u/Decent-Yam-223

Help I’m so stuck and I’m painting on Saturday

I’ve tried 6 different colors on my walls and have narrowed it down to 1. But I need a color for my trim and doors.
I’m painting my dining room that opens into the kitchen , foyer that gets little to no light and the hallway leading to the side door.
My dining room and the rooms except for the kitchen all have honey colored wood flooring, my furniture in the dining room is Mohegan and honey colored. The kitchen has this hideous blue / white tile that I will be hanging out way down the line along with brown cupboards.
I had narrowed the color down to Navajo white from sherwin williams as I wanted the place to feel a tad bit warmer. I live in hawaii so ofcourse I want even more warmth.
For the trim and doors I’m so stuck between west highland white , pure white or greek villa. Initially was going to try shoji white but that is way too cool.

Any suggestions please Here’s a pic of my dining room thatsbi shambles as I prepare to move things to paint

Say 1: Sunday July 5,2026

We came off a lovely 2.4 hr train journey from Vienna extremely comfortable Im the quiet section of OEBB railjet first class. As we approached Salzburg we could see the darkening of the clouds and the onset of what would seem inevitable gloom. But … we never let us stop or get us down. We will embrace all weather and see the city from different lights and POV’s.

When we landed there was a sense of joy and cheer. From the platform one could see the distinct white shading of the alps in all her glory. How absolutely beautiful.

I fired up my Google Maps and realized that the hotel is but a mere 10 minute walk from the train station. So we walked very easily to our hotel at the Imlauer Pitter hotel. Check in unfortunately was not ready yet at 13:00 so we decided to explore the city but first , a glass of champagne at their sky restaurant over looking parts of the city and some views of the alps.

We were made aware that there was a huge bazar happening on the river front. Which of course we wanted to check out.

We walked through the beautiful Mirabell palace gardens on our way we passed over the bridge of lockets and there were saw the multitude of vendors so beautifully set aside the river. The clouds were definitely dense and dark and sure enough we had some rain. Fortunately there was a nice wine tent set up where o enjoyed a glass of Austrian white. Mmmm. Great way to warm one’s self up.

Hungry we made our way into the city center and found Gasshaua on Goldgasse and enjoyed a somewhat delicious Weiner Schnitzel and sauerkraut ( on the side. I know how very dare I but I needed it ) shared of course because that plate is always so gigantic enough for two people

After a fabulous lunch we walked around admiring the stores who are predominantly closed on Sunday So much artesian delights. We walked through Mozartplatz, Residenzplatz and into the cathedral. Glorious cathedral with the most pipe organs I have ever seen.

We made our way to the St Pitter catacombs and beautiful graveyard. We did hike up those steep steps to find a chapel in the rock and what some may call a very prudent style of worship.

By now I’m sure our room is ready , and we made our way to our hotel , grabbed our keys and turned in for the night with some. Netflix

Day 2: Monday July 6,2026

Today started off very dreary but I made the decision to give in to chance and decided to go to see the Wolfgansee. First stop is breakfast and we found a great cafe close to the Kunst theater and ordered a fabulous homemade rice pudding with cinnamon mmmmm. Perfect for this chilly weather.

As a guest staying in Salzburg, we have free range of use on the public metros and this includes the bus 150 that takes you to St Gilgen , the start of our journey to Lake Wolfgang. The ride was quick and lovely and in 40 ish minutes we were walking down to the sleepy town of St Gilgen. We first purchased our tickets to ride the ferry to St Wolfgan Schafbergbahn The cost was 11.80 one way. It arrive or departs on the hour every hour. So we had a good 45 minutes to kill. The sleepy and quaint town of St. Gilgen was just waking up , and the lovely store fronts were being decorated with their sales for the day. What an absolutely charming town.

In no time we were enjoying the most comfortable and smooth beautiful ride through lake Wolfgang admiring the sheer beauty of everything around us. I. About 35 minutes we landed at St Wolfgan Schafbergbahn

A one minute walk and we were
Purchasing our exorbitantly priced Schafbergbahn cog train tickets at the jaw dropping 61€ for the round trip. I was a little livid to be quite honest
But I really wanted to go up top and live my fantasy or spinning around the mountain like Maria from SOM.

