Hop On Budapest

Hop On Hop Off bus great way to see a lot of the city, different routes with the ability to get on or off anywhere.

Got to see all sorts of architecture, landmarks and statues. At least statues pre-and post-Soviet era.

After lunch at First, the Craft Beer company, sampled two delicious fruit bombs

First, the Craft Beer company   |  Belgian Cherries   |  Ale, Fruit  |  4.5 %  |  8.5

First, the Craft Beer company   |  Blueberry Ale  |  Ale, Fruit  |  4.5 %  |  8.5

Then met up with a friend who was from Budapest and is over visiting relatives. We went to a park / museum where the Soviet era statues had been relocated.

The Soviet Union couldn’t make feminine hygiene products, but they cast some mean statuary.

Went to dinner to a real authentic – according to our friend – Hungarian restaurant called Szeged Vendéglö. Food was amazing and huge portions, Just had a

Dreher Sörgyàrak  |  Classic Csapolt  |  Lager, Helles  |  5.2 %  |  6.0

(All together now – why don’t good restaurants stock some good beer?!)

After returning to hotel, it was time to go beer hunting. Tried to find Gravity Brewing, then found it was inside brewpub Neked Csak Dezsö (You’re Just ____). 

Gravity will open tomorrow so I may be there. Mostly served by Peter, very nice guy and had good things to say about Gravity. 

Had the following:

Mad Scientist & Malduguns (Latvia)  |  Malduguns  |  Ale, Sour, Fruit  |  5.5 %  |  6.5

Neked Csak  |  Haróm Bé  |  Ale, Wheat, Dunkelweizen  |  5.0 %  |  5.8

Horizont   |  Pilot Series 10# - New England IPA  |  Ale, IPA, New England   |  6.0 %  |  7.8

Uradalmi Sörmanufaktúra  |  Misty  |  Ale, IPA, New England   |  6.0 %  |  8.0

Fehér Nyúl  |  RAFA  |  Ale, Sour / Wild  |  6.8 %  |  8.4

Szent Andràs  |  Szilvàs Sör  |  Ale, Fruit  |  3.7 %  |  8.5

Mad Scientist   |  Chill Haze  |  Ale, IPA, New England   |  5.3 %  |  7.5

Evermind  |  Brew Your Mind  |  Ale, IPA, Imperial  |  8.2 %  |  8.4

Then found my way to Hops Beer Bar and server Gary. 

Had the following. I know it’s Hungary but could not pass up a good beer. Also what a Tap!

Honsebrouck, Castle Brewery, Van   |  Kasteel Rouge  |  Ale, Belgian Fruit  |  8.0 %  |  8.5

Dugges  |  Tropic Thunder   |  Ale, Sour, Fruit  |  4.5 %  |  8.8

Pōhjaka  |  Öö  |  Ale, Porter, Baltic, Imperial  |  10.5 %  |  8.8

The Baltic Porter from Estonia was a pleasant surprise.

Ended the night with one beer I saw earlier at Beer Brothers – it did not disappoint.

Hopfanatic   |  Angry Beast  |  Ale, Stout, Russian Imperial  |  12.0 %  |  9.0

Buda + Pest + Óbuda = Budapest

This morning we boarded the train for Budapest (country #5 or 6 on this trip, if you count as layover in Amsterdam). It was delayed but no worries since there weren’t connections.

On the way had a nice light breakfast with a

Plzeñsky Prazdroj   |  Gambrinus 10  |  Lager, Pilsner, Czech  |  4.3  |  7.7 / 10.0

The taxi ride was adventurous - and the driver wasn’t exactly honest - but we got to the hotel in one piece.

We did go to lunch and had delicious sandwiches. Any my first ever Hungarian beer. Which was decidedly odd given where and how long I have traveled for work and play.

Soproni   |  Ovatos Sörgyár Duhaj Démon  |  Lager, Dark  |  5.2%  |  5.5

Mort Subite  |  Framboise  |  Ale, Belgian Framboise  |  4.3%  |  7.5

After lunch while spouse rested, went on a search for more Hungarian beers.

Found a great little place Beer Brothers – great selection of local beers, far, far better than the Soproni.

