Hungary

Our Time in Kalocsa, Hungary

Posted on June 13, 2026 by 2btravel

Passage to Eastern Europe: Trip Introduction
Flight Review: LOT Polish Airlines 797-9 Business Class, ORD-WAW
Lodging Review: Hampton by Hilton Krakow
Our Time in Krakow, Poland
Flixbus from Krakow to Budapest
Lodging Review: Corinthia Budapest Hotel
Our Time in Budapest, Hungary
Our Time in Kalocsa, Hungary
Our Time in Osijek and Vukovar, Croatia
Our Time in Belgrade, Serbia
Our Time in Golubac, Serbia
Our Time in Vidin, Bulgaria
Our Time in Ruse, Bulgaria
Our Time in Bucharest, Romania
Lodging Review: JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel
Flight Review: SWISS Airlines 777-300 ZRH-ORD

After our first night aboard the Viking Ullr we docked in Kalocsa, Hungary which is only about 1.5 hours south of Budapest by car but of course we were floating leisurely down the Danube. We boarded a motorcoach and for about 20 minutes we wound our way through farmland and the town of Kalocsa, which has a population of about 16,000 people. We then turned by this sign for the Bakodpuszta Horse Farm. Continue reading →

Categories: Cruises, Europe, Historical Site, Hungary, River Cruise, Tours, Viking | Tags: Cathedral, Cowboys, Csikos, Europe, Horses, Hungary, Kalocsa, River Cruise, Tour, Tours, Viking | Leave a comment

Our Time in Budapest, Hungary

Posted on June 12, 2026 by 2btravel

Since we’d visited Budapest before by staying over for a couple of days after our 2016 Danube cruise, we weren’t in any hurry to try to see a lot of things. So after arriving at the Corinthia, we threw our dirty clothes in a bag and headed for the closest laundromat. Not very exciting, but quite practical.

The next day a city tour was included with our tour package. We decided to go along just in case it covered something we hadn’t seen before, but of course it did not. But that was fine. At least we didn’t have to pay for a taxi or Uber to take us up to Buda.

Heroes’ Square

We drove around a bit on the Pest side first, pausing at Heroes’ Square for in-bus photos. But the Archangel Gabriel, normally found on top of the column in the square, had been taken down for cleaning (or something) so while the photo below is decent enough for being inside the bus, I much prefer the photo I took in 2016 when we visited the square on foot. Visit the referenced post if you want to see it.

Heroes’ Square

Continue reading →

Categories: Cruises, Europe, Hungary, River Cruise, Tours, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Viking | Tags: Buda Castle, Budapest, City Tour, Europe, Fisherman's Bastion, Gödöllő, Hungary, Matthias Church, Parliament, River Cruise, Tour, UNESCO World Heritage Site | Leave a comment

Lodging Review: Corinthia Budapest Hotel

Posted on June 11, 2026 by 2btravel

Our taxi dropped us off right in front of the Corinthia Budapest Hotel. As the hotel is on one of the major thoroughfares, there’s not much in the way of parking so we were glad we didn’t have to deal with a car. The bellmen took charge of our luggage right away, which was nice because just inside the double sets of front doors is a staircase that leads up to the main level. If you have mobility issues, don’t be concerned. There is an elevator to one side mostly used for luggage transport but it’s available for people too.

(photo courtesy panoramatours.com)

Continue reading →

Categories: Europe, Hotel, Hungary, Lodging Review, Other Hotels, Trip Report | Tags: Budapest, Corinthia Budapest Hotel, Hotel Review, Hungary, Lodging Review, Trip Report | Leave a comment

Flixbus from Krakow to Budapest

Posted on June 10, 2026 by 2btravel

When looking for ways to get us from Krakow to Budapest, I thought that surely there must be a non-stop flight to Budapest, likely on some low-cost carrier. Perhaps there was but I didn’t see anything on Google Flights and the Budapest airport’s entry on Wikipedia does not list any such flights. We looked at flying LOT Polish back through Warsaw and there were other flights routing through other European hubs, all for $100 USD or more. Then we found Flixbus which was only about $25 per person and the 7-hour drive was only a little longer than it would have taken us to fly with a connection. Since we were not in any rush to reach Budapest, we decided that was our best option.

Our route from Krakow straight south to Budapest

Continue reading →

Categories: Europe, Ground Transportation, Hungary, Poland, Trip Report | Tags: Budapest, Flixbus, Ground Transportation, Hungary, Krakow, Poland, Trip Report | Leave a comment

Passage to Eastern Europe: Trip Introduction

Posted on June 1, 2026 by 2btravel

I’m kicking off year 12 of this blog with my next trip report and this one includes some eastern European countries I’d never visited.

This year’s trip centered around a river cruise on the eastern part of the Danube. We’d previously cruised the western part of the river back in 2016. That trip left from Erlangen, Germany (just outside of Nuremburg) and ended in Budapest, Hungary. This trip departed from Budapest and ended in Bucharest, Romania.

As the cruise/tour was only 10 days, we decided to go to Krakow, Poland for a few days ahead of the cruise to visit yet another country we’d not been to.

