Budapest Day Trip: Visegrád

It was just the other weekend that C and I finally traveled the hour north of Budapest to see the city of Visegrád, where I learned that cherries are a legit pizza topping and that you really can do just about anything in a skirt.

Even though it’s small, Visegrád still packed a few surprises as we adventured at the top of the mountain and then settled in for lunch in the town below.
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We went on a national holiday, but it seemed like everyone and their mother from Budapest was going as well, because traffic was slow as molasses for a bit. On the way up, you pass Szentendre (another great day trip option if you’d rather hang out by the river instead of perch high above it).

The plan was to see the castle, but we were greeted with a “full parking” sign and a scary looking line as we drove past. But call it a blessing in disguise. Because I’ve seen plenty of castles during my time in Hungary, but you know what I hadn’t seen? Bobsleds. And guess what was just one parking lot past the castle? Yup. Bobsleds. (My Cool Runnings nostalgia went into overdrive).

At first, I’ll admit, I found things to be laughably bleak. We had just driven over an hour through bad traffic, emerged on the top of a crowded mountain on a cloudy, windy day, and the castle we had come to see was already out of the question. Honestly, the bobsled sounded like more fun than a castle, but then that took us to my next problem…I was wearing a skirt.
Y’all, I love skirts. But I don’t love the idea of flashing half of the Hungarian holiday-makers as a I bobsled down a hill on a windy day. But like I said, we had come all that way, and this was a fun and fabulous day trip, gosh darn it! With a lot of tucking and strategic sitting, everything turned out fine 🙂
There are two different kinds of sleds to choose from, the summer bobsled or the alpine bobsled. The alpine bobsleds are larger with backrests and safety belts, and the summer bobsleds are smaller, so…we both squished into an alpine bobsled. I let C be in charge of the braking and I was in charge of screaming/squealing the whole way down. Rides are 600 HUF ($2.10), but you can also buy a 6- or 10-ride pass.

Victorious, windblown, and more than a little hungry, we made our way back down to the town below, stopping off at the viewpoint on the way (parking is free, but a gamble to come by. We really lucked out!)
Don Vito’s pizzeria was calling to us like a siren song, and I would 10/10 recommend. (I thought pineapple was the height of fruit on pizza, but those cherries and prunes come in. Tasty, but watch out for stray pits, though!)

All in all, the day trip was a success! For all of the mishaps, traffic, and bad weather, having the right travel buddy makes it all a good adventure 🙂