11D8N Eastern Europe Tour with Chan Brothers Day 7 - Budapest, Hungary

Bright sunny day with perfect clear blue skies. So blessed to experience snow in some places especially during Christmas and perfect sunny weather on other days. Started the city tour with the local guide at the castle district. Learnt that the turul bird was a legendary bird that guided the Hungarians from Asia to Europe.

Check out the turul bird at the side.  We wandered around the King's wing of the castle and enjoyed the good weather.

 Watched the changing of guards at 10 am.

Then went to the Fisherman's Bastion. The view from the Fisherman's Bastion was amazing, but be prepared to jostle with a huge crowd. The guide explained that the Buda side of the city was hilly while the Pest was flat and the Danube River separates both.

Visited Gellert Hill which also provided perfect views of the city!

Made another stop at Heroes Square in the day. The view in the day was really quite different from the night, and the statues looked so majestic against the blue sky.

The coach bus dropped us at Vorosmarty Square and we were free to walk around and explore the place. We had lunch (on our own expense) at Hard Rock, and I was so full from the huge portions. Was so nice to sit in the warm Hard Rock, eating yummy burgers and fries, and chugging down a mug of beer.

Need to say this again - the weather was so nice!! I love winter days with warm sunshine and clear blue skies. Walked along the Danube River to enjoy the sunshine and when the sun started to set, we went to Cafe de Paris for a cup of coffee and to use the loo.

After coffee, we took the optional Danube River Cruise. The illumination of the castle, the Parliament House, Fisherman's Bastion and the cathedral was so beautiful. Sipping the glass of wine, enjoying the cold night wind on my face and cruising along the Danube River, I'm reminded of a phrase from the movie Me Before You. Having possibilities is a luxury. I've been so swept up in the hustle of work that I have forgotten to stop and really enjoy the time I have with the people I love. I am so lucky to be able to come on this trip, to see these beautiful sights, to experience a White Christmas, and to be able to do so with my family.

After the Danube River Cruise, we went for a Hungarian Folklore dinner as part of the tour package. There was a quartet performing through the night and traditional dance performances. The traditional hungarian food of chicken, barley and pasta didn't really suit our palate but it was interesting. They also gave us a shot of alcohol, red wine and white wine, so there was a lot of alcohol floating around. We bought a bottle of wine here with our photo printed on it. A complete touristy gimmick, but hey, I'm a tourist so I loved it!

Check out my post on Day 1 ,  Day 2 , Day 3,  Day 4, Day 5 and Day 6.

11D8N Eastern Europe Tour with Chan Brothers Day 6 - Krakow - Slovakia - Budapest, Hungary

Heavy snowfall on Christmas! So excited to experience my first white Christmas. It was truly unforgettable. Drove a long way into Donovaly in Slovakia for lunch in a ski resort. Lunch was supposed to be free & easy but Eva kindly arranged lunch for us for 10 euros per pax because nothing was open on Christmas day and this was the only ski resort that was open in the area. 

A very simple meal of chicken breast and boiled potatoes in the warm confines of the wooden cabin. We had to move after the meal because another tour group needed the space for lunch. Some folks left and went outside to play with the snow. My family and I went to the bar for some hot red wine instead and watched the snow swirl in the wind outside. 

 

It was so beautiful. Everywhere was white and snow fell steadily for hours as we watched from the bar. When it was eventually time to go, we hung around outside for a bit to take some pictures of the white landscape.

My favourite polka-dotted scarf which the bf hates haha! (Because I am posting this almost TWO YEARS late, my bf is now my husband).

Long snowy drive to Budapest!

Heroes Square in Budapest illuminated at night. The double cross in the hands of the angel represents a unified Hungary as a Christian nation and the first statue beside the angel is the King who unified Hungary and introduced Christianity to the country. 

Dinner was Chinese food at 九龙大酒店 and the food was (surprisingly) decent and some dishes were in fact good! 

Checked into Novotel Budapest City and realised that the hotel had a really odd design. The toilet bowl was separate from the basin and bath tub so we had to shuffle from one to the other when washing up. The hotel was beside MOM Park Shopping Mall which would have been ideal for grabbing water and snacks and doing some shopping if not for the fact that everything was close during our stay over the Christmas holidays. 

Check out my post on Day 1 ,  Day 2 , Day 3,  Day 4, Day 5, Day 7.

11D8N Eastern Europe Tour with Chan Brothers Day 5 - Krakow, Poland

This is way overdue but, once again, better late than never.

2016's Christmas Eve in Krakow, Poland. We started the day at Auschwitz with our local guide Greg. Greg was definitely the best local guide we had on this trip. He was dedicated, responsible, and really passionate about sharing his knowledge about the Second World War. Some local guides just spoke the bare minimum and hustled us along, but not Greg. Greg was one of those who clearly enjoyed his job, even if it was Christmas Eve, and even if it meant braving the cold with a bunch of Asians in the empty streets of Krakow, when he could be enjoying Christmas Eve with his family. When we parted at the Main Square in Krakow in the late afternoon, Greg took the time to tell us the cafes which could be open in the area on Christmas Eve.

Auschwitz - I have always wanted to visit Auschwitz and really glad I have the opportunity to come by one year after its 70th anniversary. I remember reading about the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz camp in the papers in 2015 and thinking that Auschwitz was a place that I should definitely visit.

