera poster |
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| American Embassy |
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| This building cleaned up very nicely. Some buildings here need a good sandblasting! |
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| Three Russian Ladies and their dogs. What a sight! They are ( all 6) posing for Ray! |
After our stroll, Ray went for a cigar, and I went coat shopping. While he smoked, I bought a jacket at Max Mara.
Dinner was at the Jewish family owned Restaurant I found in Food and Wine Magazine. Rosenstein.....Apparently others found it too as we were in a dining room with a group of alums from a University in Michigan.
The neighborhood was a little rough, but wonderful restaurant with super food. I ordered 4 things! The Jewish style egg salad, the escargots, the eggplant stuffed with veges, and the cepes mushrooms sauteed in olive oil. All Yummy!!! Ray had Goulash followed by a delicious foie gras in a brown sauce with potato croquettes and grapes and sliced apples, all roasted.
There was a guy named Junis who entertained us on the accordion. He could play everything... even jazz ! I sang along to quite a few of them, and gave him a way larger tip than I meant to. The money here is the forint.... 12,000 forints is about $50... and 24,000 is $100. Let's just say I got confused and he got lucky!!! He was a very happy man. And a super accordian player. He knew songs in every language! They gave us a little glass of schnaaps after dinner. That was a treat too! We recommend
Rosenstein.....
Wednesday, May 15th
Our last day in Budapest. I took the day off. Got a haircut, ate lunch at the Kyoto asian restaurant next to our hotel, walked around on a beautiful sunny day, our most pleasant so far! Then wrote this blog!
Ray , the intrepid one among us, did another day of touring. He went to see what is one of the largest lakes in all of Europe. Called Lake Balaton and it is south west of the city. He visited several Hungarian towns on the way and enjoyed the day.
The main event on Wednesday, our last evening in Budapest, was Dinner! We indulged in a Michelin Starred meal at Costas, about a 30 minute walk from out hotel. Very pleasant on a warm evening.
The restaurant is stylish with a big wall of wine coolers on display in the back room. Luckily Ray brought his good camera to dinner because these dishes are worthy of being included in this blog,
especially for our "foodies"!!
2 "Amuse" dishes from the chef. Both gorgeous!
We each ordered 3 courses , and dessert! slightly over the top , but such a culinary adventure!
We need to let the Zagat people know they need to give this restaurant a higher rating. It is EXcellEnt,
and highly recommended if you go. The other Michelin place in Budapest is called Onyx, and that is surely also wonderful.
Now on to VENICE............
Thursday, May 16th....... an early morning flight to VENICE , via Frankfurt. We had a special fare which required us to take Lufthansa all the way.
The purpose of this entire trip was to be in Venice for 2 & 1/2 days for a "Global Financial Services CEO Roundtable" conference for insurance Executives. It is sponsored by the McKinzie Consulting firm, and includes Insurance CEO's , spouses and guests from around the world.
Our hotel was the "Bauer Palladio Hotel and Spa" located on Guidecca Island, just across from the main city island. Guidecca is mostly residential, and quite peaceful. The real Venetians are here.
The hotel is a beautiful historical jewel, built in the 16th Century and designed by the famous Renaissance architect, Andrea Palladio. It was originally used as a home for young unmarried girls
to protect them from the sins of society, then later a jesuit monastery, an orphanage, and a finishing school. It was restored as a hotel in the past few decades. It has a true old world elegance, and fits well on Guidecca, the low key island.
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| The Facade of the Bauer Palladio Hotel on Guidecca |
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| The Bauer Palladio in it's neighborhood |
That Thursday was an amazing day in Venice. There was a storm and the winds blew the water high so that the islands were inundated. In some places, it was knee high on the campos! We did not have boots, so we took a short walk on Guidecca where we could dodge the big puddles. Our leaders wisely kept us at the Hotel for dinner and we had a lovely meal in the restaurant there with some other members of our group. Leonardo, from the Italian office of McKinzie, and his wife, Roberta, were two of our hosts. They dined with our group and he selected the wines for us. He knows and loves Italian wine and it was a beautiful dinner with a delicious "Amarone" wine.
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| Guidecca on a stormy afternoon... looking toward San Giorgio Maggiore |
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| Our Hotel looked across the lagoon to Santa Maria della Salute Cathedral |
Friday, May 19th...... Ray had meetings all day. I joined a guided walking tour for guests, beginning at St Marks Square. We first explored The famous St. Marks Basilica, Venice's Byzantine showplace, dating from the 11th century and honoring Venice's patron Saint. We learned so much from our guide.
I definitely was glad we had her, especially since private tours get to skip the long line to get in.....
The waters had fortunately receeded from yesterdays storm and we were able to walk freely all about the town, through the small "calli" ( tiny alleys) and past many lovely "Campos". The gondolas and tourists were out in force today! We visited the Church of Miracles, the Biggest church, Saint John and Paul from the outside, learned about Marco Polo as we visited the building where he probably grew up in the early 11th century, and strolled by the Venice opera house, "La Fenice". Fenice means Phoenix, and an apt name as it keeps rising from the ashes....Our walk was 3 hours long with one quick coffee break.