We boarded or train absolutely packed in and made our climb up the very steep hill. As we began to climb the less and less visibility was afforded to us. By the time we got to the top it was literally 1foot of visibility and freezing cold 😥. We made our way through the blistering wind up to the restaurant and its inviting warmth and settled down for the next 1.4 hrs. What a curious lodge and restaurant. I can feel the nostalgia here. It is warm and inviting and we sat at a window staring into the abyss of nothingness. We ordered something warm. I got a fabulous dumpling filled with something do not know as it was Labeled a surprise 😳. Bit more importantly it came with sauerkraut. So different to have home made versus store bought jars in the USA. And I’ve been in dire need for the probiotics.
My friend got a bone broth soup and all In all it was very satisfying and fulfilling.

The restaurant was getting extremely packed now as everyone had the same idea that we did. Stay warm and stay inside.

When it came time to leave we braved the ice cold rain and next to zero visibility back to the cog train. As we descended down the clouds started to lift (irony) and we got to see how beautiful the mountain side is and the gorgeous views below. The lake was coming into full view and it was just divine.

Upon arriving back we decided to go and visit the absokuteku charming town of st Wolfgang. Such beauty and so quaint. With some excellent local shopping Soon our time came and we were taking that beautiful ship back to St Gilgen in pure bliss. It really is such a comfortable ride.

Our bus ride back to Salzburg was absolutely bonkers. And packed to the teeth we were so lucky to score seats.

When we got back around 18:00 pm we made our way up to Funicular to Hohensalzburg Fortress. Your ticket is a round trip ticket and absolutely worth it. The views from up top Hohensalzburg Fortress is absolutely beautiful. We walked in and around the fortress and settled upon the outdoor cafe for an early dinner. While it is definitely what you would expect from a touristy spot , the food was actually pretty good and generous and the views were mind blowing 🤯.

It was the perfect end to such an amazing day.

Day 3: Tuesday July 7,2026

We took our time getting ready and headed out the door around 9 am. We were on a mission to shop. But first … breakfast. We walked around Schloss Mirabell Palace and crossed over a bridge far from old city center. It was a beautiful walk and the day was turning out to be spectacular.

We shopped and shopped and shopped and got back to our hotel to rearranged our bags to accommodate our shopping. Haha.
A brief lovely walk back to the train station , a relaxing moment in the OEBB lounge and next thing you know we’re were in our single business class seats sipping wine and just taking in how lucky and fortunate we are to have been able to have this beautiful experience in Salzburg and Austria in general. It was truly magical. I would love to return here in the winter just to see what it’s like to have a blanket of snow and to be all wrapped up and cozy while walking these charming dreamy streets again

Wednesday : July 8,2025
Now as I sit finishing this up in the restaurant of the Hotel Amauris in Vienna I’m teary eyed 🥹 and so heart full of love for this beautiful country. Today I leave for Greece for a few weeks then back home to hawaii.

Thank you ☺️ to all who helped me plan such a beautiful experience. I will never forget it.

Say 1: Sunday July 5,2026

We came off a lovely 2.4 hr train journey from Vienna extremely comfortable Im the quiet section of OEBB railjet first class. As we approached Salzburg we could see the darkening of the clouds and the onset of what would seem inevitable gloom. But … we never let us stop or get us down. We will embrace all weather and see the city from different lights and POV’s.

When we landed there was a sense of joy and cheer. From the platform one could see the distinct white shading of the alps in all her glory. How absolutely beautiful.

I fired up my Google Maps and realized that the hotel is but a mere 10 minute walk from the train station. So we walked very easily to our hotel at the Imlauer Pitter hotel. Check in unfortunately was not ready yet at 13:00 so we decided to explore the city but first , a glass of champagne at their sky restaurant over looking parts of the city and some views of the alps.

We were made aware that there was a huge bazar happening on the river front. Which of course we wanted to check out.

We walked through the beautiful Mirabelli palace gardens on our way we passed over the bridge of lockets and there were saw the multitude of vendors so beautifully set aside the river. The clouds were definitely dense and dark and sure enough we had some rain. Fortunately there was a nice wine tent set up where o enjoyed a glass of Austrian white. Mmmm. Great way to warm one’s self up.

Hungry we made our way into the city center and found Gasshaua on Goldgasse and enjoyed a somewhat delicious Weiner Schnitzel and sauerkraut shared of course because that plate is always so gigantic enough for two people

After a fabulous lunch we walked around admiring the stores who are predominantly closed on Sunday So much artesian delights. We walked through Mozartplatz, Residenzplatz and into the cathedral. Glorious cathedral with the most pipe organs I have ever seen.

We made our way to the St Pitter catacombs and beautiful graveyard. We did hike up those steep steps to find a chapel in the rock and what some may call a very prudent style of worship.