A place which saw horrors and atrocities beyond what a human mind could imagine, a place that felt so cold and sad on that grey wintry morning, and a place that should never be forgotten.

 

Lunch with the tour group at Galicja Restauracja where we had golabki which is a traditional Polish cabbage roll with minced meat. I felt that it was the first nice meal on the trip that was part of the tour package!

After lunch we started our stroll with Greg around the old Jewish Quarter before heading to the Royal Castle on Wawel Hill.

Wawel Hill has a folklore about a fire-breathing dragon. The King had promised the hand of his daughter and his crown to the man who could defeat this dragon. Many knights tried their luck but none of them succeeded. One day, a shoemaker came and brought with him lambskin and sulphur. He constructed a lamb-looking bait stuffed with sulphur and fed it to the dragon. The dragon ate it and exploded. A statue of the dragon stands at the foot of Wawel Hill to commemorate this folklore.

Walking around the grounds of the Royal Castle.

Horse-drawn carriage along an empty street.

After strolling through the beautiful grounds of the Royal Castle, we walked to the Main Square where the St Mary Church was located.

Some stores of the Christmas market in the square were still open but the large shops around the square were all closed for the Christmas holidays. In fact, we soon found out that everything was closed because of the Christmas holidays. There was absolutely nothing open. Even Macs was closed. We had an hour of free time to explore the Main Square on our own but there was absolutely nothing to explore. We could not even find a place indoors to keep warm. Thankfully, Greg told us about this kebab place (Mr Kebab) which was a short walk from the Main Square so we tried our luck. It was open! Words cannot describe how happy I was to see the lights coming out of Mr Kebab because the prospect of wandering around aimlessly for an hour was making me feel very sad. Most of us ended up inside, drinking hot tea and munching on kebabs until it was time to meet at the Main Square.

St Mary's Church at the Main Square. I will always remember the church as the place where we huddled outside in the cold while Eva sang Christmas carols, waiting for others to return from wherever they were so that we could head back to the warmth of the coach bus.

And then, it started to snow! OMG. It was really going to be a white Christmas! I have never experienced a white Christmas, but it always sounded so magical. And it really was. There was something amazing about watching the snow flakes fall, knowing that it was Christmas eve and families in all those little windows dotting the streets were bending over dinner together, perhaps saying grace, and enjoying the warmth of family.  Snow flakes in my hair!

Returned to the hotel where we were free to go anywhere or do anything we wanted. But it was so cold and everything in the area was closed (we walked to the nearby Macs in the snow to try our luck but it was also closed) so we had dinner at the hotel restaurant. Ordered baked salmon and mulled wine. Good hearty Christmas eve meal!

Check out my post on Day 1 ,  Day 2 , Day 3, Day 4, Day 6, Day 7.

11D8N Eastern Europe Tour with Chan Brothers Day 4 - Krakow, Poland

Set off very early for our long drive into Krakow. Many traffic accidents along the icy roads and we were caught in numerous traffic jams. We were trying to make it to the Wieliczka Salt Mine before the salt mine closed for the Christmas holidays but the terrible traffic and icy roads made it very difficult. We had to press on with our journey to get to the salt mine in time so all of us chose to pick up a sandwich at a rest stop for lunch instead of stopping for a long proper lunch. Many thanks to our superb coach driver for getting us to Krakow safely and just in time before the salt mine closed. 

The Wieliczka Salt Mine was amazing. If you find yourself in Krakow one day, do take the time to explore the salt mine. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Wieliczka Salt Mine was a large compound, but only 3 levels were open to the public. We started our guided tour by taking the elevator in the small shaft down 64 m. It was quite scary being in the elevator because the drop was sudden and quick, and the elevator was not enclosed so we could feel the wind gushing in from the sides. 

Legend has it that Princess Kinga, a Hungarian princess, married a prince in Poland and asked her father for salt since salt was very precious in Poland. Her father, the Hungarian king, took her to a salt mine where she threw her engagement ring into the mine. Later, when she arrived in Poland, she asked the miners to dig until they came upon a lump of salt with her engagement ring inside. 

We walked down long narrow passages (like the ones below) and explored different areas of the mine. I thought it might be hot and stuffy in the mine but ventilation was superb and, in fact, it was rather cooling inside.

As salt dissolves in water, the salt mine had numerous drainage systems to ensure that water flowed into a well and not into the salt crystals around the mine.

A large chapel deep in the salt mine with chandeliers made of salt crystals! This was my favourite part of the mine. So beautiful and... raw. Not the usual curated beauty but really, something so classical and surreal that I would not have believed it at first sight. The tour guide said there were couples who booked this chapel as a wedding venue. It must be so magical to have your wedding in this chapel!

The Wieliczka Salt Mine provided a glimpse of how miners lived and worked underground all those years ago. My first time in a mine and I was extremely impressed! What an eye-opener.

We checked into Hotel Swing in Krakow and had dinner (fish and potatoes that were not very nice) at the hotel restaurant. Headed to Auschan, this supermarket in a large squat building behind Hotel Swing, to stock up on water and snacks for the Christmas weekend. Quite thankful for the accessibility of the hotels to nearby supermarkets so far!

Check out my post on Day 1 ,  Day 2, Day 3, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7.