RV Roadtrip – Budapest, Hungary

After our visit to Corvin Castle we still had a few days before our Schengen visa reset so we found a campsite close to the border with Hungary for a few days. It was a good chance for us to catch up on laundry and clean house before our next whirlwind adventure in the Schengen Zone. We had spent nearly 3 months in Bulgaria, Macedonia and Romania moving around at a relatively leisurely pace. That was all about to change!

Our first destination was Budapest, Hungary and a campsite called Camping Arena Budapest. It was about 300 kilometers which takes longer than you would think in a camping car sometimes. Plus we had a border to cross and you never know how long that’s going to take either. Sometimes it is simple, other times not so much, but knock on wood, we’ve not had any real issues in the camping car crossing borders.

When we arrived at the campsite we were shocked to see a Land Crusier from the United States parked in a pitch near us and a pair of REI tents. We don’t see vehicles with US license plates very often and our curiosity was piqued. Maybe we would make some new friends? No, no we would not make new friends. The man and woman were clearly not getting along with each other and also had no intentions of engaging with us at all, and we (Shani) tried. Their loss.

Camping Arena Budapest is a bit outside of the old part of town and so getting to the sites of Budapest requires a short bus ride and then a tram into the city. It was pretty straight forward. It took maybe an hour or so after we walked to the bus stop and then figured out the tram.

Budapest was once two distinct towns separated by the Danube River with Buda on the hillside and Pest on the flat. The central area of the city along the Danube River is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has several notable monuments; this would be our destination on day one.

Here are some shots, the clouds wouldn’t cooperate so we have less than ideal photos –

In a total random occurrence, we found a really good Vietnamese restaurant for lunch; Shani is good for a lot of Vietnamese food, especially since our food tour of Hanoi a few years ago. It was a little odd to eat Vietnamese in Budapest but the food was great and a nice change of pace for us.

Our next venture into the city was exploring the Buda side. This required some hill climbing and crossing the famous Chain Bridge. We did a ton of walking on both days. I had done some research and found a few Mexican restaurants, and I convinced Shani that burritos and tacos would be a good reward for days spent walking and thus we found our selves at Gringos Amigos, almost authentic Mexican food in Budapest.

We both enjoyed our food, how can you not love some Mexican food when you are half a world away? Don’t worry, borscht and pierogi and sausages and cevepache were still on the menu, and they are all delicious!

Here are some more shots from Budapest –

Stay tuned as we crank on to Bratislava,  see some crazy gypsy caravans and push through the Czech Republic on our way to catch our ferry in Lithuania.