By now I’m sure our room is ready , and we made our way to our hotel , grabbed our keys and turned in for the night with some. Netflix and chill

Day 2: Monday July 6,2026

Today started off very dreary but I made the decision to give in to chance and decided to go to see the Wolfgansee. First stop is breakfast and we found a great cafe close to the Kunst theater and ordered a fabulous homemade rice pudding with cinnamon mmmmm. Perfect for this chilly weather.

As a guest staying in Salzburg, we have free range of use on the public metros and this includes the bus 150 that takes you to St Gilgen , the start of our journey to Lake Wolfgang. The ride was quick and lovely and in 40 ish minutes we were walking down to the sleepy town of St Gilgen. We first purchased our tickets to ride the ferry to St Wolfgan Schafbergbahn The cost was 11.80 one way. It arrive or departs on the hour every hour. So we had a good 45 minutes to kill. The sleepy and quaint town of St. Gilgen was just waking up , and the lovely store fronts were being decorated with their sales for the day. What an absolutely charming town.

In no time we were enjoying the most comfortable and smooth beautiful ride through lake Wolfgang admiring the sheer beauty of everything around us. I. About 35 minutes we landed at St Wolfgan Schafbergbahn

A one minute walk and we were
Purchasing our exorbitantly priced Schafbergbahn cog train tickets at the jaw dropping 61€ for the round trip. I was a little livid to be quite honest
But I really wanted to go up top and live my fantasy or spinning around the mountain like Maria from SOM.

We boarded or train absolutely packed in and made our climb up the very steep hill. As we began to climb the less and less visibility was afforded to us. By the time we got to the top it was literally 1foot of visibility and freezing cold 😥. We made our way through the blistering wind up to the restaurant and its inviting warmth and settled down for the next 1.4 hrs. What a curious lodge and restaurant. I can feel the nostalgia here. It is warm and inviting and we sat at a window staring into the abyss of nothingness. We ordered something warm. I got a fabulous dumpling filled with something do not know as it was Labeled a surprise 😳. Bit more importantly it came with sauerkraut. So different to have home made versus store bought jars in the USA. And I’ve been in dire need for the probiotics.
My friend got a bone broth soup and all In all it was very satisfying and fulfilling.

The restaurant was getting extremely packed now as everyone had the same idea that we did. Stay warm and stay inside.

When it came time to leave we braved the ice cold rain and next to zero visibility back to the cog train. As we descended down the clouds started to lift (irony) and we got to see how beautiful the mountain side is and the gorgeous views below. The lake was coming into full view and it was just divine.

Upon arriving back we decided to go and visit the absokuteku charming town of st Wolfgang. Such beauty and so quaint. With some excellent local shopping Soon our time came and we were taking that beautiful ship back to St Gilgen in pure bliss. It really is such a comfortable ride.

Our bus ride back to Salzburg was absolutely bonkers. And packed to the teeth we were so lucky to score seats.

When we got back around 18:00 pm we made our way up to Funicular to Hohensalzburg Fortress. Your ticket is a round trip ticket and absolutely worth it. The views from up top Hohensalzburg Fortress is absolutely beautiful. We walked in and around the fortress and settled upon the outdoor cafe for an early dinner. While it is definitely what you would expect from a touristy spot , the food was actually pretty good and generous and the views were mind blowing 🤯.

It was the perfect end to such an amazing day.

Day 3: Tuesday July 7,2026

We took our time getting ready and headed out the door around 9 am. We were on a mission to shop. But first … breakfast. We walked around Schloss Mirabelli Palace and crossed over a bridge far from old city center. It was a beautiful walk and the day was turning out to be spectacular.

We shopped and shopped and shopped and got back to our hotel to rearranged our bags to accommodate our shopping. Haha.
A brief lovely walk back to the train station , a relaxing moment in the OEBB lounge and next thing you know we’re were in our single business class seats sipping wine and just taking in how lucky and fortunate we are to have been able to have this beautiful experience in Salzburg and Austria in general. It was truly magical. I would love to return here in the winter just to see what it’s like to have a blanket of snow and to be all wrapped up and cozy while walking these charming dreamy streets again

Wednesday : July 8,2025
Now as I sit finishing this up in the restaurant of the Hotel Amauris in Vienna I’m teary eyed 🥹 and so heart full of love for this beautiful country. Today I leave for Greece for a few weeks then back home to hawaii.

Thank you ☺️ to all who helped me plan such a beautiful experience. I will never forget it.

