Airbnb võõrustajaga kohtumine venis ning seega maandusime esmalt esimeses ettejuhtuvas söögikohas. Kui lõpuks oli aeg võtmed saada, selgus, et koristaja polnud eelmiste külaliste järgselt korterisse jõudnud ning seega tuli minna linna aega parajaks tegema.
Kuna majutuse asukohas olid mitmed vaatamisväärsused käe-jala juures, sai enamus neist läbitud jalgsi. Kaugematesse punktidesse minekuks kasutasime nii metrood, trolli kui bussi. Seitsme päeva ühistranspordipileti hinda väga täpselt ei mäleta, ehk oli kuskil 14-15 000 HUF? Automaadist ostes saab ka kaardiga maksta. Sõbrannalt saadud soovitus esimese metrooliini osas oli täkkesse, tegemist on väga vana ja armsa metrooga ning soovitan ka omalt poolt sellega sõita. Imeline on veel see, et ühistranspordipilet katab ka laevasõidu jõel (vähemasti E-R), seega oleks patt mitte seda võimalust kasutada.
Ilmaga oli vedanud, ei olnud liiga kuum ega samas liiga külm. Natuke vahepeal vihma küll tuli ning kõige suurem sadu, koos rahega, juhtus olema siis, kui külastasime kaubanduskeskust WestEnd City Center. Viimases proovisin esimest korda KFC'd ning pidin selles pettuma, ei midagi sellist, mis maitsemeelt hellitaks. Enne suurema šopingu algust oli ühel hetkel maja üks tiib suitsu täis ning päästemeeskond sees, välja käsutati kõik inimesed. Jäime pärast ootama ehk õnnestub uuesti sisse pääseda, kuid töötajatelt tuli info, et ühes söögikohas on olnud tulekahju ning majja enam kedagi ei lubata. Suurt kaubarallit ma lõppkokkuvõttes ei teinudki, eks kohati kammitses ka käsipagas. Külastatud kaubanduskeskustes oli mitmeid poode, mis kattusid ka Tallinnas leitavaga. Eks äärelinna pool oleks valik kindlasti vähe teisem olnud.
Traditsioonilisest toidust tahtsin kindlasti proovida ehtsat guljaši, kuid see ei erinenud maitse poolest eriti sellest, mida kodus olen harjunud saama.
Saatanast on aga pangaautomaadid, mis teevad vaid näo, et nad on pangaautomaadid. Need tunneb ära EUR HUF kirjade järgi. Minu pank võtab välismaal 1 EUR + mingi protsent väljavõetavast summast, sellele oleks juurde tulnud sellise automaadi poolt kehtestatud väljavõtutasu, mis samuti olenes konkreetsest summast. Õnneks leidus siiski ka tavapäraseid automaate, mis toimisid ootuspäraselt.
Praeguseks aga kõik, jätk teises postituses.
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I had the privilege to visit the capital of Hungary, Budapest, in May. Since there is no direct flight from Tallinn to Budapest, we had to fly through Helsinki. As usual, we booked housing via Airbnb. The host also offered a car service from the airport to our destination which cost about 27 euros. You can also get to the city with a designated bus, 100E, which has a specific ticket that costs 900 HUF or roughly 3 euros (it can be bought from ticket vending machines or kiosks). Most ticket machines were out of order in the airport, so we bought our 7 day general public transportation ticket once we got to the city centre (PS! General ticket does not cover the airport bus). We had previously agreed on using the transportation that our host offered and the driver picked us up from the airport soon after landing. I'm not sure which (bus/car) would've been faster, the traffic was pretty bad even though it wasn't rush hour yet. As our driver said, the city is old, the planning is old and that's why traffic jams can get pretty bad. On our way back to Tallinn we used the service bus to get to the airport, there are 2 two stops you can get on it.
Meeting with our Airbnb host was delayed and to gather ourselves a bit, we grabbed a coffee in the nearest cafe in the neighbourhood. When it was finally time to get the keys it became clear that the cleaning service hadn't cleaned up after the last tenants and so we begun our walk in the city earlier than expected.
Our home was located in the city centre, so we ended walking to most places. But we also used public transportation, I was recommended to use the Subway line number 1, which is very old and, I suppose, cute - there's no other way to describe it. Shoutout to Helena for a good tip! My memory is a bit hazy, but I believe the public transportation ticket cost about 14-15 000 HUF for seven days and you could purchase it from vending machines which accepted debit cards (and cash). Another amazing perk of this ticket is that it also covers boat rides (at least Mon - Fri), so it would be a shame not to use this opportunity.
The weather was quite nice, not too hot and not too cold. There was a hailstorm during our visit to the WestEnd City Center mall and that happened exactly when the fireman had asked everyone to leave the building; we were casually strolling in the mall when suddenly there was smoke in the air and firemen all over the place. We stayed for a bit, waiting for it to open soon again but after a while the personnel told us that there was a small fire and the mall would be closed for today. Oh well! At least I got to try KFC for the first time, although the meal left me underwhelmed. I just don't get the appeal. In the end I didn't really buy anything from Budapest, because I was slightly held back by hand luggage limits and all the malls we visited had many overlapping stores with Tallinn.
We didn't stumble upon a good Hungarian restaurant, but I did get to try their traditional goulash soup, which wasn't that different from the ones I've had in the past.