Hopfanatic   |  Pineapple Milkshake Pale Ale  |  Ale, Pale, American variant  |  5.0%  |  6.5

Mad Scientist  |  Tokyo Lemonade  |  Ale, Wheat, Hefeweizen  |  4.2%  |  9.2

First, the Craft Beer company   |  Chocolate Vanilla Imperial Stout  |  Ale, Stout, Russian Imperial  |  8.0%  |  8.4

Reczer Ser  |  Hop Quijote  |  Ale, IPA, American  |  5.8%  |  8.0

Ugar  |  Wonder Kompót  |  Ale, Fruit  |  5.0%  |  8.5

Kapucinus Sörfözde  |  Sisters of Kapucinus  |  Ale, Barleywine  |  6.1%  |  7.5

Dinner was a place near the hotel.

Very nice food but as with Bratislava, the beer could have been better.

Soproni  |  Ovatos Duhaj IPA  |  Ale, IPA  |  4.8%  |  5.0/10.0  [9,958]

Alex, I’ll Take Incompetent Taxi Drivers for $800

 Today was a planned day trip to Vienna - a leisurely boat ride up the Danube. The start was a little trying - took a taxi to the boat dock; first it was late getting there, was told by the Bellhop in no uncertain terms to go directly to the dock area and we would pay taxi only €10.

You can see where we started, and the route taken - ARRRRG

Well, he said he understood the written address, but took us to an office building, even though we repeatedly told and showed him on GPS how to go!!

We finally get to the docking area with but minutes to spare. As we found later, the sign for the company was fairly small and we went the wrong way (following much larger signs that said “passenger embarkation” or similar). Needless to say we missed the boat.

We get another taxi back to the hotel and before we arrived, I had arranged for a driver to take us to Vienna. The driver who took us there was awesome and got us there in record time (Jaguar sedan at 110 mph) and dropped us at Hapsburg  Castle.

We spent the next several hours working our way back to the dock. 

We found an area that celebrated Mozart. 

A statue of Franz Josef 1 of Austria. 

The 1516 brew pub for lunch –I had been there over 6 years before and it was still good.

1516 Brewing Company  |  Belgian Farmhouse Saison  |  Ale, Belgian Farmhouse Style  |  5.5%  |  7.3

1516 Brewing Company  |  Brother from Another Mother Milk Stout  |  Ale, Stout, Milk  |  5.0%  |  8.0

1516 Brewing Company  |  Slipper Pale Ale  |  Ale, Pale, American  |  5.2%  |  8.0

Another little restaurant for dessert - apple strudel and apricot dumplings. They had a sign that said they had lemonade but alas they didn’t. They did have

Ottakringer  |  Wiener Original   |  Lager, Vienna  |  5.3%  |  7.4

Being a Sunday many of the shops were closed but it was fun to see the architecture. We made it in plenty of time to take the high speed boat back to Bratislava.

We did get to see some interesting fishing cabins, and two (three?) castles on the trip.

This time we walked back to the hotel, stopping in again at the Unorthodox bar, to have a couple of beers and purchase some fantastic souvenir shirts. 

Chatted briefly with brewer/owner Vladimir, and the shirts were gorgeous.

Unorthodox, BE   |  Mad Monk hoppy tripel  |  Ale, Belgian Tripel style  |  8.5  |  9

Mikkeller  |  Nelson Sauvignon Nelson Brut  |  Ale, Bière de Champagne  |  9  |  7.8

We checked and decided on the CARNEvalle restaurant. It was not inexpensive, but it was one of the top 5 steaks I’ve ever had. To put it in perspective, Ruth’s Chris was in the top 5, not its in the 6-10 category.

The beer was just okay, I am always saddened a bit if high-end restaurants focus on wine – which they have traditionally - when there’s a whole range of beers that would’ve complimented a great steak.

Top 5 steaks, no specific order

Range 1-5

- Chicago area, pre-merger dinner with Fisher Scientific

- Lenexa KS, small steak restaurant

- Kansas City KS - Cattleman’s

- Waco TX, family restaurant near highway, picnic tables

- Carnevalle Bratislava

Range 6-10

- Ruth’s Chris Steak House

Finished the night with some Slivovitz (or Šljivovica, Śliwowica, Slivovitza, Schlivowitz, etc) plum brandy. Nasty, in a good way.

Tomorrow – Yugoslavia. I mean Hungary. For some reason I have a mental block where I keep mixing up Hungary and Yugoslavia.