Day 6: Tuesday June 30,2026

Today was our last full day in Budapest. Today was also the hottest day since we’ve been here with temperatures reaching a whopping 101 degrees. Yikes.
Our plan today was to visit the Dohány Street Synagogue Dohány utcai Zsinagóga. However once we saw that it was about $45 USD or 14,500 HUF per person we quickly realized that maybe it was not a top priority to visit. I was a bit disappointed at the astronomical price to visit a place of worship. And mean that with all due respect. I’m sure to some it is absolutely worth it but for me I’m satisfied with reading about its history. I don’t think any of the top museums in the city even costs that much. Anyway moving on.

We had breakfast and lovely coffee at La Casa Verde cafe and the sever was absolutely so sweet. Since i haven’t been feeling 100% yet we decided to stay as cool as possible and headed instead to WestEnd shopping mall for some retail therapy and some nice AC. It is your basic mall with all the typical stores. To which I just bought two items that were on sale at Zara and just walked around window shopping.
Getting there and back is such a breeze. I really like the public transportation here in Budapest. It’s thought out pretty beautifully. From the M3 line you can walk right under the street level avoiding the heat of the day straight into the mall. Brilliant !

We came home around 13:00 , stopped by a chimney cake stand and finally got ourselves some chimney cake with cinnamon for lunch :)
We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the cool ac in our apartment.

Around 18:15 we headed out for our dinner reservation at Trattoria Pomo D’Oro. The food was fantastic. We ordered the Buffalo cheese appetizer and I got the tagliatelle with clams for my main. The restaurant was very busy. I also truly enjoyed Hungarian wine. I had a Syrah and then a Sauvignon Blanc Hungarian wines. Delicious !

After dinner we walked down to the Legenda pier 7 for our 9:30 ride. Waiting in the waiting area is so stuffy and hot, I almost passed out. Fortunately our boat came and we for to load on after 20 minutes of stifling heat. I decided to sit inside as the clouds were very dark and o kept seeing lightning displays. My friend went on top. I absolutely enjoyed my journey. It was very peaceful and the views were beautiful

Once the hour was up it was a quick 15 minute walk back to our apartment where I am curled up in bed writing this post.

Tomorrow we leave for Vienna in the morning and my beautiful time here in beautiful Budapest has come to an end.

Some observations I made :
Budapest is absolutely gorgeous. So many different styles of architecture. On one side you can feel the Hapsburg influence and Neo gothic / baroque architecture and on the other you can feel the communist era of minimalism.
The people are absolutely kind and lovely and not as jaded as other very popular tourist destinations in Europe.
The food is divine. We have not had one terrible meal. And I’m happy to say I’ve tried of a few of the local specialties. Goulash of course , Langosh and chimney cake.
It is surprisingly very expensive. I was not prepared for that. Italy feels way more inexpensive for basic things like coffee , water etc. but transportation is reasonable. I honestly had this terrible notion that Budapest would be cheaper than other places in Europe but I guess it is equal. So be prepared to shell out some coin.
Love that everywhere cc are accepted
Try not to come in the middle of a heat wave hahaha. Next time l need coming either in spring or fall

Thank you Budapest. I really loved visiting you even in during the inferno

DAY 5 : Monday June 29, 2026

Ugh not the best way to start my morning :( I did not feel good at all. I felt somewhat congested and weak.
It took me a while to gather my strength and we were out the door by 9am.

Today we are walking ok Andrassy Ut and enjoying the beautiful wide avenue. The beautiful opera house is definitely a shining star on this grand avenue. She has truly one of the most spectacular facades I’ve seen for an opera house.

The day was warming up already. And so quickly. The high today is supposed to be 100 degrees. We decided to stop at a cafe and have some coffee and a pastry.

It felt very turn of the 19th century. Beautiful art Neuvoux interior and a classic cafe with gorgeous high ceilings. It felt like a step back in time and we were here for it all.

We then made our way to Franz Liszt Ter and the academy of music (which of course was closed ) but enjoyed walking through the arts neighborhood.

We took the retro metro to Heroe’s Square and Vajdanhunyan castle & lake What a gorgeous area. The heat was definitely on and we tried to stay as long as we could to enjoy the beautiful setting.

