After coming back from my summer vacation, I started thinking about my winter break trip. Normally, I travel after Christmas and celebrate New Year in a new country. This time, I opted for travelling during the Thanksgiving holiday (November 17 to November 26) with several friends. The destination would be Central Europe – Budapest, Vienna, and Prague. I get to visit 3 countries in 10 days. How cool is that?
So you are probably wondering how was this possible. Below is a breakdown by each country.
Getting There
The airline of choice was Lufthansa. I was pleasantly surprised with the Airbus 380.
The flight was smooth and uneventful before I knew, we landed in Frankfurt (connection)
and had a very long walk to my connecting flight (Budapest). I got all my steps in that day.
By the way, you don’t need a visa to travel to Europe. Just a current passport which must be valid for at least three months beyond your intended date of departure.
Budapest
General info
- Country: Hungary
- Language: Hungarian
- Currency: Hungarian Forint (HUF)
- Plug: Type F. The standard voltage is 230 V and the standard frequency is 50 Hz
- Population: 1.759 million (2017)
- International dialing code: +36
Currency
1 Hungarian Forint equals 0.0037 US Dollar. So 7000Ft = $26
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Accommodations
I stayed at ibis Budapest Heroes Square which is minutes away from Heroes Square, Timewheel, and the metro. Average cost per night which includes breakfast is $55. The hotel is modern and clean.
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Food
Traditional Hungarian food is heart and warm. Goulash is one of the most popular dishes, and you’ll find it all around Budapest. Oh, you must have their beer
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Getting Around
I love Europe metro system. In my opinion, so much better in certain parts of the United States that has a metro system.
Budapest has 4 metro lines and with a Budapest Card, you can get around real easy with either the 24-, 48-, 72-hours. The card includes
- Unlimited travel on public transport (excl: Funicular in the Castle, Chairlift in the Buda Hills),
- Free walking tours and numerous discounted sightseeing tours,
- Discounts in certain restaurants, spas, shops, car rental, and numerous other places,
- Free or discounted entry to many museums and sights,
- Free mobile application with 12 thematic routes and audio guiding.
Budapest Attraction Site
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- The Little Princess Statue
- Budapest at night is so pretty
- Heroes Square
- Ferris wheel in Budapest
- A slender and striking figure that stands 6 meters tall in bright gold which resides in Budapest from the Pest side of the Chain Bridge.
- Castle Garden Bazaar
- The Chain Bridge which is on the Pest side finally got some sun.
- Matthias Church is a unique churches in Europe.
- Timewheel in Budapest which is one largest hour glass in the world.
Next Destination: Train Ride to Vienna
Vienna
General info
- Country: Austria
- Language: German
- Currency: Euro (€)
- Plug: . The standard voltage is 230 V and the standard frequency is 50 Hz
- Population: 1.8 million (2017)
- International dialing code: +43
Currency
As of today
Accommodations
My accommodation was at the FourSide Hotel City Center Vienna. Average cost per night is $70 which included breakfast. Overall, the hotel was clean and comfortable. The downside is the hotel is not in the Vienna City Center. It is about 15-minute metro ride to the centre. The metro is within walking distance from the hotel. The surrounding area included includes a grocery store and several restaurants.
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Food
I was still on the beer kick in the next country and started tasting the Ottakringer Beer. Not bad at all! By now, I need the comfort meal from home so it is hot chocolate, ribs, and wings. Yes, it was delicious!
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Getting Around
Just like Budapest, Vienna’s metro system is perfect. The Vienna Card is similar to the Budapest care with the same option of 24-, 48-, or 72- hour card is available.
The metro is a 5 line network of 78.5 kilometers (48.8 mi) of route, serving 104 stations. It is the backbone of one of the best performing public transport systems worldwide according to UITP (International Association of Public Transport) in June 2009. More than 1.3 million passengers rode the Vienna U-Bahn every day in 2009, per Wikipedia.
Vienna Attraction Sites
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- Vienna at Night
- Monument against war and fascism
- Vienna City Center
- Liechtenstein Castle
- Hofburg Palace
- St. Peter’s Church (Peterskirche)
- Surrounding area
- Palace
- Horse Carriage around City Center
Final Destination: Train Ride to Prague
Prague
General info
- Country: Czech Republic
- Language: Czech
- Currency: Czech Crown (koruna), CZK
- Plug: Type F. The standard voltage is 230 V and the standard frequency is 50 Hz
- Population: 1.3 million (2017)
- International dialing code: +420
Currency
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Accommodations
My accommodations in Vienna was the Art Nouveau Palace Hotel. The hotel is a 4-star hotel with an average cost of $85 per night which include breakfast. The hotel is about 15 minutes walk from the train station and the main centre of Prague.
Note: The first two pictures are from the hotel website.
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Food
I actually enjoyed the food. The first picture is of the Vienna sausage. It was pretty good. The second picture is an octupus appetizer. Lastly, I had to have the local Vienna beer.
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Prague Attraction Sites
Leaving you with a tease with no description with a hope and an intense desire to visit Prague which is now one of my favorite cities in Europe.
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Time to Head Home
At the Václav Havel Airport Prague
A short layover in Frankfurt and look who I saw – Albert Einstein 😉
One last beer as a goodbye to Central Europe.
Hello Fort Lauderdale Airport!
Super post ❤ ❤ ❤
https://kraljicadrameblog.wordpress.com/2017/12/14/1995/
All the destinations mentioned in this post are on my short bucket list. I only went to Budapest, which is my favorite city so far!
This is a helpful and detailed post! I love that you shared the maps, currency and transportation of everywhere you visited! Thanks for shar No!
Your trip looks so fun! Budapest is so high on my list, so that’s good to know that it’s very easy to get around with the public transportation.
That’s such a great trip! I did a similar itinerary over Christmas a couple of years ago when we did a river cruise. It was so fun, and I don’t think there’s any city in the world that’s as pretty at Christmastime than Vienna.
Vienna and Budapest are both so high on our travel list. I would love to try the Goulash in Budapest, must be so delicious. This was a great trip to Central Europe, makes me want to visit even sooner. I agree with the metro being so much better in Europe than in the U.S.A.
I love train rides! And to take the train from one city in one country to another one is so cool. I have never been to budapest but have been to Prague and Vienna and absolutely love those two cities ! Seems like you had a great experience 🙂
It’s funny that for Americans visiting three countries in ten days is special – for us in Europe it’s no big deal since everything is so close: e.g. in the area of Basel, there are three countries connected – France, Switzerland and Germany. And of course from Vienna you reach so many countries in a couple of hours. Anyway, I’m glad that you had such a great time – it shows in your pix. Happy travels – come back to Europe, soon!
Budapest is fabulous – did you go drinking in the ruin pubs? I haven’t visited Prague yet but have heard such good things about it, I hope I’ll get to visit next year 🙂
You chose three great cities, all part of the Hapsburg Empire. I love all three for very different reasons, but Vienna is one of my favorite cities of all time for the architecture and museums.
What a fabulous itinerary – Budapest, Vienna and Prague are among my favorite European cities – and I usually recommend this same route to people who say they want to experience something authentic and unique in Europe. There’s such a cool atmosphere in each city which is totally unique to the rest of the continent. And the trains are so efficient for getting between each!