BUDAPEST, HUNGARY | TRAVELLING AND INTERRAILING WITH KIDS

Out of everywhere on our trip, I was most excited about Zermatt and Budapest. It was also where we finally caught up with David and Sylvie - a week was a long time without seeing her little smushy baby face and Viv and I were both so excited to catch up with them. 

Vivienne and I arrived in Budapest first, about 4pm, and checked into our AirBnb which was really central and had a 24 hour shop across the road for us to stock up on crisps and beers for when Dav arrived. We met them off the bus from the airport in the evening and luckily Sylvie had slept for the entire flight and Dav wasn't too frazzled - I think he'd been anticipating how it would go but it ended up being pretty straightforward. We dumped our things, turned around and went straight out to dinner to catch up.

The next day we packed up the buggy and walked straight through the city to cross the river and climb up to a good vantage point to see the view. One of our favourite things to do in a new place is to explore by foot, and Budapest is quite sprawling but small enough to walk around from point to point too.. We walked up towards the Citadella, and hung out at the kids' park for a bit, then walked along the river towards Budapest Castle, where we got the funicular up to the top. The views over the city were amazing, so pretty and just what you'd imagine - the parliament buildings in particular look so iconic on the skyline.

From there we crossed back over the river, and there was a Spring festival happening, where we sat and ate some amazing Hungarian street food, had a few beers, and looked around the craft market. It was so colourful, and there was a park nearby with a sunken bar area - the girls hung out on the grass and we took it easy for the afternoon - all tired and needing to relax after travelling in the days before. We decided to take the rest of that first day easily, and hung out back at our accommodation before heading out for tapas on the night (which, it's worth mentioning, was so, so cheap and so good - about £35 for three of us including wine and beers..).  

I was so glad that I booked Budapest for three nights, as it meant we had two and a half days to explore, and we could take it all at our own pace. We were really keen to go to a spa but we were a little limited in our options as some places were adult only, and some wouldn't allow babies. We eventually found one on Margaret Island - Palatinus Strand Baths - which had indoor and outdoor pools, thermal saunas and baths, hot and cold pools, a kids' pool.. it was perfect, and we spend a few hours there (I could have stayed there all day, but it's a little less relaxing with the kids!). 

The walk back from Margaret Island into the centre was past the Parliament Buildings - even better close up - and we decided to head to the Jewish Quarter. Honestly, I immediately wanted to come back without the girls. The ruin bars are really something else.. So bizarre and amazing. Viv loved exploring them too, but with Sylvie being a toddler and kicking up a fuss we couldn't stay for long. The Jewish Quarter, with all it's bars and restaurants, is amazing, and you could easily kill half a day here wandering around. We stopped for some lunch, before talking a slow walk back, stopping to look at graffiti and take photos too.

We had a few hours to kill on our last day, and decided to head to Városliget Park, where there was plenty to explore and see. We stopped near the old ice skating rink for food, and let the kids blow off some steam at the play area ahead of our flight. It was such a pretty place, and had Castle Vajdahunyad Vára Castle, museums and a zoo as well as the famous Széchenyi Thermal Baths to visit too. 

We all had the most wonderful time in Budapest, and loved exploring and being reunited, but I think by this point we were ready for some home comforts too - there's nowhere like your own bed, is there? The flight went well, Sylvie slept all the way home (thank goodness), and Dav drove us back from the airport while I slept (sorry for being shit company). 

A few days after being home I was itching to head away again.. the travel bug/Wanderlust is real. I'm hoping to get away just me and the girls in the Summer for another adventure.. this really has been magical memory-making stuff.

  You can see a different variety of photographs from our time in Budapest over on my photography blog here.

NEXT STOP - HOME

AN ADVENTURE WITH VIVIENNE | INTERRAILING WITH KIDS

I suspect I might not be the only one out there to admit... 'family holidays' aren't really my bag. Yes, it's easier to go somewhere with a kids' club and yes, Vivienne loves all that stuff and yes it means there is time to actually relax.. but I just find it all a bit.. well, naff. Also, Vivienne was so excited with new holiday friends that, selfishly, I feel I didn't see enough of her last time we were away. Due to being a seasonal worker where it's often a case of "well I might as well take another booking in August because I may not get another later in the year" it's made sense for us to book places that we know Vivienne will make new pen pals and we can get some Autumn sun over October half term. 

For the past few years I've been dreaming of the idea of doing trips that are going to be real experiences, and I'd bookmarked Easter 2018 off in my mind with the hope of going somewhere exciting. Originally I'd hoped for a road trip exploring West Coast America and taking Viv out of school for an extra week; but then Sylvie came along and we decided to wait until she can remember something like that and really experience it too.

Then I thought about Interrail. I've never been and the idea of hopping on and off trains crossing beautiful parts of Europe sounded a bit magical. Would doing interrail with kids be too hard? Looking at dates for David and his work and everything that is already in the diary for next year we decided that the majority of the trip would be just me and Vivienne, and then David and Sylvie can meet us for four days at the end. (And in all honesty, part of me was a bit relieved when I considered the age she'll be at and the amount of stuff she'd still need..)

So I mocked up plans and itineraries and worked out a route that would be possible, with travel times that wouldn't be too much for Vivienne too. Quickly I realised that I'd have to stop myself from wanting to do all the places I wanted to visit in one trip.. I'd have to prioritise for this trip and do another stretch of Europe another time.

I wanted to mix cities with some more 'outdoorsy' experiences.. I went to different areas of Switzerland a lot growing up and I really wanted Vivienne to see how beautiful it was, it then made sense to do a sleeper train somewhere, spend a few days there and then go on to somewhere else. After a bit of moving ideas and places around on a time line, this is what I came up with..

We begin by waving off Dav and Sylv and flying to Geneva, staying for just one night. From Geneva we'll get the train around the lake to Montreux, again for one day and one night; from here we get the train to Zermatt for two nights, which will give us time to cable car up to the Matterhorn and do the Glacier Experience and hopefully have an afternoon on the beginners' slopes taking Vivienne skiing for the first time (fingers crossed!). On the morning after our last night in Zermatt, we'll travel up to Zurich and spend the day exploring there before getting the overnight train to Vienna. We'll stay two nights in Vienna - I've booked us a hostel room with a huge glass ceiling (mainly so we can smash it.. feminist joke there..) overlooking the city, and then we'll get the train to Budapest from there to meet David and Sylvie, and have three nights there as the four of us before flying home.

I've created a travel diary/book with our itinerary, costs so far, payments that still need to be settled and labelled pages with each destination. I've also bought a European travel guide and asked Vivienne to do her own research for what she'd like to see or do in each place. So far we only really have in what we're looking to do in Zermatt, and I read about some amazing spa pools that look like they're worth a day trip in Budapest.. I'm going to lend Vivienne one of my small cameras for the week and see what she comes up with. 

Mainly, sight-seeing and exploring aside, I'm *so* excited to spend some quality time with Vivienne. Often Sylvie needs more immediate attention at home and Vivienne is so good at understanding, but I do think it'll do her so much good to be a bit more free and for it to be just the two of us for a week or so. I'm optimistically hoping we can get away with hand luggage in the name of 'travelling light' so I think the next challenge is working out a real capsule packing list that will last us the entire trip! If you've travelled or Interrail-ed with little ones I would really love to hear any tips you've got or travel essentials; or if you have any recommendations for where we're going I'd love to hear!