We then decided to do the Tram 2 line since we were really too tired and hot to do any more walks etc. So we took two different lines on the metro / light rail to the street of Tram 2 from start to finish and back. On the tram we experienced people not having a ticket or validating properly. This couple tried to argue their way out of paying the penalty and thought they were going to win until the aunty said “ okay I call police “ Then he tried the “oh I don’t know my pin. “ she said “okay I call police “ instantly his card worked.
Don’t mess with them !!!
The ride back and forth was lovely albeit HOT ! We got off after the round trip by the parliament bldg and headed for the most AC’d cafe for some very touristy Langosh. I did not care if it was touristy or not it was AC’d. I mean it says something that when I got off the tram, the air felt a few degrees cooler outside hahaha
Lunch was delicious actually and we hightailed it home on the metro 2 to rest up.

I was checking out and double checking our journey to Vienna on Wednesday and got nervous that our time changed to 10 minutes earlier and was not sure I we would be guaranteed our seat assignment. There’s more to the story but I’m too tired to explain , so I took a metro to Kelleti station and spoke with customer service in person. She said I was fine. Just leaving 10 minutes early. Ok great.

Unfortunately that is the extent of my day :( I feel so. Bad for my friend I just can’t and dont want to get out of bed :( maybe dinner real quick at the ukranian Restaurant next door.

Tomorrow is our last full day. I hope I am a lot better. I have 3 more weeks of travel to go

Aloha

Day 4: Sunday June 28,2026
Happy Sunday ! What a gorgeous rest I got. A solid 8 hours. We made our way out of the house by around 8 am.
Stopping first at the neighborhood Mon Cherie for some coffee and pastry. Perfection.

Today is a desired plan to be on the Buda Side all day. We made our way to the gorgeous Chain Bridge passing through the same trek through Deak Ferenc Ter and down through Vorosmarty and Vaci Ut. The day is glorious albeit warm.
We decided to cross over through the left hand side of the bridge this time enjoying a different view from this past Friday.

Once on the Buda side , paid the exorbitant price to ride the funicular for all 1.4 minutes and it was worth every penny. We need to conserve our energy as we traverse this beautiful city and all her momentous sites in the belly of the devils fury. The heat is absolutely on.

First stop is of course the beautiful Buda castle. How absolutely grand and gorgeous neo baroque architecture.
We decided to visit the Buda Castle History museum with the side St Stephen corridor. I don’t expect it to be so extensive. It was beautifully arranged and very informative. And we enjoyed a good 2 hours in the comfort of the palace.

Next we decided welp, we are here already so why not visit the Hungarian National Gallery as well. And we did. An enormous museum of art. To be quite honest. We were getting a little bit of museums out and Hangryyyyy

So we went and ate at the very touristy but really delicious Royal guard Cafe where we both had a little cup of goulash soup and a lovely salad. Surprisingly the goulash was absolutely delicious to me, even though I haven’t tasted anything yet here it felt and said like it was perfectly seasoned.

From there, we made our way to Matthias’s church and fountain
Matthias church is absolutely beautiful and gorgeous The interior has such a Moorish design and reminds me a lot of of the Duomo in Siena Italy . It is such a cool church too because you can climb up top to see and have a better view of the high altar, and you can also continue up top and visit the beautiful pipe organ and have commanding views of the church. All in all, I found it to be a beautiful and peaceful respite from the heat, and also a deeply spiritual place that resonates spirit.

Next is St Istvan statue and the gorgeous and crew perfect , Fisherman’s Bastion. It really is everything you see and read about. So picturesque and beautiful and the views of Pest especially of the Parliament building was incredible.

From there, we went and visited the hospital in the rock. We were a little early and had to wait about a half hour for our 5 PM tour, as it is mandatory to be escorted throughout the maze of tunnels. I have to say it was very educational and well done. Towards the end I got extremely emotional as they tied in the threats of nuclear war , what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and how it is our duty to maintain peace. So beautiful.

We room the elevator back up top by Matthias church and stopped by the Hilton to use the restroom. What a gorgeous and perfectly placed hotel

We decided it was fine to make our way back towards home on the Pest side. We walked back and made is as far as Vorosmorty Ter when I said to my friend that I need to rest as I’m over heating. It’s 6:45 pm and still 95 degrees. Yikes.

When all of a sudden she starts to freak out. “Omg I lost my phone. “ what? !!!! I try calling it no answer. We try find my , but she can’t remember her password. I’m sinfully of that too. Always changing you password makes it hard to remember

We tried back tracking and I remembered that she almost forgot her tote in the women’s restroom at the Hilton , so I called the hotel and they said they have found a phone We were hoping it was hers.

We went to the four seasons and grabbed a taxi to the Hilton Lo and behold the phone was there. Yes ! Exhausted we sat at the bar ordered a beer and some mediocre and expensive bar food and unwind.

The sun was setting and we then went to the fisherman’s bastion again This time in the glow of the setting sun.

