We started our trip in Miami on Dec. 6, 2023 with a flight to Budapest, Hungary after a transfer at Healthrow in London. For Andrew and me it was our third trip to Budapest since 2008. The last time was for the famous circus trip in 2020 immediately prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Budapest is the epitome of a romantic winter destination. It was cold and snowy enough. Our first walk occurred after a several hours nap to recover from our long flights. We stayed in the central business district which in the old days was Pest before being joined with Buda in 1850.
Thousands of tourists descend on Budapest for pre-Christmas markets located throughout the city. The most famous market we found first at the plaza in front of the basilica. Our market visit was preceded by a 6pm Friday mass attended by more than a 1000 people at Szent lstvan-Basilika. Outside you can find food, drink and Christmas merchandise in the iconic market voted one of the best in Europe.
We planned to go to the outdoor spa called Széchenyi Baths, the Most Famous Spa in Budapest. It has many inside and outside pools of different temperatures. We went on Friday knowing the weekend would be really busy. We spent many hours before taking the oldest electric subway in Europe back to the main part of the city.
On Saturday the crowds were bigger than the day before. We walked across the Danube River on the famous Szechenyl Bridge to the vernacular up to the top of a mountain called the Castle District. There is a magnificent Romanesque church surrounded by more vendors.
Finally, at lunch time we were able to get into a restaurant to have our first Hungarian food – beef goulash and wiener schnitzel. The food and place were a welcome retreat from the mass of people. We walked six miles that day.
Rather than chronicle details of each day I will cover the highlights. Our first objective following day was finding the train station that would take us to Vienna. In Europe, unlike the USA, there are often multiple stations so finding the one where the correct train leaves for your desired destination is important. Since Vienna was our destination our station would be Keleti Pauyandvar. Having tickets in advance reduces the stress of waiting to buy on the day you plan to travel.
On our walk back from the train station on a freezing cold day we encountered a group of 20-30 young adults dressed only in red underwear. They were running and cheering but we couldn’t figure out why they were basically naked on a cold winter day. We explored the second of three major Christmas markets but knew it wasn’t the one we visited when we first came in 2008. That evening after more walking we did find that market and it was just as good as we remembered.
Having explored all three of the major markets we concluded that food and drink have become the major vendor products surpassing merchandise. The unique food, like the roasted tunnel cakes, are expensive as is most food. As from out previous two visits to Budapest we are still captivated by the city and will return again but probably in summer.
It was time to catch our train to Vienna. We chose first class which gave us our own private room. Andrew and I occupied a compartment for six for our ride of two and one half hours. When we arrived shortly after noon we found the ticket office to buy our tickets to Krakow for three days later. We took a taxi to the Courtyard by Marriott in an area near public transit near several major universities. Andrew had upgraded us to a lovely suite.
Our night time activities included a walk through a park to an amusement park open to the public since 1766. Even though it was winter many rides were running. Afterward we ate dinner in a neighborhood Italian restaurant.
On our second evening in Vienna we found the biggest Christmas market of them all – The Rathaus Christmas market. We had discovered this market the first time when we were here in 2020. We also were looking for a particular market which we thought was going elude us but we found it and enjoyed our final night in Vienna at St. Stephan’s Platz.
As is often spoken travel is adventure and sometimes more than you want. That occurred the next day which was on our planned trip to Krakow. We had secured first class tickets when we arrived in Vienna. The train arrived promptly but without a first class coach. All first class passengers were told by completely unconcerned conductors to find a seat in second class. These seats were assigned to others but we took the first two available seats. After the first couple of stops people came trying to get their assigned seats. With the assistance of a very helpful, gentle Czeck man who spoke English he convinced both men to forgo their assigned seats and find other ones.
Andrew was nervous until the train began to empty out. I had not realized that the majority of our trip from Vienna to Krakow was through the Czeck Republic. We made it safely but were tired because of the trials. Since we arrived safely we proceeded to buy tickets for our next stop to Warsaw.
The next morning we were met by Gregory, a private guide I had arranged. Since we didn’t know Krakow I decided to go with an English speaking tour guide. Our guide gave us a great overview of the complicated geographic and political history of the Polish territory which has three distinct regions that have over time belonged to Sweden, Austria, Prussia, Russia and most recently Germany. We toured the royal palace dating from the 1500’s when Poland was independent. Fortunately, WWII destruction spared the city and what was damaged was quickly restored.
