A note on dates: my last post was on Sunday though the date shown on the post is Monday. That is due to the time change, and I am writing this on Monday here in Frankfort.
Okay, we came upon our first pothole on the road to Budapest. Our flight from Dulles arrived on time (midnight our time) and 6 am here in Frankfort. Our connecting flight was not showing on the board, but we had a gate number on our boarding passes. We asked a couple of guys in Lufthansa outfits which way to go to get to our gate, and they pointed to this disorganized massive crowd of people waiting for customs, a requirement because we were leaving Germany for Hungary. The line was moving at glacial speed. We shuffled along in the crowd for 45 minutes when we learned that the customs check for our gate was at the other end of the terminal!
So we hustled the half mile to the new checkpoint and found that on the way our departure gate had changed! Fortunately, the new gate number was in the range of the customs checkpoint we had just made a beeline for. So now we are at the correct gate with 50 minutes to wait for our flight. And dead tired it being 1:30 am at home, and we had maybe two hours of sleep on the flight here.
And the gate was just changed again! First it was A28, then it was A36, and now it is A30.
And then there was the Budapest airport. It was a short flight from Frankfort, but it was 6 am home time when we arrived, and neither of us had gotten much sleep, so we shuffled off the plane into a very busy, bright, and shiny airport dazed and anxious to find our luggage and meet the Viking contact. It did not go well. In short, we could not find baggage claim. The terminal layout was unlike any we have ever been in, and the first four people we asked for help were useless. We walked every which way for 45 minutes growing increasingly frustrated and tired. When we finally understood where to go, we met up with a lovely couple of young women who were helping connect guests to divers. They were very understanding.
Our driver was a native of Budapest, a man in his sixties, he was very generous with his welcome, even though due to our tardy arrival, he was making a second 35 minute each way just to take us to the hotel! We learned that inflation in Hungary was very hard on him, particularly fuel and food prices.
The Corinthian Budapest Hotel is a grand palace which on close view is showing it’s age (it has 5 stars and has a close working relationship with Viking). The hotel staff are gracious and efficient, and our Viking tour leader is excellent. We repaired to our room around 12:30 pm and slept for 2 1/2 hours.
We joined a Viking group tour at 4:30 and were treated to an excellent overview of there area around the hotel along with a long list of valuable local tips; e.g., we are advised not to buy Hungarian money, as it is a very weak currency at present and preferred by the Hungarian populous.
Our guide did us assist with reservations at a nearby restaurant, and I had one of the worst meals at a restaurant in a long time. Anne ordered better, and the popular old tourist destination is attractive and well staffed. I not want to bore you even more with the details of my meal, but I do need to say it should be a crime to ruin duck breasts in that manner!
We are early to bed with the hopes of a good nights sleep.
Rest to you all,
Ray
View from the hotel:
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