Last December, when I choose the weekend for our trip to Budapest, I thought I was being really clever. I picked a weekend at the end of March, when Spring should be starting to take hold, and with one of the days being the 23rd, which was relevant to Linda's Birthday (for which this was a present). Also it was about as far ahead as was possible to book a flight via Easyjet.
It wasn't until I went to book my holidays in our vacation system at work, when I requested Friday and Monday off and it showed zero days of leave consumed, that I realised I had booked the trip on Easter weekend. This discovery resulted in some panic, as I had no idea what Easter in Budapest would be like; and whether I should have possibly have chosen somewhere more ostentatiously religious such as, I don't know, Italy?
Anyway I did a bit of quick research and determined that not everything would be shut, and indeed Budapest would have at least some Easter-oriented traditions, so decided I did not need to cancel all my flight and hotel bookings and start again from scratch. Then it was then just a matter of 3 months anxious waiting for the actual trip to see if it would be a disaster or not.
Finally it was the end of March and we were due to head off. I had heard there was some cold weather heading for Switzerland, and when we got on the train to Geneva there was snow all over the ground and it had obviously been snowing heavily during the day. Easyjet is not the most reliable of airlines at the best of times and the snow storms inevitably delayed our departure; went spent our time shuffling from seat to seat and eating dodgy airport food.
We'd read all sorts of advisories about Budapest - that we were sure to get ripped off as soon as we arrived - but actually we got ourselves some local currency and a cheap taxi to the hotel with very little fuss. In any case by the time we got to the hotel I was a little fazed by the whole travel process and I think I upset the check-in guy when I absent-mindedly failed to acknowledge that our room had been upgraded. Anyway I guess it's important to set low expectations with the staff from the very beginning.
After the requisite time exploring the hotel room, peering out our window at the view (Linda reminds me it was even snowing when we arrived!) and checking the prices for the bar fridge, we took to bed in preparation for an early start our first day in Budapest!
Sunday, 30 March 2008
Friday, 14 March 2008
Skating in Vevey
At the start of winter they set up an ice-skating rink in the main square of Vevey, and every time we walked past it we kept saying that we should have a go.
It was meant to finish up at the start of March but it got an 'extended season' so we figured we better get around to it before it finally closed up shop.
I think it is safe to say we are not natural ice-skaters; even with all my rollerblading experience the ice still seems quite strange and difficult to get used to.
Anyway there was a wild storm raging outside, and the sun kept peaking through the clouds over the choppy lake making for a very dramatic setting.
We finished up just in time before a group of helmet-clad children to come onto the rink, no doubt to do a better job of skating than us. Anyway, for us the important thing is we got on and gave it a go!
It was meant to finish up at the start of March but it got an 'extended season' so we figured we better get around to it before it finally closed up shop.
I think it is safe to say we are not natural ice-skaters; even with all my rollerblading experience the ice still seems quite strange and difficult to get used to.
Anyway there was a wild storm raging outside, and the sun kept peaking through the clouds over the choppy lake making for a very dramatic setting.
We finished up just in time before a group of helmet-clad children to come onto the rink, no doubt to do a better job of skating than us. Anyway, for us the important thing is we got on and gave it a go!
Thursday, 6 March 2008
Les Diablerets
The other day I spotted an ad in craigslist for some second hand skis. I arranged to meet with the very nice man who was running the nestle seniors ski club and who was selling the skis belonging to some workers who had been relocated outside of Switzerland.
The deal was almost too good to be true - located in Vevey, they were the right size, in excellent condition, and he even had some matching boots that by some miracle fit my feet (ski boots are notoriously difficult to fit).
We asked if he also had some skis for Linda, which he did, and which were in even better condition than my ones, although unfortunately no matching boots for Linda (we bought them separately). Anyway, we were now suddenly and unexpectedly the proud owners of a full set of ski gear and therefore had to go skiing!
A friend at work recommended Les Diablerets since it has been quite warm recently and Les Diablerets is quite high altitude, while still relatively close to Vevey. Anyway I had always wanted to go there because there is also a lift to Glacier 3000 - unsurprisingly, a glacier at 3000m altitude.
We made our way there by train, queued to have our ski bindings adjusted at a rental shop (internet advice for adjusting bindings is: "take them to a professional"), and hit the slopes!
Okay so the snow was a bit slushy (definitely spring skiing) but the cover was good and the slopes were about right for Linda to find her skiers legs. Unfortunately Glacier 3000 was closed because of the wind at that altitude. On the plus side, the views over the mountain range were amazing, it was sunny and warm, and where we were there was no wind at all!
The deal was almost too good to be true - located in Vevey, they were the right size, in excellent condition, and he even had some matching boots that by some miracle fit my feet (ski boots are notoriously difficult to fit).
We asked if he also had some skis for Linda, which he did, and which were in even better condition than my ones, although unfortunately no matching boots for Linda (we bought them separately). Anyway, we were now suddenly and unexpectedly the proud owners of a full set of ski gear and therefore had to go skiing!
A friend at work recommended Les Diablerets since it has been quite warm recently and Les Diablerets is quite high altitude, while still relatively close to Vevey. Anyway I had always wanted to go there because there is also a lift to Glacier 3000 - unsurprisingly, a glacier at 3000m altitude.
We made our way there by train, queued to have our ski bindings adjusted at a rental shop (internet advice for adjusting bindings is: "take them to a professional"), and hit the slopes!
Okay so the snow was a bit slushy (definitely spring skiing) but the cover was good and the slopes were about right for Linda to find her skiers legs. Unfortunately Glacier 3000 was closed because of the wind at that altitude. On the plus side, the views over the mountain range were amazing, it was sunny and warm, and where we were there was no wind at all!
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