Wotton-under-Edge & District Round Table 974

Budapest 2004

2nd - 5th December

Our annual "Vice" (Vice Chairman's) Weekend, and was it wicked!

Thursday

A sleepy start, as we need to leave home before 5:00am to catch the easyJet flight from Bristol to Budapest. The good bit is that we arrive at the Mátyás Hotel right in the middle of Pest, with plenty of the day left.

After a drink in the Hotel bar, we decide take a walk over the Elizabeth Bridge to Buda, for a bit of sight around the Castle and some sampling of the local hostelries before returning back across the Chain Bridge.

Back in Pest, the Christmas Market is thronging. Lots of food halls so we sample some of the stallholders' fare by way of afternoon tea.

Friday

Another dry but grey day seems to add to the atmosphere.

Time for a spot of shopping in the Central Market Hall. Lots of lace, wooden toys and leatherwork as well as fresh food, sausages, and a huge variety of chilli and paprika.

Even time for a spot of culture in the National Museum, learning about the complex migration of different cultures through the Carpathian Basin.

Lunch in the Frank Zappa Cafe. Like many of the bars, the walls are covered in murals refecting the theme of the establishment.

The rest of the afternoon is spent in the Sir William Scottish pub with Barry White music.

We all meet up in the Bar near our hotel before heading to the Fatâl Restaurantfor an evening meal. The level of service is now becoming familiar, but the food's OK.

Robbo makes a suggestion - doubtless an improper one - to the nice lady singer

Afterwards we stumble across the For Sale Pub which is filled with a strange strange combination of business cards and monkey-nuts. There's live music so we stay on for a few, before some of us check out Marilyn's Club and then end up in Capella's (a gay disco - the only place we can find open!) before arriving back at around 5:30am.

Saturday

Some of us don't make breakfast, but we all make it (eventually) to Szechenyi and a walk though the park, past the outdoor ice-rink, and across Heroes Square where we find a Chinese restaurant for breakfast. Some of us stay in Szechenyi to experience the outdoor hot baths, whirlpool, jacuzzi and saunas (wonderful!) of Szechenyi Furdo, while others go off to explore Buda Castle - but spend most of the time there avoiding a lunatic unofficial tour guide. Del got fined 2000HUF for having the wrong type of ticket on the Metro.

That evening we have arranged to meet up with Budapest Round Table No.2. Levante and Gabriel take us all to a restaurant serving traditional Hungarian fare.

Ian and Levante perform the traditional exchange of banners. A great opportunity to compare notes about Tabling in our different countries.

Off to the (appropriately named?) Old Man's Music Pub to check out The Muddy Shoes. It's packed, so after the band finish we make our way to the For Sale bar to finish the evening.

Sunday

Time for a decent breakfast and then to pack and await the bus. A sunny day, though Buda across the river still partially obscured by fog.
No surprise that it's raining when we arrive back in Bristol early afternoon. At least we have the rest of the afternoon to recover from what definitely lived up to expectations as another great "Vice" weekend.