The trip to Budapest brings back plenty of memories. For one, itâ€™s my first visit to Eastern Europe and two will be the experience of solo travel. Ok, maybe I should call it semi-solo since wifey joined me at the 2nd leg of the trip some 10 days later. Nevertheless, itâ€™s definitely the prelude of my future solo travels.

But the trip didnâ€™t start off well – Air France flight from Singapore to Paris was delayed so I have to make a desperate dash to the connection flightâ€™s gate some 800m away, with 20 minutes to spare in the huge Charles de Gaulle Airport. Needless to say, the mad rush was unfruitful since yours truly is no Usain Bolt material. Damn sucky to see the plane taking off without me because the next flight to Budapest was 5 hours later.

I was given a breakfast voucher for the delay. The â€˜compensationâ€™ wasnâ€™t the best in the world but I just made do lah.

Finally arrived at Budapest Airport where I wasted little time hopping on to the Airport Shuttle Minibus to Bo18 Hotel. There isnâ€™t any direct train which runs from Airport to the city as yet so I opted for the one-way transfer, which I paid 3200 HUF (S$16.00) but you can get 10% discount via advance booking.

Experiencing the charms of Eastern Europe in Budapest

Dumped my backpack in the room and off to check out Pest, not even the cold drizzle could dampen my excitement. From the hotel, I took a nice long walk towards Vorosmarty Square. Along the way, there are many nice looking Neo-baroque style of buildings.

Itâ€™s easy to tell that Budapestians love walking their dogs but poos on the pavement were rather common too – better to look at what you are stepping on once in a while.

The road leading to Elisabeth Bridge is flanked by “The Twins” known as Klotilde palaces.

From Elisabeth Bridge, I walked along Danube promenade while enjoying the beautiful sunset moments.

One famous landmark of Danube promenade is none other than Little Princess statue (KiskirÃ¡lylÃ¡ny) perched on the railings. With the jesterâ€™s hat, I find that it looks more like the Little Prince insteadâ€¦

Near to it is the interesting sculpture of a dog owner playing â€˜fetchâ€™ with her pet.

Dinner at Cyrano restaurant

Finally reaching Vorosmarty Square during dinner time and I settled my meal at the highly rated Cyrano restaurant.

Since this is my first attempt tasting Hungarian cuisine, I would say the 3-course meal was nice and costs me 7000 HUF (S$36.00) including a bottle of beer. Very fairly priced I would say.

Beef Goulash soup is the national dish and commonly found in all Hungarian restaurants, seems more like a stew but anyhow, I love its taste, definitely, a must try when in Hungary.

STAY: Bo18 Hotel Superior Budapest review

I opted for Bo18 Hotel Superior mainly due to its relatively close distance to Budapest-Keleti Railway Terminal. The hotel location also makes it a great base to explore Budapest with the nearby Metro station. Thereâ€™s very little traffic around the area which ensures quietness and a good sleep. But heading back to the hotel late at night feels a little uneasy walking alone in the very quiet street.

I was offered a welcome drink upon checking in and the friendly staffs further enhanced the experience. Clean and reasonably sized room with very comfortable beds made the price damn worthwhile.