Gottfried Travel Adventures

 May 18, 2026 Yesterday it rained all day. It was Sunday and we found an Episcopal church recommended by the U.S. Embassy that had English services. We walked to that church from our hotel and got almost 4000 steps! It was small but interesting and we met some expats.  We looked for a Sunday farmers market and ended up finding the Central Market Hall, which we found out today was the location of our chef-led private tour. Not many stalls were open on Sunday. But today, our guide Andrew, did a great job of explaining the history of Hungary and the market.  Back to yesterday, because of the rain, we decided to go back to our hotel and chill for the day. David went to the hotel “gym” and I went to the hotel restaurant and had a burger and a glass of wine and read my kindle book.  That evening at 9:20, we had an evening cruise on the Danube. The information we got through our headphones was interesting and well done. Budapest is so beautiful from that vantage point at ni...

 May 16, 2026 Jó reggelt (good morning). As we hoped, the day did not disappoint. We had breakfast at the hotel, then walked to the iconic chain bridge from Pest to Buda. Once in Buda, we caught the Hop-On-Hop-off bus. We got a front seat spot!  Our first hop off was at the New York Cafe at the New York Palace Hotel. We had to wait about 20minutes to get in but it was worth it! Afterwards, we continued on to Heroes Square - a monument to the Hungarian founders. When communism was in power, the citizens were not allowed to see these monuments. Museum of Fine Art Then we decided to disembark at the Citadel, which faces away from the Danube. A political statement perhaps. There we saw the beautiful gardens and the statue that holds the palm leaf. Now a symbol of peace for the city. Back across the chain bridge, we got back to our hotel and headed out to the Ruins bar, Szimpla Kert and then dinner at Osteria right next to the iconic statue called The Policeman. The Policeman - rub...

 May 14 Meg graciously dropped us at the airport only an hour after Amanda finished her final final exam before starting nursing school!! She has done extremely well, earning the highest grades in her classes. Very exciting next chapter!! Steven is making huge strides in his St Bruno franchise and we couldn’t be more proud!  So, with grateful hearts, off we go to see a part of Europe we’ve been looking forward to seeing. We’re at the New Orleans airport club MSY having a cocktail.  Budapest weather looks rainy, but we’ll make the best of it. We have a few things planned including their famous bath house, a market hall tour, and a dinner cruise on the Danube.  We made it finally to Budapest around 8 pm through Charlotte and London - about 18 hours. We unpacked and headed out to find a restaurant. Neither of us ate or drank on the plane. Just tried to sleep.  We are walking distance from most everything according to our awesome taxi driver! He was a big help and a...