ATMs with EUR HUF signs are the devil, I say. My bank charges me 1EUR + some percentage of the money withdrawn (overseas). In addition to that, those ATMs generate their own withdrawal sum fee, which is just ugh! If you're not paying attention, you could be charged unknowingly. And they are absolutely everywhere as well! Thank heavens there were normal ATMs around.
That's it for tonight, the story continues in part 2.
Parlamendihoone pildistatuna jõel sõites. Jõe teiselt kaldalt head pilti ei olnud võimalik saada, sest suur lõbusõidulaev on end täpselt sinna ette parkinud.
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I took this photo of the Parliament Building on a public transportation boat. I wasn't able to take a good shot from the other side of the river because (I guess) a large "party boat" was parked right in front of it.
Koolilaste protest Parlamendihoone ees.
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Students protesting in front of the Parliament Building.
50mm ja Nikon D7500. Kaamera suudab teha imesid, tõesti. Iga pilt on terav ja suurepärase tonaalsusega. Kui ei oleks D5200 peal, siis ehk hakkaks ka sellele investeeringule mõtlema.
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50mm and Nikon D7500. A camera really does make a difference. Every single shot is crisp, clear and with great colours. I would seriously consider this investment, if I were still using D80.
Tegelikult üks esimestest piltidest, mis Budapestis sai tehtud. Airbnb siseõue eeskoda.
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Actually one of the first photos I took in Budapest. Entrance to our Airbnb courtyard.
Ja siin on meie ajutise kodu siseõu. Kuigi mulle teoorias sellised siseõued on alati nunnud tundunud, siis sain nüüd aru, et praktikas on lood veidi teised. Pimedas kasutavad elanikud lampi, mis esimesel korrusel olles toa valgeks lööb (arusaadav muidugi, pilkases pimeduses ei olegi teisiti võimalik). Samuti ei ole võimalik aknast adekvaatselt ilma hinnata, sest taevast väga näha ei ole. Lompide järgi on küll võimalik näha, kas sadu on olnud või mitte, kuid üldmuljet sellest, mis väljas on, väga ei teki. Eks loomulikult on kõik on harjumise küsimus ja mingil hetkel ei pruugi sellest puudustki tunda.
Meie Airbnb üleandmisel selgus, et eelmised üürilised olid endast maha jätnud väikse seapesa ning ka koristaja polnud sinna veel jõudnud, seega ei saanud kahe lennu järel voodisse pikali kohe visata ja pidime linnas ajaveetmist koheselt alustama.
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And here is the courtyard of our temporary home. Although I've always been fascinated by these types of courtyards, I actually found it to be a bit impracitcal - there's a lamp which lights up the whole courtyard. People who enter the building use it when it's dark outside and when you reside on the first floor, it can become quite annoying. But I mean, it's understandable, you can't really see anything in the dark. It's also quite difficult to tell the weather by looking outside the window, because you can only see a glimpse of the sky and that's it. As they say, you get to used to everything, so maybe that's not even a problem for most people.
When we got the keys it appeared that the previous travelers had been quite messy and the cleaning service had yet to come, so we had to start exploring the city sooner than expected. It would've been nice just to drop on the couch for 15 minutes
Budapesti silm/vaateratas, 10 eurot täiskasvanule. Mõned ringid, natuke seismist ja linnavaadete nautimist. Üldiselt hea ilmaga - miks mitte.
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The Eye of Budapest, 10 euros for an adult. A few rounds, a bit of idle viewing on top and enjoying the city skyline. When the weather is good - I'd say worth it, why not.
Michael Jacksoni mälestuspuu, Budapesti vaateratta läheduses.
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The remembrance/memorial tree for Michael Jackson, near the Budapest Eye.
Üllatuslikult leitud teisel pool jõge selline killuke Eestit. Kui vaid mõistaks, miks, kuidas, kellele ja milleks!
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Surprisingly a slice of Estonia on the other side of the river. I sure wish to know why and who put it there!
Lähenemas Budapesti vanalinnale.
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Approaching the old town of Budapest.
Introverdi pingid. Ei kurda üldse.
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Benches for introverts. Can't complain.
Ja kindlasti üks turistirohkemaid alasid kogu Budapestis. Võimalik, et kõik muidugi oleneb ka päevast/kellaajast.
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Definitely one of the most tourist filled areas of Budapest, maybe we chose the wrong time and day for this.
Seda kuju seal kaugustes mäe otsas näete? Jep, järgmisena algas teekond sinna. Palaval päeval ei soovita 😀 Aga samas tulid hiliste õhtusöökide burgerid kuidagi välja t(r)eeninda.
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Do you see that statue on the hill in the distance? Our next goal was to walk there. Definitely not the best choice for a hot day 😀 But at the same time, a great exercise for walking off those late night burgers.
Varsti tuleb ronida...Kerge deja vu Kiievi kuulsa monumendiga eelmisel suvel.
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Climbing and stairs ahead...A slight deja vu from Kiev.
Aga vaade on seda väärt!
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But the view is worth it!
Ja nüüd on teekond alla peaaegu lõpule saamas. Mõnus tuuleiil ja teerada asub peamiselt varjus.
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On our way down. A nice breeze and the path is mostly in shade as well.
