I like a boat trip. I think it’s a great way to get to see a city from a slightly unusual angle. With the Danube so very prominent in Budapest (my mental image of the city will always be the riverboat cruise adverts sprinkled throughout Midsummer Murders), it shouldn’t be so unusual, and my difficulty … More An evening Danube cruise in Budapest
Perhaps you don’t know that Budapest is actually the fusing of two cities? Buda is the half on the west bank of the Danube; Pest the one on the east. Once upon a time the young double-city was called Pest-Buda before everyone presumably realised that a) it rolled off the tongue better the other way … More How to spend a day in Budapest’s Castle Hill district
The “A Daycation in…” series is one I was planning to start in 2025, to showcase some of the best and most interesting places around Dorset and Hampshire, delving into what elevates something from a mere “day out” to a “daycation”. But I got started a bit earlier than planned, because Bournemouth hotel The Nici … More A Daycation at… The Nici, Bournemouth
Over the last ten or fifteen years, Girlguiding has cultivated four flagship events, held simultaneously at anywhere between two and four of its Training & Activity Centres. The really big one is Wellies & Wristbands, a festival camp for Guides & Rangers, the 10 to 18-year-olds. Then came Magic & Mayhem, a circus-themed fun day … More Sparkle & Ice 2024: the one in a shepherds hut
There are so many thermal baths to visit in Budapest but Rudas was high on my to-do list for one important reason: it has a rooftop hot tub with city views. Even better, at weekends it does night baths. A night bath with views of the city lights sounded like everything I could want! Iceland’s … More A night bath at Rudas
Just north of Budapest’s spectacular neo-Gothic Parliament is a tree-covered lozenge-shaped island in the middle of the Danube, where locals and tourists alike go to escape the hustle and bustle of the city without actually leaving the city. Yes, that’s not entirely different to my last post about escaping the city by going to Városliget … More How to spend a day on Margaret Island, Budapest
There’s a lot going on in the centre of Budapest and along the banks of the Danube but perhaps you haven’t realised there’s also a lot going on in a much greener quieter part of the city, the huge Városliget, Budapest’s City Park. Start by taking metro line 1 northbound to Hősök tere, Heroes Square. … More How to spend a day in Városliget, Budapest’s City Park
Having wandered around Budapest for a few days, I very suddenly realised that for the average tourist, there’s very little here to say “you’re in Hungary”. Budapest is a bubble in its own right. It’s where stag parties go for beer bikes and to make a racket in the big outdoor thermal baths, where middle … More The House of Terror, Budapest
This first thing is a bonus fact: the reason Budapest has so many thermal baths is only in part due to around a hundred atural mineral-rich hot springs. The main reason is that during the 150-ish years Budapest – or rather Buda, the city on the west bank of the Danube – was under occupation … More 8 things you need to know about Budapest thermal baths
Last week I went to Budapest and I think the best post to start with is what to do in Budapest by a local. I’m not the local but I work with someone who is not just Hungarian but born and bred in Budapest. Before I went, we sat down together and he went through … More The best things to do in Budapest – by a local
I Am A Polar Bear 