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| San Giorgio Maggiore with it's Campanile..... just down from our hotel on Guidecca |
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| San Giorgio Facade.... another Palladio design |
I spent the afternoon at the spa, which was just the perfect antidote to all the traveling and walking!
Dinner was at the beautiful "Pallazzo Pisani Moretta" on the Grand Canal..... built for a wealthy family in the XV th century... gothic on the outside and Baroque inside. It was a masked party and everyone was given a beautiful venetian mask! We saved ours and brought them home. Cocktails were on the main level and dinner upstairs. Just Beautiful!! A lovely Italian menu and wines were a Soave and an Amarone.. The whole group had a beautiful evening. Drinks in the hotel bar after. We didn't last long for that part. Sorry.
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| Beautiful light in Ray's shot as we cruised toward Pallazzo Pisani Moretta on Friday evening |
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| Masked Cocktails... none of the men could drink with their masks on, so We're happy we got this shot. |
Saturday, May 20th..... the CEOs had meetings in the morning. We guests had a coffee discussion with an economist, journalist, author from the London Financial times named Martin Wolf. He was one of the conferences guest speakers and gave us his perspective on the global financial situation, and it was not pretty. But he presented his concepts clearly and briefly ( thank You) and then answered our questions. I took a long walk on Guidecca to process all that, and enjoy a beautiful sunny morning in Venice!! YEAH!!! Stopped at a beautiful Cathedral there called "IL Rendentore", another Palladio masterpiece from the 16th century. Elegant!!
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| Guidecca scene..... very peaceful on this side of the Lagoon |
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Guidecca sidewalk borders the lagoon
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Saturday afternoon was a group excursion to 2 of Venice's famous islands. We had lunch on the island of Torcello, a good 40 minute boat ride from the hotel. "Logano Cippriani"was our restaurant, and lunch was yummy. Always 3 courses and wine of course. After lunch we strolled over to see the oldest church in Venice from the early 11th century. Spacious and open with beautiful floor to ceiling mosaics all around. It was just glorious. After a leisurely stroll back to the boat, walking past many Italian groups celebrating weddings, we rode over to Murano island to visit a special Glass showroom called "Archimede Segusto".... He was a true artist and the business is now run by his sons. There is a shop on the Piazza that sells his work. Worth seeing. Very artistic! Our hosts gave us all a bowl from his gallery to take home and it will be a treasured souvenir!
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| Boating past Burano, the island where lace is made |
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| Torcello.......Our group entering Locanda Cipriani for lunch on Saturday |
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| The oldest church in Venice is here on Torcello.... Beautiful mosaics inside! |
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| Torcello vineyard |
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| Approaching Murano for the glass gallery |
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| Murano Canal |
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| Cruising past the "cemetery" Island..... in The 18th century, Napolean came here. One of his good ideas was to require that people stop burying their dead around the churches. For sanitary reasons, he designated this the island for burial for everyone. |
We returned to the hotel by 5:30, just long enough for a short "toes up", and dress for dinner at the Pallazzo Grassi.
..... a beautiful Art museum on the grand Canal.... we toured a crazy art exhibit with modern paintings and turkish rugs all over the walls, dined on delicious Italian specialities and wine, and were serenaded by a pianist and 3 "real deal" Italian Tenors! What an evening!
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| This Pallazzo is directly across the Grand Canal from Grassi.... we shot it from the dock |
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| Pallazzo Grassi interior with Rugs everywhere, and our dinner tables. |
Sunday morning there was another session for our CEOs and a walking tour to the Doge's Palace on the Piazza. We learned a bit about the palace's history and how it was used, then walked inside through the grand hallways and into some of the private rooms of the doge's council and up into the prisoner's cells . We heard the story of Cassanova, his confinement and escape. It was raining again, so a good day to be inside.
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| Looking across at Piazza San Marco area. The Doge's Palace is on the water to the right of the Companile and the domes of St Marks Cathedral. |
After lunch, the sky cleared, and we headed for the airport. Luckily, there was a big rowing event all over town, so we had to travel through the small canals to get to a car for the airport. Not the usual way, but a lot of fun.
Everybody was out either rowing or watching! A true street party all over town.
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| Some of the Rowers... the canals were full of them that day. |
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| So happy to see the SUN!! Cyn, Leo from NYC and Leonardo from Verona... heading to the airport. |
Thank You, McKinzie, for a very productive conference, and a beautiful weekend in Venice!!!
A few restaurant recommendations from the locals for next time...
On Guidecca, Il Caccitore ( casual) , Chip at Cippriani, and I saw one that looked super just down from the hotel, " i Figli della Stella".... I'd love to try that one. Also "Harry's Dolci" near the Hilton at the end of the island.