We Ubers back to the apartment as there is no way in hell I can do anymore walking.

We have been out of the house for over 12 hours. We navigated the heat and exhaustion by visiting museums , churches and resting constantly. We talked about had this been spring ( like when we normally come to Europe ) we would hardly ever take breaks as the weather kept us a float. But the heat , the heat demands attention and a plan to stay safe.

No back in ac and on my.bed , I’m reflecting on what an absolutely beautiful and full day we had.

Only two full days left in this beautiful city.

Good night ;)

Day 3: Saturday June 27,2026
Happy Pride everyone !
I had an amazing sleep ! A solid 6.5 hrs hahaha okay we will work harder on that.
I stayed in bed a good hour after waking up. So lovely !
We were out the door by 8 am. First mission is to find Coffee ! Sadly so many places I thought would be open were closed until 9 am. Why !!??? Hahahaha oh well. We made our way to Deak Ferenc Ter on our way to Pesti Vigado which of course will not open for a few hours. We were hoping to find a quaint cafe to have a very light pastry and Cafe. So many places were closed. Even Gerebaud was closed. We are learning a quick lesson that the city likes to start late
I fired up Google Maps and found a small little cafe in Vorosmorty Ter called
Манджа брънч. The coffee was excellent and the croissant absolutely fresh. It was already starting to get warm. We decided to make our way to the Great Market hall.
On our way we passed and walked through Vaci Ut stopping to see the beautiful Moon sculpture

The Central Hall is vast and has all the perfect trappings for tourists. Magnets galore , paprika, and all the chachkees one could want. They also had some beautifully “handcrafted “ table cloths and runners in traditional Hungarian styles and designs with some costing a small fortune.
We ventured downstairs to see the fishmongers , and pickled sellers. We then took escalators to the top floor to browse some goods but the heat :( heat rises and was intense. I felt for the merchants also to be working in such heat. Something to note : there are toilets on every floor but make sure you’re carrying some florints as they are pay for play hahaha
The heat in the great central hall really drained us so we decided it was time to leave.

Back on Vaci Ut we were temped for a “traditional” Thai foot massage
We really enjoyed the AC and the mediocre at best , Vietnamese pedicure style foot massage. Oh well at least we were able to rest. Hahahaha. My dreams of Having a fabulous Thai foot massage like back in Bangkok was just that , a dream :(

We headed toward the water next to the Liberty bridge and saw some places to enjoy a cocktail. Feeling rested and in the spirit of official vacation mode. We decided to try our luck in this heat and have a nice refreshing apperol spritz. We found a place with Aperol signs everywhere. Well I mean it must be a sign from the universe. Luckily they were open and I had an Aperol spritz and she had a Campari spritz. We decided to stay in the luxury of an ac room instead of being outside like everyone else. It was lovely with good music. At the end when ready to leave and paying the check the waiter told us that the service charge does not go to the servers. I hope I’m right in remembering that it indeed does. So we left no tip .. he then said to us “ was the service bad. “ I said no but it’s starting to … and we left. I guess because he could hear our American accent. Too bad.

We still had time to kill so we walked around again, doing some window shopping and exploring the area really nothing peaked our interest. 2 o’clock finally came and we went to. The Párisi cafe for our afternoon tea.

The Parisi Udva is absolutely gorgeous with its gothic / art nouveau architecture. An absolute beautiful place to dine. Sadly our tea service felt more like self serve , but the sandwiches and cakes were divine.

We thought we missed the pride parade today but it seemed as if it had not even started yet. We made our way back to our apartment in Karoly Utca amazed by how many police were stationed everywhere and on every corner.

As we pulled up to the apartment , we were so surprised to see that the parade was actually coming right in front. So we had front row seats and eventually a Birds Eye view of the whole parade festivities.

There was amazing music , political statements , love all around , laughter , cheers and tears. It felt like pride albeit a bit more calmer than I’m used to back in the United States. However this was my first pride out side of my country. So definitely one for the books.

Even with the festivities I was so exhausted. The heat ( and a little bit of alcohol ) can really get to you. So i took a lovely 2 hour nap. 💤

Dinner was at 7:15 Helda. I found it to be perfectly quaint. We shared the duck and the tomato watermelon salad.

Today was an extremely chill day we didn’t hit too many “sites “ but we did thoroughly enjoy our day interacting with the sweet local people of Budapest.

Sunday …. BUDA
​

Totally thought we missed Pride but waking home we realized it passes right I front of our apartment. How epic. Very festive !

