Day Two: Planes, Planes, and Taxis

Captain Grumpy:  Woke up as we landed in Germany.  After taking the family on a tour of Terminal A, it was decided best for all of us to rest while we waited for the plane to Budapest.  Like I said, it was decided, which means Mother Superior was mad at me…and so were the minions.  Who would have known that they couldn’t accompany me into the Lufthansa Senator’s Club and we needless walked twice as far through a hot airport for nothing...oh well.  The flight to Budapest was uneventful.  Monkey Hat and I played “War” with his Yugiyoh cards and the other two slept.  Our hotel’s driver was waiting on us and brought us to the hotel.  Not the Waldorf, but not the Barcelona hotel either.  We took the evening to explore the restaurant area of Pest, near the Danube River.  All of us were asleep by 9 pm.

Mother Superior: We arrived in Budapest on time – Luftansa ever punctual!  Our driver was waiting for us and swept us to the hotel.  Checking in took almost no time and we decided to make our way to the Danube River.  We found the metro and took it to Vorosmarty Ter.  Now I’m aware of the globalization is causing cities to look increasingly similar, but does TGIF really need to set up shop in Budapest?  We kept our distance from the global franchises and sought out local character.  We were not disappointed by tiny coffee houses on the back streets.  By 19h30 we were done eating and decided to frequent Patisserie Gerbaud, but they were already in the process of closing down for the night.  I wonder if the early curfew is a remnant of the Communist era?  A rain check will be required.  The patisserie was exquisitely put together.  I cannot wait to indulge my taste buds.

Monkey Hat:  Today I woke up on the plane above Europe.  We landed in Frankfurt and hopped on a bus to the terminal.   I now have, in my passport, a stamp from Frankfurt.  Then we got to our gate and had lunch.  We finally got on the plane and they gave me a snack.  It was cream cheese in a pretzel.  At last we landed in Budapest.  A taxi guy picked us up and took us to the hotel and then we went to tour Pest.  At the end we had dinner.