Trip to the former Austro-Hungarian Empire - Day 8

All good things must come to an end. On the last day of my trip it was high time to cross the Danube to the Buda side and visit the Royal Palace. But first I would like to check out the local Chinese restaurant.

My choice of eatery is between Taiwan or Hong Kong restaurant. In the end I picked the latter because it allows me to get out of the usual tourist area by taking the Yellow City Tram

Taking the Yellow City Tram for the first time, with regular Hungarians

The entrance to Hong Kong restaurant is kind of hidden because it doesn't face the main street. But you won't miss the sign of China Trade Information Center next door when you get off the tram

Entrance to the restaurant

It appeared my two options of Chinese restaurants actually have the same owner

Sweet & Sour soup. it is a bit lukewarm though

Yeung Chow fried rice (揚州炒飯), people who know me long enough will know that this is my default choice of rice plate

The food of the restaurant is only so-so and the place has the smell of sterile alcohol that you would likely found in the 80s mainland hotels, when China just opened its market. However, the big plus of going to this restaurant is to see where everyday Hungarians live. 

Now it is time to get back to my tourist schedule by visiting the Royal Palace (Budavári palota)

Taking bus 16 from Pest to cross the bridge to Buda Hill. The castle is on top of the hill and the bus will only drop you at the tunnel

You can go up the hill by taking the Castle Hill Funicular (Budavári Sikló) 

The possible inspiration for the caricaturized aerial tram in "A Grand Budapest Hotel"?

It was just luck that the funicular was out for maintenance. So I have no choice but to take the hike (for about 50 meters) . For better or for worse, I just happened to catch the change of guard when I reached the Royal Palace at the top

Royal Palace

Royal Palace

Liberty Statue

Széchenyi Chain Bridge during the day

Finally, as a grand finale of my vacation, I decided to be somewhat extravagant by joining the Budapest Candlelit Dinner Cruise Legenda on Danube. The cruise offers a flat dinner package price that includes four courses or a basic cruise fee and pay as you order from their À La Carte menu. I chose the latter since I imagine a 4-course meal will be too much for me

Legenda sightseeing boat at Dock 7 of the Danube

Candlelit dinner cruise on the Legenda

Live music on the Legenda

Cruise dinner appetizer - Foie gras (cold goose liver)

Cruise dinner main course - Duck Breast with Rosemary in Red Wine Sauce

Cruise dinner dessert - Panna Cotta

Széchenyi Chain Bridge at night

Mátyás Church

Under the Margaret Bridge

Országház - Hungarian Parliament Building at night

Church of St. Anne

Buda Calvinist Church

After an enchanting two and half hour cruise on Danube, my eight days of Austro-Hungarian trip has fruitfully completed. Here I'm concluding my travelogue with a video clip of my Danube cruise while I was on Legneda

Trip to the former Austro-Hungarian Empire - Day 7

My four day trip stay in Vienna has come to a close. It is time to catch the train back to Budapest

Taking one last look at Westbahnhof train station. I supposed this is where Celine said goodbye to Jesse in 'Before Sunrise'. Well have a great life...

Back in Budapest in 3 hours, still got more travelling to do though

As it is called the City of Baths, it is mandatory to visit one of the many thermal baths Budapest gets to offer. but it could be quite confusing if you are Magyar-challenged.

My choice of bath - Rudas Gyógyfürdő

Budapest is actually comprised of two distinct regions, Buda & Pest, that separated by the Danube river. Rudas Gyógyfürdő is located in the Buda side, which is considered the more upscale part of the city

Entrance of Rudas Gyógyfürdő

This is your admission ticket and you should keep it on the whole time, even when you are bathing

Admission plus locker cabinet costs 3100 HUF, about 14 USD

This machine will assign you to a locker cabinet when you tap your admission watch to it

And the watch will unlock the cabinet also

The admission fee allows you to stay in the pool for as long as you want (until closing of course). For an extra 3300 HUF to 7200 HUF, you can enjoy up to an hour of body massage. Because I need to catch a movie at 8:45 p.m. I only ask for a 20 minute of firming massage.