Edit 1: I just snapped photos and posted them without thinking I guess ? . I guess the freedom of speech part of pride is hard to swallow too. I do not know what the other banner says in Hungarian but as a person from an oppressed fringed minority in my country , I know exactly what the one on English means and stands for , for me.

I’m not against any race , color , creed , sexuality or religion but I am against tyrannical tyrants , murderous extremist and anyone who wants to exterminate anyone’s right to live and thrive in this world. Happy Pride everyone it was an amazing event to behold and so civil

And by the way. My pics show only 2% of the population that showed up. It was insane how many people were there. It took a good 2 hours almost to pass my door lol

Day 1: Thursday June 25,2026

So excited to be visiting Budapest. A long time dream of mine. My friend D flew from hawaii to Vancouver to Munich to Budapest, while I flew from Hawaii to Las Vegas ( for a few nights of gambling ) then flew from Vegas to Zurich on the absolutely perfect Edelweiss Airlines ok business class.
I arrived off a short hopper from Zurich on Swiss Air. Zurich was an oven within the airport , I was so happy to be in the airplane with full blast AC.

It was a beautiful 1hr 15 flight over the gorgeous Alps and eventually into Hungarian Airspace.

Deplaning was so easy and next thing we were being shuttled to baggage claim. Because I already went through passport / immigration in Zurich during transit , there was no wait at all.
Bags came out quickly . The customs inspector asked me a few random questions and I was exiting meeting up with D. She was In terminal 2A and I was 2B. Less than 5 minutes walk later , we were reunited , exited and went to the OFFICIAL TAXI STAND. Gave the attendant our address and she quoted me the price , gave us the taxi number and we loaded in to our taxi on our way to Budapest.

We are staying on Karoly Kur a lovely area in the 5th. Having been wined and dined so much on our flights we decided to skip dinner tonight and just unwind and unpacking our apartment where will be staying for the next 6 nights.

The sun was setting by the time we got to our apartment. And we were so happy that we canceled dinner.

The apartment is fabulous. Such trip back in time. The apartment has large high ceilings , 2 full bedrooms with en-suite baths and is absolutely comfortable.
We are right next to a spar grocery store where we went to pick up some water and little nibble supplies. I love shopping in local grocery stores. You get to see all the different and similar items that exist or don’t back home. I fell like it’s a great way to connect with local culture.

Sleep was on our agenda , and thus ended our first day/ night in Budapest.

Day 2: Friday June 26,2025

Well what felt like a super long sleep ended up being a whole 4 hours. 😭
Here I thought I would sleep to 7 am , but instead I was up before the crack of dawn and the ungodly hour of 2 am ! Why !!!!!!??????
Seems that D was on the exact same schedule. Just great. We fumbled around the apartment for a while and was out the door dressed and ready at 5:30’am.

First order of business was to take out very very little money. I have been told by so many people on different forums that having cash on hand is not necessary since it a heavy credit card city. Still you never know when you need to go to the public toilets and plus I collect foreign money. We both took out 15,000 HUF each. A little under $50. Yay !

The city is in absolute peace and silence. The air was crisp and cool. It was a beautiful time to start exploring the city

We decided to walk around a bit just getting lost making our way to the beautiful Danube river.

Our first beautiful landmark was the Anker Palace. I just can’t believe how quiet the city is It’s like a ghost town.
We made our way through Virosmartt Ter admiring all the beautiful architecture no one else around except for us and the local waste control peeps.

We finally made it to the Danube and beautiful Buda greeted us basking in the morning sunlight Wow !!! Absolutely breath taking.

We walked towards the chain bridge and walked over to the Buda side for a different perspective but in reality we really wanted To have coffee and breakfast on the Buda side. Sadly no where was open down below so we turned back and visited Gresham palace directly across the entrance to the Chain Brisfe for a nice Four seasons bathroom break :). What a gorgeous hotel The interior is spectacular and so are their prices ;)

We walked around making our way to St Isrtvan Ter. Still so still and quiet but slowly waking up. We were now on full on finding breakfast mode. Still, so many places were closed but bit by bit a few places were opening. We really wanted to have a full on breakfast even if it would mean a very touristy experience. We were willing to fork out to fill out jet lagged body up with fuel for the day.

We found a quaint little out door seating area that was open outside the very pretty boutique hotel Aria. I had the “Hungarian breakfast” which consisted of “Hungarian “ style scrambled eggs w/ Paprika and D had the Scandinavian version with salmon.
It was our first meal since arriving in hungry And a perfect respite to rest while waiting for St Istvan Basilica to open up.

