It’s been three years since my last Europe trip, so I figured it was time to go back, see a few new places, and visit some friends. There was a lot I wanted to do, so when I began planning my trip things got complicated quickly! Here, I’ll recap the first part: a train trip through Vienna, Bratislava, and Budapest. In my next post, I’ll recap my relaxation time in Greece and friend time in the UK.
I finished teaching a couple weeks before departing, which gave me plenty of time to get everything in order so that I could close work email for the duration of my trip. I can’t recommend this enough – taking true and extended breaks from work is so helpful for my mental health. On top of that, I’m so much better at work after I’ve had time to reset. It’s a win-win!
Days 1 & 2: Getting There and Vienna
Getting to Vienna was a nightmare. My first two flights were both delayed (from Tucson to Phoenix and from Phoenix to London Heathrow). My UK-based friend Kira and I had booked the same flight from London to Vienna, Austria, but because my flight was delayed so long, I missed it. She got to Vienna around 3pm and had a whole afternoon to explore. I, on the other hand, finally got to Vienna around 7pm.
I’ve had my fair share of good luck with travel, jumping on many flights in the last couple years with only minutes to spare, so I guess it was about time for me to miss a flight. On the plus side, British Air did an amazing job handling the situation. When I landed in London, they handed me a ticket to my already-rebooked flight, and even gave me an aisle seat.
Kira had already checked in to our Airbnb, so when I got there I dropped my bag and we went out for dinner. I had some Wienerschnitzel, because how can you not have the food named after the city you’re in! Afterwards, we went on a hunt for another Vienna original – Sachertorte.
Sachertorte in Vienna.
Day 3: Vienna
I’m not going to spend much time writing about Vienna, because I actually didn’t like it very much. That said, I was pretty jetlagged and it was raining the whole day, so it’s very possible I wouldn’t have had such a negative perception if I was rested and it was sunny out!
We spent the day walking through the city (about 8 miles total), and saw many of the famous buildings/places. In the afternoon, we had tea at Cafe Central, which is apparently an important thing to do. We also walked over to the Donaukanal (Danube canal), which was deserted but seemed like it would be a busy and interesting spot for a drink or food in the summer.
Inside Vienna’s Cafe Central.
A Vienna highlight: the globe museum.
Selfie in front of some famous place in Vienna.
Day 4: Vienna and Bratislava
Both of us felt like we had seen everything we wanted to see in Vienna, so after having brunch the next morning, we hopped on our train to Bratislava, Slovakia. The train took about an hour, and it was nice to see some of the countryside. After dropping our bags at our Airbnb, we spent a few hours wandering around the old town.
Bratislava is smaller than Vienna and there are not nearly as many famous attractions, but I loved it. The old town was absolutely lovely, and there was a quirky tone to a lot of the buildings and street art. Unlike Vienna, it felt genuine.
My favorite thing in Bratislava is the art-nouveau-style Blue Church (technically, Church of St. Elizabeth of Hungary). It’s about a 10-minute walk out of the city center but definitely worth the extra time because it’s so cool to see in person. It’s a perfect example of how things in Bratislava are a bit different, but in an amazing way.
After dinner, we headed in for an early night. We had walked another 8 miles or so, and I had woken up at 4 (thanks jet lag). Plus, we wanted to get plenty of rest for our trip to the countryside the next day.
Some funky paintings on an old building at the edge of old town Bratislava.
Klimt and cats!
More cats! Bratislava shop windows are on point.
A fun sculpture in Bratislava old town.
Selfie in front of the Bratislava Castle.
Blue Church.
Day 5: Bratislava and Budpest
We started the day with a trip to the countryside to see Devin Castle. What a perfect day to get out of the city! After a rainy day in Vienna and an overcast and dreary day in Bratislava, we finally had a beautiful, sunny, warm day.
Devin Castle is not really in the countryside – it’s only about 12 km from Bratislava old town. Still, it was nice to be out of the city, and it was the first time this trip I felt in my element (I prefer towns to cities). I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.
In the afternoon, we caught our train to Budapest, Hungary and got settled in our last Airbnb. As the sun set, we ventured out to experience some of Budapest’s infamous ruin bars. If you’re not familiar, these are bars in formerly abandoned buildings. They weren’t for me, but then I’m not a bar person so that’s to be expected. I did very much enjoy the food truck dinner we had though! It hit the spot after another day of walking 8+ miles.
A really cool beetle at the Devin Castle.
Donkey!
Selfie at the Devin Castle.
Devin Castle.
Day 6: Budapest
We walked 8 miles or more each of the previous days, but our full day in Budapest topped that by far. We walked around the entire city, covering more than 11 miles before dinner!
I don’t love cities, but I did enjoy Budapest. It had a nice mix of interesting architecture, history, and green space. I also like that it’s not a ridiculously expensive city (looking at you, London/Paris/Vienna), and that the people are genuinely nice and easy-going (Paris take note).
We started by heading to the Budapest Great Market Hall, just a few hundred meters from our accommodation. I am absolutely in love with the building, and the atmosphere inside was great. After we had our fill, we crossed the Danube and went to the Gellert Hill Cave, by the famous Gellert baths. We hiked all the way up the hill to the Citadel. The hike was better than the Citadel itself, as we enjoyed the impressive city views during our uphill climb.
Next, we walked over to Castle Hill, with Buda Castle and the Budapest History Museum situated on top (this meant climbing more stairs!). There’s a neat furnicular there, but we decided that looking at it was good enough, and we didn’t need to pay to take a ride.
The best view of the Hungarian Parliament Building is from across the Danube, so before heading back to the Pest side of the river, we walked a bit further north to see the building in all its splendor. Finally, halfway through the day, we crossed back from Buda to Pest and grabbed some lunch.
Our first stop after lunch was to pay our respects at the World War II memorial Shoes on the Danube.
Our last stop before dinner was the Budapest City Park (Varosliget). We wanted to see the Castle Vajdahunyad and the Szechenyi Baths, but we also stumbled on a massive festival in the park. Unfortunately, I was still full from lunch, because the food looked SO GOOD.
A beautiful view of Budapest.
looking down at the furnicular and the Danube river.
The exterior of the Great Market Hall in Budapest.
Festival at Budapest City Park.
Comparing Vienna, Bratislava, and Budapest
My ranking: Bratislava was my favorite, followed closely by Budapest. Vienna was a distant third. The main reason Bratislava topped Budapest for me is because of my own preference for smaller, less crowded places. That said, considering how I usually feel about big cities, Budapest far out-performed my expectations. Both Bratislava and Budapest felt genuine and welcoming. I don’t think we needed more time in Bratislava, but another few days in Budapest to see some more of the many museums and attractions certainly would have been worthwhile.
Up Next
Greece! Specifically, the Acropolis and Corfu. After that, London and Oxford! Read the recap here.
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