Puskin Cinema, sort of like the Kendall Square of Budapest. You can catch the American art house movies in English here

The night before I left for Vienna I walked by Puskin and saw the poster of 'A Grand Budapest Hotel'. How can you resist when you are in Budapest yourself?

Ticket costs only 1100 HUF (about 5 USD) , exceptionally cheap even by Budapest's standard

Interior of the cinema

The theater inside

With its velvet chairs and gleaming headlights, the Puskin theater still retains the classic elegance of the bygone era, which is eerily fitting for a movie like 'A Grand Budapest Hotel'

Next to the cinema is a cafe that has drawn some really divisive reviews. Some said it is a can't miss while other it is a total rip-off

Next: Trip to the former Austro-Hungarian Empire - Day 8

Trip to the former Austro-Hungarian Empire - Day 6

After five days of exceptional good weather, temperature has dropped back to the more seasonable lower 10s degree Celsius (about mid 50s Fahrenheit). Combined with the rain make it a cold and dampened day. The good side of it is I got to wear every single piece of garment I brought for the trip, discounting the extra socks and underwear of course

There is no excuse to miss the Wiener Sängerknaben (Vienna Boys' Choir) when you are in Vienna. However, being the off season the only chance to *hear* them is supposedly through the Sunday Mass at the Hofburgkapelle, which you will need to book months in advance and for a staggering €25 to €35. Fortunately, they also offer free standing tickets for the first 60 wait in line.

I got up early for the 9:15 a.m. Mass but already there was a line outside of the chapel

I think I am the 56th in line, barely made it

You are not supposed to take photos *during* the Mass but there are a few (Japanese) tourists taking them anyway

The Mass lasted just a bit over an hour, in which you did get to hear singing but you never actually see the singers. So in the end I am not really sure I have actually heard the Wiener Sängerknaben.

For lunch I tried to pass as local by eating at Würstelstand, the traditional Austrian sausage stand.

Leberkäse sandwiches, sort of like ham but unlike ham it isn't very salty even when it is hot

Originally I planned to take a one-hour train to Bratislava of Slovakia for a walking tour but because of rain I decide to stay indoor by visiting the Schönbrunn Palace instead.

Schönbrunn Palace, the summer getaway for the Hapsburg royalty back in the days

Among the most famous Habsburg monarch is of course Empress Elisabeth of Austria, affectionately remembered as Sisi, of whom you can find anything and everything bearing her face in the gift shop of Schönbrunn Palace

Sisi (left) and the Austrian actress Romy Schneider (right), who had played Sisi four times in a series of sugarcoated biography movies, not an achievement she is particularly proud of

A stroll in the rainy Palace Garden, with the help of a coach

Fasten your seat-belts it is going to be a bumpy ride

It is too cold even on a coach, so after the ride I went to the Cafe at the Palace and treat myself with a cup of coffee 

And also some royal pastries. What I had is called Melange & Wiener Trio: a Melange coffee and three samples of mini Sacher cake, Mozart cake and Topfen-Weichsel cake

The rain was really coming down after my trip to the Schönbrunn Palace. I tried to wait it out in the hotel but when dinner time came I had no choice but braced myself with the rain. Continued with the theme of passing as local I decide to try somewhere the local family will frequent in the Prater park, Vienna's famous amusement park 

Prater park and its showstopper attraction, the ferris wheel Wiener Riesenrad

For the post 70s generation Riesenrad is probably best remembered as where Jesse and Celine shared their first kiss in 'Before Sunrise'. But actually this ferris wheel has been immortalized cinematically as early as 1949, when Orson Welles' character Harry Lime made his first appearance in the movie 'The Third Main'

Finally found what I am looking for in the Prater park, the local-style family restaurant Schweiyerhaus

My mission at Schweiyerhaus is their Schweinsstelze, a favourite dish among the local. Translated to 'pig knuckles' in English, it tastes a little like Chinese fried port (燒肉) and a touch too salty for my liking

Schweinsstelze - definitely not a dish for one person

Next: Trip to the former Austro-Hungarian Empire - Day 7