St Istvan Ter ( St Stephen Square ) is very beautiful , clean and pretty. it was also very quiet as the horses of tourists have not yet arrived The Basilica does not open for another half hour.

At 9am we purchased our all pass tickets for the church visit on the right hand side next to Starbucks. My recommendation is not to get the everything pass which includes the church , treasury and panoramic view of the city. The treasury was under underwhelming to me And totally skippable unless you like religious artifacts for mass. The panoramic view, however, was fantastic and it was very interesting to see the layout of Budapest on the Pest side.

Very similar grid like Paris and the Arrondesmonts

The basilica is very ornate and beautiful. Something you would expect from a gorgeous Catholic Church. The most interesting part was seeing the decrepit hand of St Istvan , Hungary’s first king. It’s actually eerily fabulous.

From there we walked to the Soviet Memorial taking little breaks I. The many little green area parks and their benches. I feel this has truly saved us. As the heat was slowly creeping up on us so early in the morning , taking g breaks and hydrating saved me and us from disaster.

The city to me is very green . Lots of foliage and parks around to enjoy a leafy break.

From the Soviet war memorial we said high to presidents George W Bush and Ronal Reagan making our way slowly to the highlight of our day … The Parliament building.

Nothing can prepare you for its regality and beauty. It is truly gorgeous. And the opposite facing Hall of Justice is equally breathtaking.

Our reservation for the audio tour of the Parliament building wasn’t until noon but we made our way to sit down inside where It was at least 10 degrees Fahrenheit cooler. They were offering to fill up your water bottles or give you a cup of water right before the entrance. The sun was blazing hot and it was a very generous and thoughtful way to keep everyone hydrated and cool.

Our tour was approximately 45 minutes in length. You are given an audio guide in many languages and it was a really perfect way to learn about the building and its contents. Which includes the actual original Holy crown of Hungary, the scepter, orb and sword. The absolutely beautiful grand staircase was a huge highlight for me. It is so beautifully decadent.

Exhaustion was totally creeping up on us. It was already 13:00pm and I think I need a nap. I’m still fighting so many different time zones since Monday and. It having a full rest is weighing me down. So a nap was in.

I fired up the Budapest Go app and entered my destination. It showed me how to get there and which metro to take. I purchased one ticket , signed up and then headed into the metro station. There are little yellow boxes with QR codes and the app tells you to scan the QR code from my ticket and it validates it. This is a crucial and important step because there are inspectors who randomly check you and if you have not validated your ticket, you’ll be paying a very expensive price. You may be asking about my friend why didn’t she get a ticket while she is over the age of 65, which allows that person free use of all types of public transportation from the metro, buses and trams.

We haven’t even eaten lunch so we stopped real quick at the grocery store next-door and bought some banana bananas, fruit fruits, and I had a little cereal. I wasn’t very hungry, but I know I should eat.
After that, we just crashed out for a good four hours in the coolness of our air-conditioned apartment
This apartment is everything I absolutely love it. It’s also so close to everything you can walk everywhere.

After a lovely nap, I woke up a bit confused. I thought maybe it was the morning and I forgot that it was actually late afternoon. We headed out of the house again around 6 PM making our way down to the Danube as we were not able to see the shoes on the Danube, which I had planned to see right after the Parliament building.

We took a leisurely walk through all the different squares, but decided to go back to the aria hotel, and have a cocktail in the rooftop bar
It was very refreshing and the staff are young and beautiful

From there, we slowly walked and made our way to the shoes on the Danube. D and I just could not fathom why this type of atrocity even existed. It’s really surreal to witness. It was my very first casualty of World War II from Nazi campaign that I have experienced. It’s very somber. My friend counted 62 pairs and two child’s shoes. So sad.

We utilize the Metro again to make our way to dinner as we kinda needed to somewhat cross town to go and eat at mazel tov

Dinner was absolutely fabulous. What a cute place but very hot no air-conditioning in there, but it was tolerable. We ordered the hummus, the stuffed pepper and the fennel salad. Very light, but absolutely perfect.

From there, we walked home passing through the beautiful Parisian inspired or should I say what reminded me so much of Pereze, Andrassy UT. Seeing the Opera House lit up was so gorgeous and the W hotel was very festive.

I walk home was absolutely gorgeous. We passed through so many different friends of mine, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Jimmy. Hahahahq

Here I am back home about to get ready for bed. It’s 10 PM on a Friday and thus ended our official day 2 here and beautiful Budapest.