While I had chosen not to go to Auschwitz- Birkenau Camp the Jewish presences in Krakow is prevalent. Before WWII there was a significant Jewish population of about 70,000 in the city. There were several distinct districts called Jewish areas. According to our guide the approximate number of Jews in Krakow currently is about 1000. We toured the largest old Jewish community filled with reminders of Jewish presence marked by existing and former synagogues. There is one street we walked and found three Jewish restaurants. In the middle of this old Jewish community is Corpus Christi Basilica, one of the few remaining Christian buildings in the neighborhood. It’s construction began in 1340 and continued into the 15th century. The interior of the church is adorned with massive columns, sparkling gold accents and a spectacular high alter. It is a magnificent Renaissances church.
Our tour with our guide ended in the Main Market Square where a large space occupied has been a public market since 1257. The market is a major tourist attraction and there were thousands of local visitors who have come to the Christmas market. The attached picture shows the crowds enjoying the variety of food, drink and merchandise available. The market is smaller than in Vienna and Budapest but actually more interesting because different merchandise.
Our trip to Warsaw was uneventful which is how I like it. Andrew had upgraded us to a suite at the Sheraton Grand. It was spacious and comfortable. The weather all three full days we were in Warsaw was rainy and cold but that did not deter our activities. We toured with Arthr the first day. He picked us up in his car before driving us first to the historic but tragic Jewish Ghetto where the Nazi interred thousands of Jews during WWII before most were deported to death camps in Poland. Before the war there were an estimated 70,000 Jews in Warsaw. According the Arthr about three-quarters of a million Jews were killed at the Polish death camps.
An interesting fact that I didn’t know was that the Communist government in Poland ordered the removal of all Jews from Poland in 1968. Today there are no persons who identify themselves as Jewish. On our tour we saw many significant sites relating not only to Jews but the strong but unsuccessful Polish resistance during the war.
Our tour was much more than Jewish history in Poland as we traversed the city of 2,000,000 which is modern and prosperous. We viewed artwork in one of the many galleries. In our case the art was made by Polish painters from the sixteenth century to the later part of the nineteenth century. We stopped for a short walk in the former gardens of the royal summer palace where the peacocks live. We finished our tour visiting the Old Town which was the seat of the royal palace in previous times. The area has been completely rebuilt since WWII it was completely destroyed as the Germans were escaping the Russians in WWII. Warsaw had the smallest Christmas market we encountered in Europe.
On our final day we found a large, modern shopping center which is much like those we find in the West. We rode subways, trams and trolleys all in one day. We ate at a food court in the shopping center before returning to our hotel on a cold, rainy night. We had low expectations for Warsaw but found a really interesting city which, I am sure, is lovely in the summer.
We arrived in Berlin on December 22 and immediately went to the Christmas Market at Kaiser Wilheim Memorial Church. Like so many markets we found in the previous four cities the market was about food and drink with modest variety of merchandise. We sampled several types of brats and enjoyed the environment. Unlike other cities there were sheltered structures to get out of the cold. The environment was warm and friendly as the snow began to fall. It was quite heavy overnight but melted early in the morning.
We had to hurry because we knew that most stores and markets would be closed for most or all of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day. First, we went to Aleranderplatz to one of the biggest markets located between two large modern and shopping centers. We wasted too much time trying to find an LGBT market. It turned out to be close to our hotel but we only found the market later. The LGBT market was very small compared to the others. We lunched at Alexa one of the biggest shopping centers at one of the many interesting restaurants on their food floor.
Our plan was to return to the upscale shopping center –LaDeWe – which we had found the night before. It is a luxurious store opened 1907 with two floors of all types of food, drink and Christmas merchandise. Our plan was to enjoy a quiet dinner which on that night was impossible. Like many European cities, Berlin observes the Christmas holiday by being closed from Dec 24-26. That was not the case with some Christmas markets. On Christmas Eve we walked to the Victory Column and then onto Brandenburg gate where we found many tourists. It was cold but not as cold as previous days. We took the subway back to Kaiser Wilheim Platz and toured the memorial and sanctuary.
Our last few days were quiet before attempting to fly home on December 27. Unfortunately, our first of three flight was delayed so we missed out flight back to the USA. That required an overnight stay paid for by British Airlines but delayed our arrival back to Ft. Lauderdale. We made it back to Miami late on December 28.
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