Transportation

I flew from Memphis to Chicago to meet up with my friend who lives in the area. I used cash for a round-trip positioning flight on American Airlines. From there we flew LOT Polish Airlines to Warsaw and connected to Krakow. The government shutdown in October meant our flight out of Chicago was delayed causing us to miss our connection. Fortunately we were accommodated on the next flight to Krakow and even ended up in exit row seats. I used 70K Air Canada Aeroplan miles + $78.03 for my business class seat which would have sold for about $3064, giving me a fantastic value of about 4.38 cents per point. My friend used 40K Aeroplan miles + $78.03 for her seat in economy. While her ticket “only” worked out to about 1.4 cents per point, it still saved her over $500 out of pocket. Continue reading →

Categories: Award Travel, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cruises, Europe, Hampton by Hilton, Hilton, Hungary, JW Marriott, LOT Polish, Marriott, Other Hotels, Poland, River Cruise, Romania, Serbia, Star Alliance, SWISS, Trip Report, Viking | Tags: Award Travel, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hampton Inn, Hilton, Hungary, JW Marriott, LOT Polish, Marriott, Poland, River Cruise, Romania, Serbia, SWISS, Trip Report, Viking, Viking Ullur | Leave a comment

Travel Tuesday Photo: A Hungarian Cowboy Rides 10 Horses

Posted on January 6, 2026 by 2btravel

A Hungarian cowboy, or csikós, stands on the back of two of the 10 loosely-bound horses in a riding demonstration at Bakod Pustza horse ranch outside of Kalocsa, Hungary.

Categories: Europe, Hungary, Picture of the Week | Tags: Horses, Hungary, Kalocsa, Picture of the Week, Travel Tuesday Photo | Leave a comment

Travel Tuesday photo: Szent István Bazilika

Posted on December 2, 2025 by 2btravel

The Szent István Bazilika (St. Stephen’s Basilica) in Budapest, Hungary

Categories: Europe, Hungary, Picture of the Week | Tags: Budapest, Europe, Hungary, Picture of the Week, Travel Tuesday Photo | Leave a comment

Travel Tuesday photo: Hungarian Parliament Building

Posted on October 14, 2025 by 2btravel

The Hungarian Parliament Building in Budapest on the Pest side of the Danube as seen from the Fisherman’s Bastion on the Buda side. More photos from Budapest and Hungary coming in the next few months!

Categories: Europe, Hungary, Picture of the Week | Tags: Budapest, Fisherman's Bastion, Hungary, Parliament, Picture of the Week | Leave a comment

Danube Trip: Hilton Budapest (Castle District)

Posted on April 8, 2017 by 2btravel

Danube Trip: Chicago to Brussels
Danube Trip: Brussels Adventures and Getting to Prague
Danube Trip: Marriott Courtyard Prague
Danube Trip: Prague, Czech Republic
Danube Trip: Boscolo, Autograph Collection
Danube Trip: Prague to Nuremberg
Danube Trip: Viking River Cruise Boats – the Njord and the Bestla
Danube Trip: Nuremberg, Germany
Danube Trip: Weltenburg Abbey and Danube Narrows
Danube Trip: Regensburg, Germany
Danube Trip: Passau, Germany
Danube Trip: Wachau Valley and Göttweig Abbey
Danube Trip: Vienna, Austria
Danube Trip: Budapest, Hungary
Danube Trip: Hilton Budapest (Castle District)
Danube Trip: Budapest to Chicago

We arrived at the Hilton Castle District by taxi in the late afternoon after having walked all over the Pest side of the city. A bellman quickly assisted us with our bags and we found the bell staff was very helpful each time we needed them. We’d arranged for the taxi driver who brought us up the hill to take us to the airport on Monday morning. When he didn’t show, the bell staff jumped in and got us another taxi right away.

There are several sets of entrances into the lobby. Upon entering, the front desk is at the right side. The lobby’s stainless steel and dark wood look combined with the rather low ceiling should make the area feel smaller than it is but I never felt like the walls were closing in.

Hilton Castle District Lobby

Continue reading →

Categories: Europe, Hilton, Hotel, Hungary, Lodging Review | Tags: Europe, Hilton, Hungary, Lodging Review | Leave a comment

Danube Trip: Budapest, Hungary

Posted on April 6, 2017 by 2btravel

We awoke the next day expecting to board motorcoaches that would take us into Budapest. However when we look out from our cabin the fog was so thick we couldn’t see the riverbank! Viking decided that it was pointless for us to wend our way along a beautiful drive if we couldn’t see anything, so they announced we’d be staying on board until we docked in Budapest around mid-day. That also meant that our city tour was postponed until the afternoon and any optional tours we had scheduled for the afternoon were canceled – though of course the refunds wouldn’t be processed until after the cruise was complete.

The view from our cabin. The Danube is not THAT wide – where’s the riverbank?!

After busy days of touring it was actually kind of relaxing to have a morning to ourselves where we could linger over breakfast and catch up on emails (thanks to the free wi-fi). Gradually the fog lifted and we had a sunny day, though it was a bit cool on deck. Continue reading →

Categories: Cruises, Europe, Hungary, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Viking | Tags: Europe, Hungary, River Cruise, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Viking | 2 Comments

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Hungary

Our Time in Kalocsa, Hungary

Our Time in Budapest, Hungary

Heroes’ Square

Lodging Review: Corinthia Budapest Hotel

Flixbus from Krakow to Budapest

Passage to Eastern Europe: Trip Introduction

Transportation

Travel Tuesday Photo: A Hungarian Cowboy Rides 10 Horses

Travel Tuesday photo: Szent István Bazilika

Travel Tuesday photo: Hungarian Parliament Building

Danube Trip: Hilton Budapest (Castle District)

Danube Trip: Budapest, Hungary

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